University early decisions mostly benefit rich kids – Study

College consultants and experts say a college admissions programme popular among the most selective universities in the United States may actually be skewed against lower-income applicants, writes Eva Rothenberg for CNN.

Early decision is an option that allows students to single out their top-choice school and apply to it months before regular applications are due. The choice is binding, but the student is rewarded with an earlier answer from the university, and a higher percentage chance of getting in. Some highly competitive universities pick a large percentage of their incoming freshman class from this applicant pool.

A study released this month from the Harvard-based research group Opportunity Insights found that students from higher-income backgrounds are more likely to apply early to highly selective and Ivy League schools, many of which offer early decision applications.
Full report on the CNN site