Applicants for Tufts' second round of early decision fell six percent this year, ending three straight years of increases in yield.
Despite the decrease in the applicant pool, an additional 44 students were admitted compared to last year, raising the Early Decision program's acceptance rate from 39 to 45 percent.
Coffin said the rise is traced to an increase in applicant quality. Last year's regular admission rate was 22 percent.
"The higher admissions rate doesn't mean that we've been less selective," Coffin said. "Early Decision selection [is not] the same as regular selectivity because you have a much smaller pool."
According to Coffin, the motivation required to decide on a college at an early date is the result of self-selection among applicants.
"I was really struck by the power of the applicant pool," Dean of Admissions Lee Coffin said. "We had an impressive group of students both in the depth and breath. It truly was a national pool and it was very exciting."
Results released last month from the Office of Admissions showed a total of 552 acceptances in both Early Decision rounds.
The increased early decision acceptance rate will likely lower the general acceptance rate, according to college admissions professional Rob Killion.
"For every Early Decision student admitted, three or four fewer regular decision applicants need be admitted," Killion said in a letter to the Chronicle of Higher Education.
Killion is the Associate Director of Admission of Haverford College in Pennsylvania.
Universities benefit from early decision programs which are binding to prospective students and provide a guaranteed yield.
Changes in yield may not be as important a factor at universities as it once did. "US News and World Report" dropped yield as a factor when it performs its annual university rankings.
Early applicants have the advantage of being evaluated among a smaller applicant pool, which Coffin said can increase the chances of acceptance.
Several high-profile institutions, including Stanford, Yale, and Harvard either eliminated their respective early decision programs or made the processes non-binding. Their decisions came in response to fears that early decision programs discriminate against applicants who need financial aid because it does not allow them to compare financial aid offers from multiple universities.
In fall 2002, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill dropped its early decision program after three years of study indicated severe inequalities.
According to UNC Director of Admissions Dr. Jerome Lucido, the study found fewer early decision students are minorities, and fewer apply for and receive financial aid.
"The larger national issue is not whether one or another college or university drops early decision," Lucido said. "It is whether, one-at-a-time, the proliferation of over 400 Early Decision programs across the country has damaged the image of accessibility and fairness in college admissions."
Coffin said there is no inherent discrimination in Tufts' Early Decision Program. He said the disparity in policies reflects the fact that "each institution has a different philosophy."
"For institutions like Tufts that meet the full demonstrated need of every accepted applicant, there is no packaging difference for Early Decision and regular decision applicants," Coffin said.
Prospective students are torn on how best to play the admissions game. "It would be easier to apply early and not have to worry about it," high school junior and prospective student Lindsay Southworth-Schall said.
Other students are reluctant to commit to one university before hearing from others. "The downside [of early decision] is that you don't know what your options are," Hellen Plutkin, another junior and prospective student said.
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