Nearly 14,000 high school seniors submitted regular decision applications to Dartmouth this year, a 10 percent increase over last year's number, according to the Undergraduate Office of Admissions.
The official number of total applicants is currently unknown, however, because many applications come in late or are still missing components. Undergraduate Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid Karl Furstenberg estimates the final number of applications will surpass 14,000.
The record-breaking number of submissions -- following in the footsteps of November's 12 percent increase in early decision applicants -- continues a five-year growth trend in the total number of applicants. Since 2000, Dartmouth has experienced a 10 percent bump in the number of applications received every year.
Furstenberg credited the growing interest in Dartmouth to three factors, the first of which is Dartmouth's rising popularity.
"Dartmouth is definitely a 'hot' place right now," Furstenberg said. "We are getting a lot of positive press, and there's just an increased awareness of Dartmouth as a great academic institution."
As proof of the College's mounting attractiveness, Furstenberg cited The New York Times' coverage of the College's innovative technological research as well as portrayals of Dartmouth on popular television shows like "The O.C."
Furstenberg also pointed to the size of graduating high school classes as a cause of the large number of applications.
"There are simply more students graduating from high-school," he said, "and the stronger parts of that pool are drawn to elite schools like Dartmouth."
A third factor contributing to the application increase is the newly available online application, Furstenberg said. Hopeful members of the class of 2010 were able to fill out the entire common application and peer recommendation supplement from their home computer. Of the almost 14,000 applications Dartmouth received, more than 10,000 were submitted electronically.
"Electronic applications mean that it's just flat-out easier to apply," Furstenberg said.
The availability and convenience of applying online also helped boost the number of international applications by 19 percent. Applications from students of color were also up 12 percent from last year, and applications from women were up 15 percent.
"What's really fantastic about our growing numbers is that they are across the board," Furstenberg said.
Although an increase in the number of applications a school receives usually results in a decline in the yield of attending students, Furstenberg expressed optimism that Dartmouth's yield would hold steady at about 50 percent, where it has remained for the last five years.
"Dartmouth is still such a first-choice, desirable school. I don't think the yield will be affected at all," he said.
As the number of applications continues to rise each year, the admissions office is faced with a more challenging selection process, according to Furstenberg.
"We're really entering new territory," Furstenberg said. "We receive applications from so many talented people every year."
