As the pressure of getting into a top university rises, many high school students are beginning to apply earlier than ever before, a trend some experts say benefits middle- and upper-class white students at the expense of minorities.

Harvard and Yale, in particular, noticed a drastic increase in applications to their early-action programs this year. Harvard received 7,620 applications, while Yale received 2,611. Both of these numbers amount to an approximate increase of 25 percent over the past year.

Dan Rogan, a college counselor at New Trier Township High School in Northfield, Ill., attributes this increase to media attention, proliferations of options for students at more schools and the rise in number of students graduating.

“The number of students graduating has increased and will continue to increase,” Rogan said. “The competition is getting tighter every year.”

Even though the University of Wisconsin has rolling admissions, the admissions office has still seen an increase in applications arriving early.

Many college counselors encourage their students year-in and year-out to apply early, not necessarily early decision or early action, but as early as possible in the admissions timetable in order to beat the inevitable rush of applications.

Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire, Ill. has a self-imposed deadline of Dec. 1, the date by which all students must turn in applications, regardless of the actual deadlines at the universities to which they are applying.

According to SHS college counselor Sue Biemeret, this deadline has been set to keep students organized and allow them the best possible chance of getting into the school of their choice. Early action or early admission is not usually specifically recommended at SHS; nevertheless, a significant number of students still choose to file early applications.

In past years, the majority of students who have applied to an early action or early decision program have been middle- and upper-class white students, according to George Kazlusky, college counselor at Hoffman Estates High School in Illinois.

“Early action tends to be a manifestation of the white upper-class,” Kazlusky said. “They tend to be the students who take the most advantage of it.”

Some suggest this is the case, because these students have had better opportunities than many minority students and are therefore more organized and decisive in the college-application process.

“Over the past several years, very privileged and traditionally wealthier kids have applied for early action,” said Marlyn McGarth Lewis, director of admissions for Harvard College.

However, minority students receive a slight advantage in the admissions process at many universities who implement affirmative-action-like policies in the hope of accomplishing diversity on campus. Many universities, however, will not admit to their exact policies.

“In almost every admissions office I’ve ever visited, the idea of race and ethnicity has been considered,” Kazlusky said.

Still, while white students continue to apply for early programs, they will indirectly be compared to similar students as opposed to students who may receive that slight advantage, according to Rogan.

“Early-admission programs have left more minorities behind,” he said. “These programs essentially favor the upper-class, because most won’t be waiting to see financial-aid packages, while minority students will typically be looking for them.”

As the role of affirmative action in early admission grows, the debate over the use of considering race or ethnicity in university admissions will continue. Meanwhile, a number of college counselors continue to stand behind using race as some sort of determinant.

“All universities want diversity on campus,” Kazlusky said. “You’re going to have to want to get these minority students to be admissible, but it’s how far you go to do this that we’re battling over.”