'Cliffe Applications Skyrocket to 2150

Applicants for Radcliffe's class of '63 have about one chance in seven for getting into the College of their Choice.

Applications have risen more than ten per cent over last year, Mrs. Margaret W. Stimpson, Director of Admissions, said yesterday. So far there have been 2150 applicants for the class of 320.

"We thought the war babies came in last year," Mrs. Stimpson said. Applications also increased ten per cent for the class of '67, but the total has shot up another 250 for next year's freshman class. "Now it looks like it'll be a few more years before the rise levels off," Mrs. Stimpson added.

Southern schools have been showing greater interest in Radcliffe and many more application forms were sent out to Southern students this year, according to the Admissions Director. The specific regional breakdown, has not been compiled, but Mrs. Stimpson believes that a larger number of actual applications were received from the South than in previous years.

Mrs. Stimpson pointed out that Radcliffe's name is more familiar to high school students because of recent national publicity. In spite of this, Harvard receives a good number of inquiries each year from girls who assume that "a Harvard diploma means a Harvard admissions committee," Mrs. Stimpson said.

Harvard Admissions is responsible for part of the increase, even if the staff does not process the applications, the Admissions Director said. The Harvard Admissions Office recruits applicants more actively than its sister school, and in their tours, officers invariably answer questions from women's secondary school students.

Oddly enough, the parietal issue hasn't affected applications one way or another, according to Mrs. Stimpson. The Office expected some inquiry about the issue but "not one candidate has even alluded to it," she said.

Mrs. Stimpson explained that she and her staff always give some time to a discussion of "rules and individual responsibility" during the interview if the applicant indicates some interest in the school's sign-out and parietal policies.

The $920 increase in Radcliffe's tuition and board probably hasn't affected the applications for financial aid, Mrs. Stimpson said. The number of scholarship requests remains as about 40 per cent for all applicants.

Other New England women's colleges have reported a similar increase in applications and several schools have reported many more applications from the Southern high schools. Harvard also received ten per cent more applications for the Class of '68, its first significant increase in four years.