The Cavalier Daily’s Nov. 29 lead editorial (“Slow to yield”) portrays The Common Application as a primary driver of increased applications, which results in declining yield rates among colleges and universities. Not only does this depiction oversimplify the complexity of yield rates, it also ignores the facts. Last year, the average number of Common Applications submitted by first-year applicants was 4.6, even when excluding Early Decision applicants who applied to only one institution. The numbers vary greatly by school type and geographic region, with students from mid-Atlantic independent schools claiming the highest average of 6.5, far from the “tens, even dozens” that the editorial laments. As for decreasing the number of applications to which students can apply, The Common Application Board of Directors chose last summer to maintain the current limit of 20 after extensive surveys of school counselors and members institutions yielded passionate arguments on both sides of the issue.
Scott Anderson
CLAS ‘93
Director of Outreach,
The Common Application
Read More
GERBER: Gaslighting for DEI — community DEI proponents must stop ignoring the law
By Scott Douglas Gerber | 7 hours agoAdditionally, the 2025 U.S. Supreme Court decision Ames v. Ohio Department of Youth Services signals that proponents of DEI should stop pretending they are complying with the law.
SHRAUGER: Protect City Council funding for Central Virginia Violence Interrupters
By Alex Shrauger | YesterdayEntrusting people with a criminal background to facilitate nonviolent intervention and providing in-depth training in crime prevention is possibly the best alternative to police funding or further, more costly initiatives.
WASSERMAN: The Cavalier Daily got it wrong on UVa.’s discrimination cases
By Barbara Wasserman | YesterdayThat framing is not just misleading — it obscures the real failures of University leadership and the courage of the students who stood up to them.
