Despite recent questions about admission policies and procedures, the University admission office saw an increase in the number of early applicants this year.
There were 2,350 early applicants this year compared to last year's 2,120, about an 11-percent increase, Dean of Admission Fred Hargadon said.
Although the University typically accepts a little less than half of its early applicants, Hargadon said the office had not yet determined how many of this year's applicants it would accept.
"We haven't done any profiling of the applicants yet, so we have no idea of how many members of the Class of 2007 will come from this pool," Hargadon said in an email. "We don't aim for any given number."
The University's admission office received much attention this summer after top officials breached Yale University's admission website.
"Students apply to Princeton because they consider it one of the first-rate universities in the world," Hargadon said. "I don't think the incident that received so much press this summer will affect either the number or the quality of our applicant pool this year."
The early admission process has also come under the radar of higher education leaders, including the University of North Carolina, Stanford University and Yale University, which have thrown out their binding early decision programs in the past year.
Hargadon said the atmosphere surrounding early admission did not affect this year's applicant pool.
Indeed, increases in early applications remained a trend throughout the Ivy League.
Yale topped the Ivies with a 23-percent increase in applications, receiving 2,600 early applications this year compared to last year's 2,100, according to the Yale Daily News.
Dartmouth College saw a 7- to 8-percent increase in applicants, the YDN reported.
The University of Pennsylvania saw a 16-percent increase, and its admission office expects to admit 45 to 48 percent from the early applicant pool, The Daily Pennsylvanian reported.
Columbia University had an 11-percent increase in early applicants and plans to admit 45 to 47 percent into the Class of 2007, according to the Columbia Spectator.
Columbia's admissions office responded to criticism it received after admitting 49 percent of the Class of 2006 from the early applicant pool by lowering that number this year, said Eric Furda, executive director of undergraduate admissions and financial aid.
Hargadon said the most likely factor affecting students' decisions to apply was the economy.
"On the one hand, more students might look to less expensive options for college," he said.
"On the other hand, given Princeton's strong financial aid program, more [students] might be inclined to apply to Princeton."
In 2001, the University announced a financial aid program designed to minimize or eliminate some of the loans students often had to take to attend Princeton.
Admission officials mostly agreed last year that the downturn of the financial market definitely affected early applicant pools.
The Ivies did not see such increases last year, with the average increase in early applicants of about 6 to 7 percent.
Early applicants last year had to deal with mail delays as a result of anthrax scares.
Just earlier this month, Yale and Stanford announced their decisions to end binding early decision.
Princeton officials have maintained their commitment to early decision. President Tilghman has said that at least until Hargadon retires in June and a new admission dean begins, the University will not consider changing early programs.
Harvard, Brown and Cornell universities have yet to release their numbers for early decision.
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