02/03/92
CONTACT: Stanford University News Service (650) 723-2558
STANFORD -- Applications for next year's freshman class at Stanford are showing little change from last year's total, according to the Office of the Dean of Undergraduate Admissions.
As of Feb. 1, the office had received 13,406 applications, including 148 applications still awaiting the application fee or fee waiver. That number could climb higher as forms mailed on time but from distant locations reach Stanford.
The final number of applications in 1991 was 13,530.
James Montoya, Stanford's new dean of admissions, said he was "pleased" with the number of applications this year, "given the decline in the number of high school graduates nationwide."
Applications to Stanford set a record of 17,652 in 1985, fell to 16,138 in 1986, then increased again to 16,884 in 1987. There were decreases in each of the three following years, with application totals of 15,828 in 1988, 14,869 in 1989 and a 10-year low of 12,953 in 1990 (see chart).
According to Vivian Barry, assistant dean for administration in the Office of Undergraduate Admissions, the mid-1980s rise was probably based on a variety of factors, including the publicity surrounding Super Bowl XIX, which was played in Stanford Stadium, and the U.S. News and World Report survey that ranked Stanford number one in 1987.
Factors in the recent decline, besides the baby bust, could range from the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake to the increased cost of college application fees nationwide, she said.
The admissions staff now faces the task of selecting a pool to which admission will be offered. In recent years, offers have been made to roughly 2,500 applicants, of whom about 60 percent enroll.
1991 13,530 1986 16,138
1990 12,953 1985 17,652
1989 14,869 1984 15,600
1988 15,828 1983 14,522
1987 16,884 1982 13,900
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