With almost all the early decisions complete, it was time to second-guess
their choices to ensure that the verdicts they were about to put in the
mail were fair and consistent. Victoria Muradi, an assistant dean, was
staring at **a chart of all the students who had applied from a particular
public high school in the outer suburbs of Northern Virginia, listed by
class rank.</p>
<p>Most such charts followed a pattern – a string of names marked “X” for
being accepted, then a string of E’s for deferrals, then a string of R’s
for those rejected. But this school’s chart showed a more erratic lineup.
A highly ranked boy had been deferred – an E amid the X’s – while a much
lower-ranked girl had been accepted.** Could U-Va. justify this?</p>
<p>Muradi pulled out the files on both students. The young man had an A-plus
average and a 1,250 SAT score. But as a volunteer attendance monitor, he
was leaving school early every day this fall.</p>
<p>“He’s out early three periods? Hel-lo?” Muradi exclaimed. “He should have
been taking APs instead! He’s not even trying!”</p>
<p>She checked the notes. As first reader of the student’s application, she
had recommended that U-Va. reject him. Blackburn had overruled her,
though, and deferred him. She could understand why.</p>
<p>“He’s done everything right,” Muradi said of the applicant. "People call
here saying, ‘My kid got straight A’s and you turned him down?’ "</p>
<p>Deferral, she reasoned, might nudge him to take a tougher course load in
the spring. But in reality, deferrals offer applicants little hope. Only
about 10 percent of those deferred in early decision get an offer of
admission in the spring. The odds are slightly better for in-state
applicants, but near-impossible for non-Virginians.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, Schiff had found a similar discrepancy in the ranks of a
Northern Virginia private school. Two girls, with almost identical
grade-point averages and SAT scores: One was admitted and the other
deferred.</p>
<p>She pulled the files. The admitted girl had three AP classes, an A in
French honors, a busy schedule of student council and cheerleading. “It is
a strong transcript,” Schiff conceded. The deferred classmate had two APs
and B’s in both her honors classes. Yet she also had a nice record of
volunteer work and glowing recommendations, which made her arguably just
as worthy.</p>
<p>But already, Blackburn’s staff had admitted more than 900 early
applicants, well above the intended threshold. At Schiff’s urging,
Blackburn changed the acceptance offer to a deferral. The near-identical
classmates would share an identical verdict.