<p>The</a> Early Line on Early Applications for the Class of 2016 - NYTimes.com</p>
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If the figures gathered thus far are any indication, such programs are continuing to grow in popularity this fall, despite a sluggish economy that would otherwise seem to give families reason to hedge their bets. But every year serves as a reminder that the quest to get into the nation’s most competitive private colleges is often immune to the economic pressures on many families.
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<p>Duke is up 23%, NU is up 15%, BU is up 19.7%, but MIT and UPenn are down a bit. UPenn believe they lost some applicants to Princeton and Harvard SCEA.</p>