Early applicants article distorts facts

I would like to correct a misconception that was conveyed in The Chronicle's Nov. 26 article "Duke nets 1,246 early applicants," in which Duke's numbers were compared to those at Georgetown, Chicago and Yale.

Those three schools do not have binding early decision programs like ours; instead, they have non-binding early action programs. Thus, it is not surprising that their numbers of early applications jumped upwards at a significant rate after Harvard, Princeton and the University of Virginia dropped their own early programs, since students have nothing to lose by applying early action.

Applying to Duke early decision, in contrast, marks a big commitment. Given how widely read The Chronicle is in the Duke community, and how many people depend on it for accurate information about Duke, I thought it important to point out the "apples- to-oranges" comparison that distorted the facts and diminished Duke's important application gains.

Judith Ruderman

Vice provost for academic and administrative services