The Business School--which this year has taken steps to limit the number of applicants--reported a slight drop in prospective students. The school no longer accepts applicants who take the GMAT as late as the March testing date, saying that people who delay taking the exam generally are less qualified anyway.

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Katherine Graham, chairman and chief executive officer of the Washington Post, will be M.I.T.'s commencement speaker this year.

Graham, who served as the Post's publisher from 1969-1979, will be the first outside speaker at an M.I.T. commencement in nearly two decades. For the last 18 years, the Institute's president has been the commencement speaker.

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Harvard tuition is rising fast, but not as quickly as the salaries of top Harvard Real Estate (HRE) Administrators, State tax forms filed recently by HRE indicate jumps of $16,000 for HRE President Sally Zeckhauser, $10,000 for Treasurer S. Michael Hawe; and $17,000 for Vice President Robert Silverman. A leader of the Harvard Tenants' Union called the 1981 salary hikes "outstanding."