The Early Decision (ED) committee will convene today to begin the admission process for the first members of the Class of 2015.
"We are pleased about the 11 percent increase in ED I applications," wrote Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid, Scott Meiklejohn in an e-mail to the Orient.
This year's ED I applicants rose from 511 for the Class of 2014 to 568, and there was a large increase in female applicants, from 286 to 329. The number of male applicants rose slightly as well, from 225 last year to 239.
ED I applications from New Englanders rose to 47.2 percent this year, up from last year's 43.2 percent but lower than the Class of 2013's total of 48.6 percent.
In comparison, the percentage of applicants from the Mid-Atlantic region has risen to 25.2 percent, the highest that it has been in the past three years.
The amount of international ED I applicants increased as well, rising from 5.9 percent for the Class of 2014 to 7.2 percent for the incoming Class of 2015.
Forty-seven students applied through ED I from the West, 39 from the Midwest, 23 from the South and seven from the Southwest, with all of the regions less represented than they were last year.
With 43 applicants this year, the number of legacy applications is significantly higher than in last year's ED I pool, but only slightly higher than the 39 ED I legacy applicants for the Class of 2013.
Aside from this change, "Most of the other changes [in applicant demographics] aren't too dramatic," said Meiklejohn.
The number of students of color applying for ED I admission has remained relatively similar for the past three years.
At 68 applicants, the pool for the Class of 2015 has more applicants of color than those the previous two years.
In recent years, the ED I admissions pool has received an almost constant percentage of applicants from public high schools. This year, the proportion is 54.2 percent, barely lower than last year's 55 percent.
Nearly 13 percent of the ED I applicants for the Class of 2015 attend parochial high schools, and approximately 33 percent attend private high schools.
"We are very happy with the quality of the applicant pool," said Meiklejohn.
The Office of Admissions expects to mail acceptance letters by next Friday, December 10.