Early November is an exciting time each year for Northwestern and most other universities. As the standard early decision deadline of Nov. 1 rolls around, the University gets its first look at our applicant pool for the year. This year, we were excited to see NU receive a record number of applications – 2,083 this year versus 1,690 in 2009.

When high school seniors apply early to NU’s binding early decision program, they gain acceptance to NU before winter break but are required to withdraw all other college applications. NU fills about one quarter of its incoming class with early decision applicants, so the school’s policy on early decision plays a huge role in determining the makeup of NU’s student body.

But the early decision process is not without its critics. Detractors argue that binding programs such as NU’s are unfair to lower-income applicants who need to apply to multiple schools at once and “shop around” for the best financial aid package. Some top universities including Harvard, Princeton and the University of Virginia have gotten rid of their early application option altogether. So this begs the question – should NU do the same, or at least makes its early decisions non-binding?

The Daily believes the current policy while imperfect is the best fit for Northwestern as an institution and should be continued.

Northwestern needs early decision because, while it is a great university and is steadily climbing the rankings, NU still falls behind of Harvard and Princeton in the number of admitted students that accept their offer. Same with the University of Virginia, which is not technically as “elite” as NU, but has been able to keep up its rates because it is one of the more prestigious public schools. NU loses quality admitted applicants to Ivy League schools.

NU still needs early decision to lock in a group of solid applicants who in choosing to apply early demonstrate that they really passionately want to come here. That enthusiasm and commitment to the school should not be underestimated as a desirable quality in the student body and until NU is the dream school of the vast majority of its applicants, it is certainly a worthwhile policy for the academic health of the university, as well as the sense of student satisfaction.

Additionally, NU’s superb specialty programs, such as the communication, journalism and music programs make it an obvious first choice for certain groups of students and we should take advantage of those niches by getting those students in and committed as quickly as possible.

The Daily does, however, find it problematic that it is supposedly easier to get into college during the early decision process. We do not think NU is choosing truly low-quality students during this process (If it is true that NU, like many other schools, has lower academic standards for early applicants, they are not enough different to impact the academic reputation of the University) but because this is the way in which early decision becomes unfair to applicants who need to think critically about financial aid offers.

As in any application process, the enthusiasm an applicant shows about coming to NUthrough their essays, visits to campus or applying early is a factor in determining admission because passion for NU probably is some indicator of future success, just as it is well known that the enthusiasm an applicant displays for working for a particular company in a job interview has a positive impact on the hiring decision.

However, making it easier to get in as an early applicant becomes unfair due to the binding nature of the process eliminating the option for students who need financial aid. NU might have generous aid packages compared to many schools, but prospective students understandably feel the need to compare the various schools to which they are admitted to determine which university offers the best aid.

This is simply impossible within the rules of early decision, so to ensure a level playing field for applicants from all income levels, The Daily believes the University ought to critically examine admissions data to determine whether it is giving any significant advantage to early applicants. If they are, then they need to reassess these standards to make the two applicant pools equally fair to students from all income backgrounds.

The advantages that early decision offers the university should not be discounted and we believe NU should continue to use this strategy in the future to get a group of the best, brightest and most enthusiastic students committed to NU early in the process. But the university owes it to all applicants to be fair in this process and not to allow early decision to act as a loophole for certain groups of students to get in over others across the various deadlines.