Record Number Apply for '98 Spots

A record 15,210 students have applied to become members of Harvard-Radcliffe's Class of 1998.

Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid William R. Fitzsimmons '67 said this week that the number represented an increase of nearly 10 percent over last year. The figure was five percent higher than the previous record, set in 1992.

The number of women applicants jumped 15 percent to 7,064.

"We've refined our use of the College Board search program to identify women who have done particularly well in standardized tests and in their high school programs," Director of Admissions Marlyn McGrath Lewis said in a written statement. "We've also made a special search for women interested in the sciences."