Harvard University's announcement last week that it will scrap its early admissions program-making it the first major university in the country to do so-will have no effect on Brandeis' admissions policy, Dean of Admissions Gil Villanueva said.Harvard made the change, which will take effect after this academic year, in hopes of making the application process fairer for lower-income students, according to the university's Sept. 12 announcement.

Princeton University followed suit Monday by eliminating its own early decision program, The New York Times reported

Derek Bok, Harvard's interim president, told The Times that early decision programs disadvantage students who need financial aid by preventing them from having sufficient time to compare financial aid packages from other institutions.

"Early admissions programs tend to advantage the advantaged," Bok told The Times, in an announcement that was hailed by many higher education experts, but met with caution by other universities.

Villanueva said Brandeis would continue its early decision program, which unlike early action programs at some universities, is binding for accepted students. This past academic year, about 25 percent of the 768 first-years applied early decision, Villanueva said.

3,869 of 22,754 total applicants to Harvard from the class of 2010 applied early decision, according to university data.

"Our position here at Brandeis is that since we do provide financial assistance during the early decision process, we find that we're able to meet the needs of those students applying for financial aid," Villanueva said.

Some universities now accept up to half of their incoming class from early decision applicants, according to The New York Times.

Brandeis has two early decision rounds: The first deadline is Nov. 15; the second is Jan. 1. Villanueva said the second round, introduced this fall, will help the University remain competitive with other schools.

Villanueva said one of the reasons Harvard could eliminate its early admissions program was because it has an applicant pool larger than most universities.

"And being, sort of, top dog, the impact would not be as great to their enrollment numbers as it would be for other institutions," he also said.

Dorit Ingber '07 applied early decision and only received sufficient financial aid after she appealed for additional funds. She said her initial package was insufficient and the pressure by the University to accept it was "immense."

"I think that it would benefit the school a great deal if they eliminated the [early decision] option and started to consider the financial background of the student more seriously," Ingber said.

Jasong Wong '10 also applied early decision, but unlike Ingber, said the program helped him gain admission.

"Judging by the people I've met here, I think that they're a little more educated than me. They did better academically," he said. "[Brandeis] really should not do away with early decision.