VOL. 23, NO. 14	FEBRUARY 6, 1998

olumbia’s two undergraduate schools, Columbia College and the Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science, have experienced record numbers of applications this year.

  At the College, 12,111 students applied for 955 places in the Class of 2002, an increase of 8.2 percent over last year’s applicant pool. Last year, Columbia College, with a 9 percent increase, was the only school in the Ivy League to have an increase in undergraduate applications. Since 1995, applications to Columbia College have increased by 39 percent and this year’s selectivity rate is expected to equal or surpass last year’s record rate of 17 percent.

  Applications at the Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science have jumped 15 percent over last year; 2,189 students have applied for 295 places in the incoming first-year class. During the last three years, Engineering’s selectivity rate has improved, with an expectation that it will improve again this year.

  Both undergraduate schools have also had dramatic increases in their early decision applicant pools: 23 percent for the College and 55 percent for Engineering. And both schools had a stronger early decision applicant pool as reflected in mean SAT scores of admitted students: scores jumped 20 points for the College (1393 average) and 11 points for Engineering (1366 average).