Applications for early decision to the Class of 2012 have surpassed last year’s total, according to figures compiled by Admissions.
Early decision applications are considered at two times during the year. For the first round, the College has accepted 147 students out of 179 applications, compared to 123 students out of 145 applications a year ago. The deadline to apply was Nov. 15.
The deadline for the second round of early decision was the same as regular admission, Tuesday, Jan. 15, with decision letters mailed by Feb. 1. Regular decision letters will be sent at the end of March.
Students applying under early decision have made a commitment to attend Union if admitted.
The 147 students already accepted include 78 women and 69 men.
The expected size of the Class of 2012 is 565.
“The quality of our applicant pool continues to be strong,” said Ann Fleming Brown, interim vice president for Admissions and Financial Aid. “The fact that our early decision numbers have grown is further proof that more and more students like what they see at Union and make it their first choice.”
The competition for the Class of 2012 follows a strong recruitment last year. The 561 students in the Class of 2011 were chosen from a record 4,837 applications, and 67 percent were in the top 10 percent of their high school class.
For the first time since the College began admitting women in September 1970, the number of female freshmen surpassed male students, 286 to 275.