The University saw nearly a 5 percent increase in its volume of applications for admission this year — one of the largest increases among Ivy League schools — and 600 more applications than last year, Dean of Admission Fred Hargadon said.
"We have way too many, way more than we can accommodate," Hargadon said of the nearly 14,300 applications during a quick break from reading and discussing applications with the admissions committee. "We've had this many before, but it's unusual."
Hargadon suggested that the fluctuation in Princeton's application numbers is arbitrary from year to year. However, he said that the University's low acceptance rate, its characteristically time-consuming application and its refusal to accept the Common Application may keep application numbers lower than they might otherwise be.
"Since Princeton's admit rate of 11 to 12 percent is pretty low, one assumes that discourages some [from applying]," he said in an e-mail.
"If we wanted to increase the number of applicants, we could accept the Common Application, but I don't think we should or need to," he added.
"Also, we do hear from some applicants that Princeton's application takes more time and thought to complete," he said.
Princeton is not the only Ivy to boast an increased volume of applications. Yale, Harvard, Columbia and Cornell Universities and the University of Pennsylvania all saw a high percentage increase in applications this year.
Yale received 14,700 applications this year in comparison to last year's 12,887 — an increase of 14 percent and the most dramatic in the Ivy League. Cornell saw a 6.4 percent increase from last year, from 20,200 to 21,492 applications.
Harvard was no exception to the upward trend, showing a 1.7 percent increase from 18,693 applications last year to 19,006 this year, Admissions Officer James White said.
White said the increase may be a result of higher numbers of graduating high school seniors and better Internet technology.
"More people are able to find out about us that wouldn't have been able to in the past because of the Internet," White said.
Columbia and Penn also saw slight increases. Columbia received 3.4 percent more applications, totalling 16,438 this year, as compared to last year's 15,903.
Penn received 19,130 applications, about 1.6 percent more than last year's 18,823 applications, according to Dean of Admission Lee Stetson.
Stetson said the volume of applications may be levelling out after several years of an overwhelmingly high volume. "This is nominal; not a major change after the big jumps we've seen over the last few years," Stetson said.
"I think this is indicative of a settling down process, where we won't see increases as great as we have in the past," he added.
He also indicated that the general increase in applications may be a result of the attractiveness of the Ivy League reputation.
"Students are showing interest in the perceived higher-quality schools with better reputations," he said. "Now, more than ever, all of the Ivies are seen as reasonable and desirable options."
Brown and Dartmouth, however, broke, though, the pattern and saw a decreas in applications. Dartmouth's number fell dramatically, by 4.6 percent, from 10,165 last year to 9,700 applications this year. Brown followed suit with a decrease of 1.4 percent, from 16,801 to 16,560 applications.
Hargadon said the University will mail out decision letters the first week of April.
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