College applicants have long relied on envelopes—thick you’re in, thin you’re not—as a quick indicator of admission decisions.

But starting this year, two Ivy League schools—Dartmouth College and Yale University—will be posting admissions decisions on-line to let students know their status as early as possible.

And while Harvard currently has no plans to follow suit, Director of Admissions Marlyn McGrath Lewis ’70-’73 says the admissions office has used e-mails to convey decisions to students abroad in the past and may eventually use e-mail to alert all students of Harvard’s decisions.

“We do not have a program to do that at the moment,” McGrath Lewis says, “but I anticipate it’s not far off.”

McGrath Lewis says some applicants may receive admissions decisions via e-mail this year, especially since anthrax threats have disrupted mail service and delivery.

“That’s not something we need to plan ahead, so we’re not ruling it out,” she says. “It will depend on what the overall situation is when we decide to do it, how we think the postal service here and abroad will be serving us and our candidates.”

At Yale, the Class of 2006 admissions decisions will appear on-line as soon as the traditional packets are mailed out, according to Yale Director of Undergraduate Admissions Richard Shaw.

Dartmouth will also be posting both early and regular admissions decisions on a secure website, says Dartmouth Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid Karl M. Furstenberg.

Furstenberg says the Dartmouth admissions office has been looking to electronic communication as a fast and reliable alternative to standard mail to allow early applicants more time to fill out applications from other schools.

“The push for early decision is that students do face pressure for time if they’re not admitted,” he says. “In fairness to students if they’re deferred, they need time to submit other applications.”

The Dartmouth admissions office has moved towards electronic decisions announcements for the last several years and has regularly e-mailed decisions to international students in areas where mail may have been unreliable.

“Last year, about 93 percent of our applicants listed an e-mail address,” Furstenberg says. “A vast majority of people are using electronic communication and are comfortable communicating with us in that medium.”

Under the Dartmouth plan, students will be able to log in using a Personal Identification Number issued to them by Dartmouth to access the admission office’s decision.

“The website will be as secure as anything over the web where people supply confidential information like credit card numbers,” he says, much like the part of Dartmouth’s website that allows studnts to apply on-line and pay the application fee with a credit card.

In case a secure website cannot be completed in time for Dec. 15, Furstenberg says decisions will be e-mailed to applicants.

According to McGrath Lewis, even if Harvard does choose to e-mail applicants, the University has no plans to post decisions on-line.

“At the moment, we’re more inclined to use e-mail,” she says. “It’s more secure.”

Whether by web or e-mail, electronic communication has become the buzzword in admissions offices around the country. Dartmouth has already used e-mail to notify a group of 35,000 prospective students that deadlines this year will be flexible in light of current mail difficulties.

“I think this is definitely the direction that all colleges are moving to in any event,” Furstenberg says. “We were able to reach a large pool of prospective students and get our message out.”

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