Duke sees big rise in Early Admission applicants for Class of 2016

DURHAM, N.C. --
Duke University has seen a significant jump in the number of students applying for Early Decision for the freshman class that will enroll next fall.
Last year, 2,207 students applied for Early Decision. This year, that number has risen to 2,716, according to the school. That’s the largest increase in a single year, Duke said.
Students who are accepted for Early Decision commit to Duke. Last year, Duke admitted 650 Early Decision candidates, about 38 percent of the freshman class.
“How many students we admit this year will depend on the nature of the applicant pool,” Christoph Guttentag, dean of undergraduate admissions, said in a statement. “If there are a greater number of compelling applicants, we may be able to admit more than last year. But in any case, given the number of Regular Decision applicants we expect, we don't want to fill much more than about 40 percent of the class with Early Decision applicants.”
Last year, in addition to the 2,207 Early Decision applications, Duke received more than 27,500 Regular Decision applications, the most in school history.
Guttentag reported that application increases occurred across the applicant pool, including among students applying both to the Trinity College of Arts and Sciences and the Pratt School of Engineering; among each ethnic or racial group; among both international and U.S. students, and among students applying for financial aid.
Top states for applicants are North Carolina, New York, California, Florida, New Jersey and Texas. 
Students who applied Early Decision should learn in mid-December whether they have been accepted. Duke's deadline for Regular Decision applications is Jan. 2.
The Duke Early Decision program is a binding commitment but all schools do not have a binding Early Decision program, and the process is controversial in that some belief it binds a young student to a school too early.
UNC-Chapel Hill, for example, has a non-binding Early Action program but dropped its binding Early Decision in 2002.
"We want to encourage students to approach their education seriously, not by using strategy, and we hope to contribute to a national climate that encourages thoughtful choice," Chancellor James Moeser said at the time.
Princeton University and Harvard University dropped their single admission program in 2006 but later returned to a single-admission format.
Princeton now has an early admission program for students who will enter in September 2012. But the program only requires that a student apply early only to Princeton, but does not require that student to accept Princeton’s offer until the end of the regular admissions process.

http://www2.nbc17.com/news/2011/nov/03/duke-sees-big-rise-early-admission-applicants-ar-1570562/