Number of admission applicants dips slightly

The number of applicants for admission to Princeton dropped 1.9 percent from last year’s record number, with 26,663 students competing for 1,300 slots in the Class of 2016. That includes 3,476 early-action applicants.

There was no clear application trend among Princeton’s peers. Several showed increases: Stanford (7 percent), Yale (5.8), Cornell (3.7), Dartmouth (3), and MIT (1). Others saw decreases: Columbia (8.9 percent), Brown (7), Harvard (1.9), and Penn (1.7).

“The number of graduating high school students in this country has dropped in the past few years, so we have been expecting the pool to plateau at some point,” said Dean of Admission Janet Rapelye.

The University offered admission to 726 early-action applicants in December. Other ­students will be notified by late March.