A Yale University committee has recommended that the school abandon its "early decision" admissions policy next year, concluding that the policy favors affluent families and pressures some students to apply to a college before they have fully weighed its pros and cons, committee members said yesterday.

A policy change could add momentum to an effort by Yale's president, Richard C. Levin, to change the culture of elite college admissions nationwide, which he thinks forces some high school students to sacrifice enjoyment and intellectual exploration in favor of preparing for the early admissions process.

Levin intends to make an announcement about early decision shortly, according to a Yale official and committee members. It was not clear yesterday whether Levin has decided to abandon the policy, tweak it or leave it alone.

The recommendation, made by the Yale Committee on Admissions and Financial Aid Policy, of which Levin is co-chairman, came after members concluded that early decision gives an unjust admissions advantage to a select group of students, including those who pay high-priced consultants to guide them and boost the chance for an admission offer.

"It's in Yale's best interests, in order to have a diversified student body, that we don't have early decision, and that admissions is up for grabs for a broader student clientele," said Leon Plantinga, a Yale professor of music and a committee member. "While there were some contrary points, by the end of our discussion, everyone was on board for the change."

Yale spokesman Thomas Conroy declined to comment on early decision discussions yesterday. Other Yale officials also declined to comment, saying it was Levin's prerogative to announce changes in policy.

By arguing that early decision is bad for students, Yale committee members hope to exert a moral pressure on such competitors as Stanford, Princeton and Brown to drop their early decision policies. Under the policy, students apply to a college in October and November - three months ahead of the normal time - and, in return for an early consideration, promise to enroll if admitted.

One Yale committee member said yesterday that Levin might replace the early decision policy with a nonbinding "early action" program, like Harvard's, which would allow students to apply early but, importantly, not require them to enroll if accepted.

Harvard has had an early action policy for about 25 years; it has never offered binding early decisions.

Last year, Levin triggered a national debate by arguing that the early admissions process put unneeded pressure on high school seniors, rushing some of them into applying before they feel informed and confident about their college choice.

Other committee members say that early decision favors wealthy students who can commit themselves to a university before they know the size of their financial aid package; aid is not decided until spring.

Early decision policies are attractive to colleges because they help lock in a guaranteed percentage of incoming freshmen, many of whom apply early to their first-choice schools.

For students, the early decision system can also carry some benefits. Princeton and the University of Pennsylvania, on their admissions Web sites, indicate that students who apply early could receive an admissions preference as a result and that students are encouraged to apply early if those schools are the students' first choice.

At Yale, the rate of early decision admissions was "significantly higher" than the overall acceptance rate of 13 percent last year, an official said yesterday. About one-third of Yale's 1,300 freshmen were early decision applicants last year; that proportion is as high as 40 percent at some schools.

Committee members argue that Yale has little to lose by changing policy.

"Our academic quality has never been better, early decision or not," said Mary Miller, a Yale professor of the history of art and a committee member. "If Yale does move away from early decision, it will be a move that the faculty will be completely comfortable with."

This fall's applicants would not be affected by the recommended change; rather, any new policy would take effect during the 2003-2004 admissions cycle.

Levin wanted to wait until Yale's Nov. 1 deadline for early decision applications had passed before speaking about the policy, so as not to confuse the current crop of applicants.

Asked why Levin might not end early decision outright, given his past comments and the committee's recommendation, several professors noted that Yale could take a risk if it unilaterally ended early decision, perhaps locking in fewer elite early applicants.