1,678 students submitted Dartmouth Early Decision applications this admissions cycle. This figure marks a 6.7% rise from the Class of 2017. As you may remember, last year, Early Decision applications at Dartmouth were down 12.6%. As quoted in an article in “The Dartmouth” entitled “Early decision applications rise 6.7%,” Dartmouth’s Dean of Undergraduate Admissions, Maria Laskaris, said, “Obviously, numbers do fluctuate. Last year we were down after many years of increases, so if you look across at other schools’ data, some years they’re up, some years they’re not.” Fair point.

There are many who believe that the drop in Early Decision applications last year at Dartmouth was a result of the media attention paid to the College on the Hill after a hazing scandal in which a former student blasted the school in an a feature within “Rolling Stone.” It’s unbelievable that one bad apple, one media event can have such an impact on a school’s admissions figures. Some years earlier, at Duke University, students who were proven innocent (not not guilty — innocent) of rape charges had a major impact on the university’s reputation. But that had more to do with a rogue DA and a university PR department forced to deal with a whole lot of bad press.

What do you think of the rise in Early Decision applications to Dartmouth College this year? And what do you think about the drop that the university experienced the year before? Let us know your thoughts on these Early Decision numbers by posting below. We look forward to hearing from you!