Princeton received 26,505 applications for admission to the Class of 2017, a slight decrease from last year’s total and down 2.5 percent from the record number received for the Class of 2015. The number of students who applied early-action jumped 10.7 percent from a year ago to 3,810. “We are delighted with the strength of the applicant pool,” said Dean of Admis­sion Janet Rapelye. She said it was not ­surprising to see a “plateau in the applicant pool” because of national demographic changes. The University is aiming for a freshman class of 1,290.