LONDON--Students flock to Harvard from all corners of the world, and the United Kingdom (U.K.) is no exception. But, in the home of royal pomp and Shakespearean masterpieces, the traditions of Oxford and Cambridge rival the lure of Harvard.

Still, Harvard is not losing out in quality or quantity, despite the British competition, said Helen C. Maclennan '57, the coordinator of alumni interviewers for the (U.K.).

"There are more applicants and better applicants because schools are better informed," said Maclennan, a retired schoolteacher who lives in central London.

Harvard received 162 applicants from the U.K. for the class of 2001, according to Laurie M. Smith, a representative in the admissions office. Maclennan said the office has processed about 140 applications so far this year and in the end will probably log more British applicants than it did last year. She added that most of the applicants are from southern England.

This year 30 to 40 students applied early action from the U.K., and the admissions office accepted six, according to Maclennan.

Brooke Lampley, the only student admitted early from the American School in London, expressed her excitement about a prospective Harvard career.

"I really had a favorite school [Harvard]," Lampley said. "I have always wanted to go to a big school that is urban and has a campus feel."

Harvard admits--and rejects--students from some of the most renowned British preparatory academies and international schools in the U.K., including Eton College, Harrow School, Melvin Girls College, St. Paul's School, the American School in London and the American School in Switzerland's (TASIS) England branch.

But Harvard draws mainly from the ranks of international students studying at these schools rather than from England's own.

Eton College--an all-boys preparatory school nestled below the Elizabethan turrets of Windsor Castle--boasts Prince William, heir to the British throne and son of Princess Diana and Prince Charles, among its list of talented scholars.

Andrew D. Halksworth, a modern language teacher at Eaton who advises students applying to schools in the U.S., refused to comment on the prince's college search. If William did apply, he would be an exception to the rule.

"We rarely have regular British citizens applying to the States. Most have some American connection." Halksworth said.

Halksworth said about 10 men apply to the U.S. each year from Eton out of a graduating class of 250 students. "I have two boys who were accepted for early application at Harvard," he said. "And two more are waiting."

Officials from Winchester College--another of UK's top prep schools--and the prestigious Westminster School, situated in the shadow of Westminster Abbey also that for most of their students, the focus is on matriculating to Oxford or Cambridge.

"Those going to the States tend to be people who hold dual nationality with the States," said J. Martin Gregory, director of guidance at Winchester College. "Or, alternatively, Hong Kong or Singapore Chinese or people with international backgrounds...there are very few British citizens" from Winchester studying in the U.S., he said.

Guidance officers at both schools said they usually send fewer than a halfdozen students to college in the U.S. every year, though Harvard is generally a top choice.