Early admission programs have garnered a great deal of media attention in the past few years--another explanation for this year's record number of applicants.

Admissions officials also cite the cumulative effect of increased recruiting efforts and the new financial aid program announced in September 1998 as factors in the growth of the early applicant pool.

And high school guidance counselors have said that the large number of successful early applicants have encouraged more students to apply early, despite the long-standing admissions office policy that applying early won't give students a better chance of being accepted.

With this year's numbers bucking the trend in admits, Fitzsimmons said he hopes prospective applicants across the country will find themselves reconsidering the idea that an early application is a better application.

"It certainly wouldn't hurt if this year's numbers encourage students--and their parents and counselors--to think twice about applying early," he said. "There are many students who would be much better served by applying regular action."

From a demographic perspective, 48.4 percent of this year's early admits were female, up from last year's rate of 47.3 percent. Geographic diversity was similar to last year, with a slightly higher number of admits from New England and mid-Atlantic regions and slightly lower admits from Canada and abroad.

The early admits represented a more ethnically diverse group, with African-American students comprising 7.7 percent, up from 5.9 percent last year, and Latino students rising from 6.3 to 7.1 percent. Asian-American and Native American admits both dropped slightly.