11/10/97 SHOULD YOU GET IN EARLY?

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SHOULD YOU GET IN EARLY?

Kate Doherty recently decided to apply early decision to Northwestern University after spending the summer visiting 11 college campuses, including the University of Pennsylvania, Boston College, and Johns Hopkins University. ''I got that gut feeling that Northwestern is the school for me,'' says Doherty, a 17-year-old senior at the Convent of The Sacred Heart, a private school in New York City.
Doherty is one of a growing number of high school seniors who are applying to college by around Nov. 15. If they are accepted, they are committing to attend by mid-December, five months earlier than the traditional springtime notice. Dartmouth College, for example, has seen a 30% increase in the number of early-decision applicants over the past five years. It accepts 28% of its incoming class early, but some schools, such as Johns Hopkins, go as high as 60%.
THE REASONS. Students choose to apply early decision for a number of reasons. First, if the strategy works, it mercifully shortens the stressful college application period. More important, candidates actually have a competitive advantage at some schools. ''Our applicants will get a measure of preference if they apply early,'' says Lee Stetson, dean of admissions at the University of Pennsylvania. That means a student could have SAT scores up to 10 points lower than the average for the regular applicant pool or be slightly lower in class rank. Johns Hopkins may knock off up to 50 points on SAT scores. Typically, high school guidance counselors know which schools look favorably upon early applicants. The benefit for the schools is they can lock in a certain number of attendees and thus, plan their budgets earlier.
Despite the advantages, the decision to go early decision may not be right for every applicant. Since acceptances are binding, students should be absolutely certain they want to attend the school. There is no turning back unless a family can prove that the financial burden is higher than originally anticipated. ''Students who have researched their options and are sure they want to go to a particular school are good candidates to apply early,'' says Maureen Matheson, a director at The College Board in New York, a nonprofit group of schools and colleges.
MONEY. Once a student has decided a particular school is the right one, he or she must carefully evaluate the affordability. Anyone who needs substantial financial aid is generally better off in the regular applicant pool. ''The school sees the early-decision applicant as a motivated buyer, so they won't give you as good a financial offer as a student they have to convince to attend,'' says Kalman Chany, president of Campus Consultants in New York and author of Paying for College Without Going Broke ($18; Random House). Financial-aid packages vary among schools. So an early-decision student loses the chance to compare competing offers.
Students of American-Indian, Hispanic, or African-American descent may also have a better chance of getting a good financial package in the regular group of candidates. ''Minority set-asides are more generous in the bigger pool,'' says Jayme Stewart, a guidance counselor at York Preparatory in New York City. Students who think improving grade-point averages in their senior year or another round of SAT scores might make them stronger candidates should also wait to apply.
Students not accepted in the early round will usually be deferred to the regular applicant pool. However, only a small percentage of those deferred make the grade later. Chany advises early-decision applicants to assume they'll be rejected. Then they'll have applications to backup schools ready to send out immediately upon getting the bad news. They'll need to act quickly, because by the time schools notify early-decision applicants, there's little time left to gather transcripts, recommendations, and other documents before the regular deadlines.
The competition for admittance to the top schools has only been getting tougher. But applying early decision could put you at the head of the class.
Toddi Gutner

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