The Class of 2006 admissions process has officially kicked into high gear, with a record 6,128 applicants vying for a spot under the Early Action program.

The slightly larger pool—compared to last year’s crop of 6,096 Early Action applicants—can be attributed to a growing high school student population coupled with Harvard’s aggressive recruiting, according to Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid William R. Fitzsimmons ’67.

“This year there are slightly more high school seniors, as there will be every year until 2008,” he said. “It’s really what we would have predicted based on the demographics.”

But the increase in applications is especially encouraging in a year when the national press and admissions officers around the country were predicting a drop in applications to nationally recognized colleges. Many thought students would choose to remain close to home in light of safety concerns after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

“There was reasonable speculation that you would see differences in geographical distribution [in applications],” Fitzsimmons said.

So far, those predictions have not come to pass. Fitzsimmons, who saw large crowds turn out at recruiting visits around the country even after Sept. 11, said he is not surprised.

“We saw right away that students were not backing off,” he said.

In fact, applications are on the rise from previously underrepresented areas.

A 19 percent increase in applicants from the Midwest boosted this year’s total numbers, as 788 students from the nation’s heartland applied, compared to last year’s 663.

Fitzsimmons said this year’s substantial increase may signal a resurgence for the Midwest, although he added that the applicant numbers will have to remain consistently high for the next two years in order to signal a true trend.

“For the past five or six years, we’ve been hitting the Midwest very hard with recruiting,” he said. “Maybe it’s just beginning to pay off this year.”

A general rise in applications has been noted at other schools as well. Georgetown, which some expected to have lower application numbers because of its location in a targeted city, saw an increase in applications to its Early Decision program with 4,400 applicants, according to Fitzsimmons.

Record application numbers for the Early Action program notwithstanding, Fitzsimmons said that the admissions office will have to monitor application and acceptance rates more carefully than ever this year.

“I think this will be a very challenging year for us to try to forecast the yield,” he said.

The Early Action application numbers may not be good predictors for regular action totals.

On average, regular applicants tend to be different from their Early Action counterparts, Fitzsimmons said. They are less affluent and have less access to good counseling, he said, and are less committed to attending Harvard over other schools.

“The [regular action applicants] may be in families where there is less sophistication or might be from families who have more concerns about studying far away from home,” he said. “We could still see a decline in applications even though demographics suggest we will get a slight increase.”

Acceptance rates may be affected as well.

With the nation facing threats of possible terrorist attacks and international students having to contend with a more rigorous student visa application process, more students may choose to attend schools closer to home.

“We will have to stay alert through the spring and summer,” he said. “After May, it’s possible we’ll do more business off the wait list than usual.”

Despite the upcoming challenges, the admissions office has found another reason to be happy with this year’s Early Action yield.

Fitzsimmons pointed out that while the admissions office is thrilled to set a new record, it also welcomes a leveling off for Early Action application numbers, which have hovered slightly above 6,000 for the last three years.

“We think that some of the hysteria about applying early might be abating, as far as getting in goes,” he said.

This year will mark the first year when applicants can opt to receive notification of admission over a secure e-mail account on Dec. 14. Traditional letters will also be mailed to all applicants, Fitzsimmons said.

—Staff writer Eugenia V. Levenson can be reached at levenson@fas.harvard.edu.