The University of Pennsylvania and Dartmouth College both saw an increase in the number of applications of about 15 percent, according to The Daily Pennsylvanian and The Dartmouth. Stanford reported that its number of applications increased by approximately 7 percent.
Fitzsimmons said that while it was too soon to know how many students will receive acceptance letters in the spring, his office will be careful to limit the number of offers it extends and the size of its waitlist in order to avoid over-enrollment.
“We still have the same name number of beds available. That’s the non-negotiable number,” he said. “As we go through the process we’ll get a sense of what the climate is.”
Last year, 2,205 students were eventually offered admission to the College. Of that number 2,110 were initially accepted in April leading to a record low acceptance rate of 6.9 percent.
This year applicants will be notified of admissions decisions on March 30.
—Staff writer Justin C. Worland can be reached at jworland@college.harvard.edu.