Early apps increase by 10 percent

After a steep drop last year, the number of applications received for the University's early decision program nearly rebounded to previous levels, amounting to a "healthy increase" of 10 percent, Dean of Admission Janet Rapelye said Wednesday.

As of today, the admission office had received exactly 2,000 early decision applications for the Class of 2009. Though this figure is up from last year's 1,818 applications, it still falls below the all-time high of 2,350 early applications for the Class of 2007, two years ago.

"What I am really heartened by is the increase in the early decision pool and that students are using each of the four ways to apply to Princeton," Rapelye said. "I am delighted about that."

It is unlikely that the portion of the student body admitted in the early decision program — usually around 50 percent — will change significantly this year, Rapelye said, while noting that she has no inhibitions about crossing the 50-percent mark.

"If we set an artificial number and defer students, they're not going to wait for us," she said, pointing to the competition Princeton faces from Harvard, Yale and Stanford — the three schools to which Princeton most often loses applicants. "We go with quality and we have [crossed the 50-percent mark] in the past."

Admissions officials from those three schools declined to release their colleges' early application figures.

Last year, Yale and Stanford adopted "single-choice" early action programs, meaning applicants could apply early to only one school but acceptance was not binding. Both colleges saw their early application figures rise significantly, by 42 and 62 percent, respectively.

At the same time, Harvard dropped its liberal "multi-choice" early action program, which allowed students to apply early to as many schools as they pleased, in favor of the single-choice program. The size of its early pool subsequently dropped 47 percent.

New options prove popular

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Though it is too soon to know anything about the makeup of the early decision pool, Rapelye attributed the growth in applications to increased efforts to reach out to underrepresented groups, including low-income and minority students. She also cited the introduction of several new methods for applying to the University.

For the first time, the admission office is accepting the Common Application — used by Harvard, Yale and over 250 other colleges — for the Class of 2009. Additionally, students can apply online using either the University's application or the Common App.

The online applications were popular: Rapelye reported that about half of the applicant pool chose them. Overall, roughly 25 percent of all early applicants chose the Common App over the University's own application.

Though the Common App proved to be less popular among the early decision pool, of the over 9,000 students who have begun online applications for the University's regular decision pool, it is being used over Princeton's application by a factor of three to one, Rapelye said.

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The 9,000 figure is only a preliminary indication of the total number of applicants. It does not take into account paper applications, and there is no telling how many more students will initiate online applications between now and the Jan. 2 deadline.

Addressing the discrepancy in the popularity of the Common App in the early pool versus the regular pool, Rapelye sought to dispel any notion that the University prefers its own application to the Common App.

"We're not looking at the form they use," she said. "We're looking at their accomplishments."

ED vs. EA debate continues

There is no word on whether the University will continue to use its binding early decision program, which has drawn both praise and criticism from students, parents and guidance counselors, in the future.

Rapelye said the program is the "best fit for this year," but added that administrators will engage in a "thoughtful, deliberate discussion" about whether it will continue to meet the University's needs.

"We're in a position of strength," she said. "We can decide what our next move is or not to make a move at all."