<p>ilovebagels: from what I can see, I think Duke’s 32% increase occurred because of Duke officials spending the recruiting season talking more about how “the acceptance rate is higher for early decision applicants.” If the admissions officers spread that message, I could see an extra 500 kids applying early, and bumping up ED apps by 1/3. </p>
<p>Look here for more info: [Early</a> Decision apps up 33 percent over last fall | The Chronicle](<a href=“http://dukechronicle.com/article/early-decision-apps-33-percent-over-last-fall]Early”>http://dukechronicle.com/article/early-decision-apps-33-percent-over-last-fall)</p>
<p>Moreover, as Duke continues to move past the Lacrosse incident, admissions numbers continue to rise. </p>
<p>This year, I think Duke and Univ of Chicago had the highest early app increases. Duke had a 32% increase from last year, and Chicago had a 54% increase in early apps from last year (a 32% increase from the then all-time high in 2007). For more info on Duke and Chicago, check here and here:</p>
<p>[Early</a> Decision Applications Up At Duke - Durham County - MyNC.com](<a href=“http://durhamcounty.mync.com/site/durhamcounty/news/story/43946/early-decision-applications-up-at-duke/]Early”>http://durhamcounty.mync.com/site/durhamcounty/news/story/43946/early-decision-applications-up-at-duke/)</p>
<p>[College</a> records significant increase in early-action applications | The University of Chicago](<a href=“http://news.uchicago.edu/news.php?asset_id=1802]College”>http://news.uchicago.edu/news.php?asset_id=1802)</p>
<p>For Chicago, I think the move to the common app (this now being the 2nd year on the common app) helped a lot, and the new admissions dean is known for being a bit of a recruiting whiz. </p>
<p>UPenn had an increase after a few years of stagnancy. Why did the increase occur? Is Furda just getting better? The schools with the big increases tend to have a drastic change (i.e. Chicago going to the Common App, Duke changing its message to students and counselors, etc.), so maybe Furda and co. just recruited a bit harder this year?</p>