The University of Virginia will drop its early-admission policy for the 2007 admissions cycle, UVa officials announced Monday.
Earlier this month, Harvard University announced that it will abandon its non-binding early-action policy in Fall 2007 in order to alleviate economic disparity among applicants. Soon after, Princeton University followed suit, stating that it will also eliminate its binding early-decision program in 2007.
UVa, however, is the first top-tier public university to follow suit.
"This action is an effort to remove an identified barrier to qualified low-income students and their families who have long believed that top-tier universities were not within their reach," said UVa President John Casteen in a statement.
UVa's binding early-admissions policy has been in place since the 1960s. Each year, about 30 percent of incoming students are admitted early.
John Blackburn, dean of admissions at UVa, said in a statement that administrators have considered eliminating or changing the policy in the past.
Monday's move was spurred in part by the enactment of AccessUVa-a financial aid program introduced three years ago to make UVa more affordable and to reduce student debt, he added.
"While our staff had discussed the pros and cons of eliminating early decision or moving to an early-action plan that is not binding, the reality of how few low-income students apply for any early plans really was compelling for me," Blackburn said.
Only one student who qualified for the maximum financial aid package available under AccessUVa last year was an early applicant, Blackburn added. Fewer than 20 of the 947 students accepted under the early-decision plan last December applied for financial aid, he said.
"I have been involved in recent months with a national task force on low-income students, and there is little doubt that early-admission programs put low-income students at a significant disadvantage in the process," Blackburn said. "This runs counter to our goal of increasing the diversity of our student body."
Duke Dean of Admissions Christoph Guttentag said UVa's decision is noteworthy because it moved the early admission issue into the sphere of public universities.
"It's another indicator that schools are taking seriously their commitment to making sure that they provide equitable access and that the balance they strike among various groups of applicants are appropriate," he said.
UVa is one of the few top public universities to offer early admissions, Guttentag added. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill offers a non-binding early-action policy, and the University of Michigan has rolling admissions.
Duke has offered early admission for at least 20 years. Earlier this month, Guttentag told The Chronicle that although admissions officers have discussed the University's early-admission policies several times, there is no immediate plan to change them.
Iza Wojciechowska contributed to this story.
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