Harvard University will reinstate its non-binding early action program and Princeton University will revive early admissions practices for applicants to the Class of 2016, The Harvard Crimson reported.

Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences Michael D. Smith said in a statement that Harvard’s motivation for restoring the program was to attract top-tier students to the university. Princeton President Shirley M. Tilghman, however, said in a statement that early admissions would up Princeton’s power to recruit students from underrepresented groups.

The two universities announced their moves within a few hours of each other Thursday, five years after both Harvard and Princeton made headlines for eliminating early admissions programs in 2006.

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