So people have a better general sense of where the class is. It is a less off-putting statistic. I don't think colleges like Dartmouth have any self-interest in getting more and more applications because that just means we're going to have to turn down more and more students, because we're not getting any bigger. We try to give as much information about what we're looking for and what works but again, people are very much fascinated by the process. We started doing this two years ago to reduce some of the anxiety and take pressure off senior year.
Many colleges do the common application and then ask for a separate essay.
Also, the trend toward early decision seems to cause a lot of anxiety. It seems students think they have to apply early. There are colleges and universities that are accepting over half their classes early decision, which is a real shift from what it was in the past. But we are holding the line. We only accept about one-third of the class early, which is the same amount we have been taking for the past 30 years or so.