<p>7.7% Total Increase from 2009, Bulk of increase in RD round. Lots of interesting conclusions can be drawn.</p>
<p>Admissions Office Reports Record Stats Yet Again
Over 20,000 Prospectives From Around the World Apply for Fewer Than 1,500 Spots in the Class of 2010</p>
<p>By Josh Hirschland
Spectator Staff Writer</p>
<p>January 25, 2006</p>
<p>Columbia College and the School of Engineering and Applied Science both received a record number of applications this year, with nearly 20,000 students applying for fewer than 1,500 slots open to undergraduates in the class of 2010.</p>
<p>In total, Columbias Office of Undergraduate Admissions received a new high of 19,730 applications, nine percent more than last year. Both the College, with 17,061 applications, and SEAS, with 2,675, posted new records, with jumps of eight and 14.7 percent over last year, respectively, according to numbers released yesterday by the admissions office.</p>
<p>This larger applicant pool continues to represent the academic strength and diversity of background, experience, interest, and thought that we seek at Columbia, Jessica Marinaccio, director of the Office of Undergraduate Admissions, said in a statement.</p>
<p>International students contributed to the upsurge. Marinaccio noted that the office received 23 percent more applications from international students, including 26 percent more applications from Asia than last year.</p>
<p>While both schools saw modest gains during early decision, the bulk of the increase in applications came during regular decision, where CC and SEAS saw increases of 8.6 and 16 percent over last year, respectively.</p>
<p>More than a third of the slots for next years class were filled under early decision, during which Columbia admitted 26 percent of its applicants. Now, the 26 percent of CC and 14 percent of SEAS early applicants who were deferred will be lumped with the 15,104 and 2,395 regular decision applicants in what promises to be the most competitive pool in history.</p>
<p>Last year, 10.7 percent of College applicants and 26.7 percent of SEAS applicants were admitted from the total pool for an overall admit rate of 12.8 percent.</p>
<p>Barnard College also had a record number of early applications, 457, this year, admitting 38 percent of them. The number of regular decision applications received by Barnard has not been announced, but Jennifer Fondiller, dean of admissions at Barnard, has stated that early indications show that they should be up from last year.</p>
<p>The deadline for Columbia applications to be postmarked was Jan. 2. However, the announcement of total applications was delayed as latecomers rolled in over the past few weeks. Admissions decisions for all remaining applicants will be announced in early April.</p>