The number of applications for early admission to the Class of 2001 set another record, but did so by the slightest of margins. Applications rose to 3,911, just edging ahead of last year's 3,909. This was the seventh year in a row of increases which started with the 1,779 who applied to the Class of 1994 and included a jump last year from 2,990 to 3,909.

"It appears that we may finally be witnessing a leveling off of a long upward trend toward more students applying to college early in their senior year," said William R. Fitzsimmons, Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid. "Last year, after Yale, Princeton, and Stanford adopted binding early decision programs, there were record numbers of early applications here and elsewhere. So far this year many colleges have recorded numbers that are more or less in line with last year, with no word yet of any with changes of the magnitude we saw last year."

There was much speculation after last year's experience that this year would bring further change and unpredictability for early application programs. "But predictions that colleges would be swamped with yet another huge increase in early applications did not pan out," said Fitzsimmons.

"Given the attention and considerable anxiety focused on early programs during the past year, perhaps students and their high school counselors wisely stepped back and reviewed the pros and cons of whether one should accelerate the normal application timetable for college admission. Obviously, many decided they did not want to rush into such an important decision, especially given the complexities connected with applying to early programs."

Some colleges require students admitted early to attend (a program called "early decision"); other colleges, such as Harvard and Radcliffe, offer a program called "early action" in which students admitted early are allowed to apply elsewhere. Some colleges tell students that applying early gives them an advantage for admission, while others, Harvard and Radcliffe included, say it does not increase one's chances for admission.

"It has always been true that many students have felt the need to use the senior year to think through the many excellent options American higher education offers. This enables them, ultimately, to determine the best match for their individual needs," said Fitzsimmons. Harvard and Radcliffe's nonbinding early action program, which has been in place for many years, is designed to help meet prospective students' various needs flexibly. The program allows students to consider carefully the full range of their admission and financial aid choices with the benefit of the perspective attained during the senior year, often a period of significant personal and academic growth. Indeed, Harvard and Radcliffe's admission letter urges students to consider deferring their enrollment for a year to gain additional experience and insights before entering the College. Experience has persuaded officials here that it is usually better not to rush ahead in choosing or entering college.

Applying for financial aid does not affect admissions decisions at any point in Harvard and Radcliffe's process. "Whether students apply early action or at the regular time (January 1), their financial aid award will be the same and will be based solely on demonstrated financial need. Indeed, this past year the College had 70 percent of our students on some kind of financial aid," said James S. Miller, director of financial aid.

"This summer Harvard sent to over 11,000 secondary schools a lengthy statement about early admissions programs and about Harvard and Radcliffe's early action program in particular," said Miller. The statement was also reproduced in this year's application booklet.

There was some concern last year about the fact that many of the nation's most selective colleges admitted significant numbers of students under early programs. At Harvard and Radcliffe, however, Marlyn McGrath Lewis, director of admissions, noted that the only thing that really changed last year was the timing of when many of the strongest applicants chose to apply.

"Analysis of last year's decisions confirms that we achieved our stated objective of admitting the same applicants, as it were, whether they applied under the early or regular action programs. It is clear that we did not admit weaker students early or deny better applicants later," said Lewis.

Because of the strength of last year's early action pool, Harvard admitted 985 students in early action out of a total of 2,074 admits for the Class of 2000. "Clearly the early action pool last year was unusually strong, but that has generally been the case here for quite some time. As a group, early action candidates have always presented unusually strong credentials across the board," said Lewis.

"Our early action program, unlike the early notification programs of some other colleges, does not use a different standard of excellence for admission, but we do hold ourselves to a particularly high degree of certainty. That is, members of the Admissions Committee must feel absolutely certain that the decision would be positive under the regular action program," said Lewis. The Committee may vote to admit, deny, or, when the case for admission is not sufficiently clear, defer an applicant for another thorough consideration in comparison with regular action applicants. Indeed, the Committee ultimately admitted 112 candidates in the spring who had been deferred in December.

"The percentage of early action applicants to the Class of 2001 in terms of gender, race, and geographical location remains substantially unchanged from the previous year, although there are slightly more women in this year's pool -- 47.2 percent compared to last year's 45.8 percent," said Fitzsimmons. The Admissions Office is now reviewing applications and expects to mail out decisions by Dec. 13. Admitted students will have until May 1 to accept or decline Harvard and Radcliffe's offer of admission.