A Rising Tide of Applications to Harvard Appears to Crest While we're careful on The Choice to remind readers that there are more than 2,000 four-year colleges in this country, we're also aware that there is a disproportionate interest in some brand-name institutions including Harvard. So it is in that spirit that we report that after five consecutive years of record-breaking growth in the number of applications received, Harvard announced on Thursday that it had experienced a slight dip in the application period that just concluded. Harvard said it received a total number of 34,285 applications for its next freshman class, the class of 2016, down 1.9 percent from last year's record of 34,950. To underscore the point that there is not necessarily any rhyme or reason to application patterns in any given year (a point made in a Choice post earlier this week), we note that three other Ivy League institutions including Dartmouth, Cornell and Yale each saw its application numbers increase this year, while applications to the University of Pennsylvania fell slightly and those to Columbia dropped considerably. Moreover, the overall increase in applications to Harvard in recent years has been staggering; just a decade ago, fewer than 19,000 applied. You can find our latest tally of applications at nearly 60 colleges and universities in the accompanying chart which we've been updating as we receive figures. William R. Fitzsimmons, the dean of admissions and financial aid at Harvard, said he believed several factors might be responsible for this year's drop. "The return of early action here and at Princeton and the University of Virginia may have led more students to make their college choices earlier and not apply to as many colleges in regular action," Mr. Fitzsimmons said in a statement. He also cited "demographic downturns in the number of high school seniors, particularly in the Northeast." Mr. Fitzsimmons said he actually interpreted the tapering in applications as a positive sign. "We may experience a period of greater stability and less frenzy in college admissions, a welcome result for everyone," he said. To comment on this year's application season at Harvard, or any other institution, please use the box below.