With Early Decision I (ED I) notifications going out today, the Office of Admission announced that despite the significant spike in last year’s applications, the pool of ED I applicants for the class of 2014 has only nine fewer candidates this year. Last year, Wesleyan received a record 509 ED I applications for the class of 2013, up 35 percent from the previous year. So far, the Office of Admission has also already received more applications for Regular Decision then they had received this time last year.

This year’s target class size of 745 students now has 237 spots filled by ED I applicants, of which 54 percent are women. In a significant increase from last year, 71 percent of ED I applicants are from outside New England. Particularly notable is the number of applicants from the Mid-West and West—seven percent of applicants were from the Mid-West and 18 percent were from the West. International students constituted three percent of the application pool. Students of color made up 14 percent of the applicants.

Senior Associate Dean of Admissions Greg Pyke said he was surprised that the University retained the high turnout.

“I’ve been saying for months that we can’t expect another dramatic increase this year,” he said. “That was a big jump forward last year and after [such a jump] there’s generally a consolidation period where it goes back down again. I didn’t expect this, but I’m delighted.”

Pyke speculated that many factors have played into the University’s early decision success.

“Wesleyan continues to be featured in news stories and Roth has been a remarkable spokesman for the University, gaining national attention,” he said.

The University’s peer institutions have witnessed mixed results in this year’s Early Decision process as compared to previous year’s. Bowdoin College experienced a 5 percent increase from their ED pool last year. Williams College dropped about 15 percent. After last year’s record high, Yale’s number of Early Action applicants dropped by 5 percent. Brown’s applications rose by 21 percent following a dramatic drop in 2008.

Pyke stressed that the Office of Admission uses the same program and selection method in Early Decision as in Regular Decision.

“Early Decision is for students who know Wesleyan is their clear first choice and are in a position to apply,” Pyke said. “We’re looking for the same students we always look for—students who take joy in learning, have a capacity to learn, have had success learning in high school, and have contributed to their communities. We want to accept candidates with diverse life experiences to add to the discussion in the Wesleyan community.”

One of the controversies surrounding Early Decision is that it may be disadvantageous to students needing to compare financial aid awards. In fact, some colleges, including Princeton and Harvard, have abolished their early decision programs, claiming it favors the affluent. Wesleyan does not plan on ending the ED program anytime soon and commits to meeting students’ demonstrated financial need, reviewing applications on a need-blind basis. Pyke also pointed out that if families find the net cost of the University too high, they are released from their Early Decision promise. The number of Early Decision admits in the class of 2014 applying for financial aid increased, but at 36 percent. it remains lower than the 39 percent who applied two years ago.

Dean of Admission and Financial Aid Nancy Meislahn said that it is still hard to predict the consequences of the economic recession on applications.

“We know we saw fewer visitors this past summer, as did schools all across New England, and I think that was a function of families trimming back the expenses of the college search,” she wrote in an e-mail to The Argus. “I think the uptick in applicants for financial aid in the early decision pool is another [sign].”

While up to 40 percent of the incoming class is chosen during Early Decision, Pyke said that 85 percent of The Office of Admission’s offers go out in the spring to Regular Decision candidates. According to Pyke, the school relies on Regular Decision to create a more ethnically and economically diverse student body, since that is when most first generation students, students of color, and students outside the Northeast apply.

ED I candidates receive online notification of their acceptance, rejection, or deferral starting at 3 p.m. EST today. The deadline for Regular Decision and ED II applications is January 1.