For the first time in the past four years, Harvard surpassed Brown to take the lead in Ivy League early applications, the Brown Daily Herald reported this week.

Harvard's early applicant pool grew to a record high of nearly 12 percent with 2011 prospective members of the Class of 1990 sending applications to Byerly Hall before November 15. Brown's early applicant pool shrunk from 2000 to 1749, according to the Herald report.

The two schools, along with Princeton, Yale and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, began the early action program six years ago. Under this program, high school seniors may choose to file an application to one of the five schools by November 1 and receive an answer from the college by the end of December.

The four Ivy League schools will mail their decisions this year on December 13, the Herald reported.

Director of Admissions Laura G. Fisher said earlier this month that she thought the increase in early applications was due to the increased emphasis that high school college couselors have placed on applying early.

The rise in applications also stems from students' thinking that it is easier to get into a college if they apply early, Fisher said. She said that although the statistics seem to suggest this, the early application pool is self-selecting since highly-qualified students tend to apply early.

Brown Associate Director of Admission Nancy Harley told the Herald that the admissions office was expecting the decline in admissions after last year's increase. The Brown early applicant pool has shown a see-saw trend in the past four years.

Princeton also experienced a decrease in the number of high school seniors who opted to apply early this year, with about a 4 percent decline. Yale's early applicant pool reached a record high this year at 1602.