Applications for Class of 2014 Increase 19%

The number of applicants applying to Princeton increased by 19% this year--a record 26,166 applicants compared to last year's 21,963, according to the University.Ninety percent of this year's applicants said that they intended to apply for financial aid, versus 75% of last year's applicants.Dean of Admission Janet Rapelye attributed the marked increase in applications to the school's financial aid program, recruitment efforts, and an easier application process.What was easier this year?:

Applicants for the first time this year could participate in Score Choice, a program offered by the College Board that provides students with the option of sending to colleges and universities their three best SAT scores (rather than a history of all test scores). Also for the first time this year, the students were required to submit just two SAT subject tests, while past applicants submitted three.The Office of Admission made the change because of the SAT writing section introduced by the College Board in 2005 that now helps admission officers evaluate students, in addition to research indicating that many students take only two subject tests, Rapelye said."Because of our commitment to reaching out to students from lower socio-economic backgrounds -- those who may not have had the college counseling to start taking the tests early in high school -- and because we have three parts of the SAT for our evaluations, we changed our requirement this year," she said.

(Our reaction: Kids have it so much easier nowadays!)The University said the number of male and female applicants were evenly balanced. In addition, the University said the budget for financial aid is projected to be $113 million for next year. The financial aid budget this year was $103 million.