Applications for the University's binding early decision program for the Class of 2010 rose nine percent over the previous year's figure, amounting to the second-highest number of applications in the past decade, the Communications Office said Friday.
The 2,230 applications received thus far by the Admission Office, however, fall short of rivals Harvard and Yale's figures and a recent Princeton high of 2,350 early decision applications for the Class of 2007.
Dean of Admission Janet Rapelye did not respond to requests seeking comment last week.
Yale saw a 3.4 percent increase in the number of applicants to its non-binding early action program, rising to 4,065 from last year's 3,933, according to figures from the Yale Daily News. Applicants to Harvard's non-binding program slipped 5 percent to "nearly 4,000," The Harvard Crimson reported last week.
Several other peer schools, each of which received more early applicants than Princeton, saw increases in their figures.
Penn's early decision program received a record 4,148 applications, 21 percent more than last year, according to the Daily Pennsylvanian. Columbia saw "a new high" with 2,275 applicants to its early decision program, the Columbia Spectator reported.
Stanford also saw an increase in its pool of early action candidates with "nearly 4,400" applications, the Stanford Daily said.
Following a sharp drop of 23 percent in early decision applicants to the University with the Class of 2008, numbers have been steadily climbing each year, with a 12 percent rise for the Class of 2009 and a nine percent increase this year for the Class of 2010.
The Admission Office is considering switching to a non-binding early action program, Rapelye has said previously.
A Washington, D.C.-based public relations firm, Widmeyer Communications, was hired last year to conduct research on prospective students' opinions regarding a switch to a non-binding early action plan.
Rapelye has yet to make the results of that study public.
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