Brown's early decision applications - which were due Nov. 1 - increased 16 percent over last year, the second-largest increase in the Ivy League.
Brown received 2,379 early decision applications this fall, compared to 2,046 last year.
For the Class of 2009, the University accepted 567 early decision applicants for an acceptance rate of 28 percent, compared to 13 percent for regular decision applicants. A total of 16,911 students applied in 2004.
This year, Brown's increase appeared to be the norm - according to university Web sites, most of the Ivies received more early applications this year than last. Dartmouth College saw a 12 percent increase from last year, with 1,321 early applicants, while Yale University had a 3.5 percent rise in applications, receiving 4,072 non-binding early action applicants. Columbia University reported a 5.5 percent increase to 2,275 applications. Princeton University received 2,230 applications, 9 percent more than last year's 2,039.
The biggest increase was at the University of Pennsylvania, where application numbers rose to 4,148 applications, 21 percent more than in 2004.
The only Ivy so far to post a decrease in early applications was Harvard University, which received 4,000 applications during its early action phase of admission, representing a decrease of 5 percent from last year.
Cornell University's numbers were not available.
Dean of Admission James Miller '73 attributed Brown's increase to the University's "growing appeal," as well as an across-the-board increase in students applying to college.
"We're starting to see larger numbers of students applying everywhere. There are just more students in the pipeline," he said.
Miller attributed the widespread increase in early applications across the Ivies to "people making college decisions and getting started much earlier."
"We see students beginning to look in sophomore year and earlier, so by junior year they're pretty much decided where they want to go," he said. In cases like that, "early decision makes sense."
Miller said he suspects that regular decision applications will also increase, although "it's a little early to tell."
When asked if national news coverage of Sex Power God would affect regular decision applications, he said it was "a non-issue."
"I don't think it will affect our applications one way or another," he said of the fallout from the controversial news report on Fox News' "The O'Reilly Factor."
Brown's early admission decisions will be mailed out starting in the middle of this month.
