Northwestern received 33,200 applications for Class of 2018

With Regular Decision applications due Jan. 1, Northwestern received approximately 33,200 applications for the class of 2018,  a 1.3 percent increase from last year.
With 45 percent of the class already filled through early decision applicants, Christopher Watson, dean of undergraduate admissions, predicted the overall acceptance rate will fall somewhere between 12 and 13 percent. For the class of 2017, the University received 32,772 applications with a 13.9 percent acceptance rate.
Early decision applications increased by nearly 15 percent for the class of 2018. Applications have risen by more than 10,000 since 2007, when NU admitted 27 percent of all applicants.
Regular admission decisions will be released in late March.

http://dailynorthwestern.com/2014/01/08/campus/northwestern-receives-record-number-of-applications-for-class-of-2018/