Opinion

Clemson, for example, received 26,000 applications this year for its first-ever early action cycle and then got another 32,000 regular decision applications for a freshman class that will end up having around 4,500 students. Overall, applications were up 10 percent from the previous admissions season. The University of Southern California, which like Clemson offered early action for the first time this year, recorded an even bigger increase — 16 percent — having collected 40,000 early applications and then doubled that number during the regular decision cycle for a first-year class expected to be just 3,400. The University of Wisconsin-Madison landed 45,000 early applications, a 10 percent increase over last year.

Now these colleges had another problem on their hands: They didn’t want to fill too much of their classes early in case applicants they really wanted came along in the regular decision pool. So instead of giving students “peace and solace” (as Clark said), they often didn’t give them any answer. They punted the decision on many early applicants by telling them they were deferred to the later regular round. Wisconsin deferred 17,000 of its 45,000 early action applicants. U.S.C. deferred around 38,000 — or some 94 percent — of its early pool (they accepted the other 6 percent and rejected no one). Clemson told nearly 15,000 of its 26,000 early applicants to wait another two-plus months for a decision (it rejected only 300).

While some colleges like the University of Virginia published their deferral numbers right after decisions went out (it pushed 21 percent, or 7,707 early applicants, to regular), most don’t, leaving applicants in the dark about what a deferral really means. The University of Wisconsin initially told me how many students it deferred, then asked that I not publish the number, but relented when I suggested they weren’t being transparent with applicants.

Why the secrecy? A spokesman said the university has a “longstanding practice of not commenting on admissions … before the class matriculates.” Um, that’s in the fall, long after admissions season is over for this year’s seniors when they can’t do anything with the information — like maybe apply to some backup schools on their lists. Without knowing how many applicants were pushed to the next round, teenagers who have applied to six, eight, 12 colleges might be sitting on multiple deferrals with no idea if they really have a shot or if the deferral is simply a precursor to a rejection a few months later.

“The schools that students are most interested in are often the same ones most opaque with what a deferral really means,” said Andy Borst, the director of undergraduate admissions at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. I like Borst’s approach here: He sends an email to high school counselors before decisions are released to provide, as he writes, “as much clarity as I can, with supporting data.”