"I think that students don't feel pressured to commit," said Zachary L. Bercu '04. "It causes less tension in the process."

Outside of Harvard, however, support for early action may be less solid. Some proponents of binding early decision applications have argued that early action puts unnecessary stress on admissions officials and applicants, since the college inevitably accepts some students who are unsure whether they will matriculate.

The Brown Daily Herald reported early this month that Michael Goldberger, director of the Brown College admissions office, said, "There is a strong sentiment that an early decision policy is best for the admissions office, [Brown] University, and for the applicants."

Students accepted under early action in mid-December are not obliged to enroll and have until May 1, the common reply date, to decide which school they will attend.

By contrast, early decision applications--used by most colleges--are binding and compel accepted students to attend in the fall.

Early decision schools are still registering significant increases in early applications--Yale, Princeton, Cornell, and the University of Pennsylvania all announced gains from 10 percent to 16 percent this year.