Many selective colleges and universities reported a significant increase in early applications to the Class of 2013 and deferred or rejected a record number of Early Decision and Early Action candidates. Early admission acceptance rates were particularly low this year at some highly-competitive schools with non-binding Early Action programs (e.g. MIT, Yale and Stanford).

Admissions officers stated that deferred applicants will be reconsidered in the spring along with students applying via the regular admission program. Speculation about this year’s large number of early application rejections centers on both increased confidence in applicant pool quality and a desire not to instill false hope in those with essentially no chance for admission. Some disappointed high school seniors are interpreting this message as a wake up call and are scrambling to hedge their bets by completing additional applications before upcoming deadlines.