In the first year of its single-choice early-action program, the University offered admission to 800 students in December—about one-third of the total to be admitted this academic year. More than 4,100 high schoolers submitted early-action applications, as compared to the 2,468 who applied under Stanford’s binding early-decision program last year. In the new program, students may apply early only to Stanford, but can submit as many applications as they choose to other schools under regular-decision timelines, and have until May to decide where they will enroll. “Our hope, of course, is that Stanford remains the first choice of all our admits,” says dean of admission and financial aid Robin Mamlet. “But the pressure is off—we encourage these students to consider carefully all their college options and to decide by spring which campus is the best fit for them.”