GSAS Is Hit By 10% Rise In Applicants

Applications to the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences have risen sharply this year, as post-war babies begin to graduate from college.

By the December 15 filing deadline, the number of applicants will be more than 10% higher than last year, the GSAS Admissions Office predicts. As of last night, the Office had counted some 5400 folders; last year, a total of 4700 applicants filed.

The December 15 deadline affects those students applying for admission on a scholarship. Non-scholarship applications have later cut-off dates, set individually by each department.

Stiffer Policy

Mrs. Nina P. Hillgarth, head of the GSAS Admissions Office, said yesterday that a "stiffer admissions policy" might be needed to cope with the increasing number of applicants. But officials won't know just how tough their selection process will have to be until application folders have been sorted by departments.

"If the increases have been across-the-board, the situation won't be too serious;" Mrs. Hillgarth said, "on the other hand, if applications to say the English Department have doubled, then obviously we'll be in terrible trouble." So far, she revealed, the distribution seems fairly even.

No Change in Class Size

Mrs. Hillgarth does not foresee any increase in entering class size, although she pointed out that each department makes its own decision on this matter.

"The number we can admit is limited by several factors," she explained -- the number of professors available to guide dissertations, the number of seminars offered, the amount of lab space at the disposal of a science department.