The Committee on Admissions and Financial Aid has admitted the largest group of applicants in the history of the College's Early Action program. The Committee admitted 1,048 applicants to the Class of 2002 from the Early Action pool this year, compared to 985 students admitted early to the Class of 2000, and 902 admitted to the Class of 2001.

Applications for Early Action rose 9 percent over last year's total, reaching a record 4,213 applicants.

"Both the quantity and quality of the Early Action pool reached unprecedented levels this year," said William R. Fitzsimmons, Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid. "The Admissions Committee was extremely impressed with the remarkable array of talents displayed by the newly admitted members of the Class of 2002. The recent announcements of this year's Rhodes and Marshall scholarship winners remind us, once again, how exciting it is to see how such talents can be nurtured and developed during the college years. The many accomplishments already in evidence for the Class of 2002 bode well for the next four years and beyond."

Applications for Early Action have risen steadily for quite some time, according to Director of Admissions Marlyn McGrath Lewis. "For example, 1,779 students applied for the Class of 1994, and we have witnessed increases almost every year, including a jump of nearly 1,000 the year that several other national institutions switched from Early Action to binding Early Decision programs which require admitted students to attend.

"We continue to think that the flexibility of Early Action, which allows admitted students to apply to other colleges, is responsible for its great popularity," Lewis continued. "Students who ultimately choose to come here have had the benefit of most of their senior year to consider their college choices and the various accompanying financial aid offers."

The Admissions Office ascribes a large measure of Harvard's enduring appeal to high school seniors to the College's financial aid programs.

"We will probably offer more than $80 million in financial aid this year," said Director of Financial Aid James S. Miller. "More than the magnitude of aid, what people appreciate is both that admission to the College remains need-blind -- absolutely independent of a family's ability to pay -- and that the College meets each family's demonstrated need in full."

The popularity of the College is also due to a number of other factors, Lewis noted, including the stellar reputation of the faculty, the high quality of facilities, and the accomplishments of undergraduates and alumni. "Students continue to rave about the renovations of Annenberg Hall, Sanders Theatre, and the Barker Center," she said.

The geographical distribution of early acceptances this year remains relatively unchanged from last year. Also unchanged from last year are the fields of concentration in which admitted students have expressed interest.

This year's early acceptances also show the College's continuing success in attracting talented minority students. Asian Americans compose about 22 percent of early acceptances to the Class of 2002. Almost 5 percent are African-American students, and another 5.3 percent are students of Hispanic origin. More than 45 percent of the students admitted early to the Class of 2002 are women, compared to 44 percent for the Class of 2000 and 46.8 percent for the Class of 2001.

Letters were mailed Dec. 12. Final decisions were deferred on 2,940 students, 176 applications were denied, 39 were incomplete, and 10 withdrew from consideration. Of the 1,048 students admitted early, as many as 85 to 90 percent of them are expected to matriculate next September. Students have until May 1 to notify Harvard of their intention to enroll.