Applications for admission to Cornell for fall 1996 have reached the third-highest level in the institution's history, a 2 percent increase over last year.

Applications from underrepresented minority groups, with the exception of Native Americans, also increased over last year to be at or near the highest levels for these groups in the past decade, reports Donald A. Saleh, Cornell acting dean of admissions and financial aid. Overall, applications from all ethnic groups are up 5 percent over last year (2,071 compared with 1,972). The number of students applying to Cornell for fall 1996 was 20,640, compared with 20,231 for fall 1995, Saleh said. The only other years that total was topped were in 1987 (21,075) and 1988 (21,765).

Applications for early decision were up slightly above last year as well, from 1,893 for fall 1995 to 1,995 for fall 1996.

Saleh attributes the increase in applications primarily to two factors: growth in the number of high school graduates and the high quality education Cornell offers.

"Applicants and their families recognize Cornell's value," he said. "They have confidence that Cornell will be able to continue to provide the same level of quality throughout their careers here."

He also credits the staffs in Undergraduate Admissions and in the college admissions offices for "their planning, professionalism and hard work" in developing and executing recruitment programs.

Application numbers were up for every Cornell college or school, with the exception of Arts and Sciences, which saw a 1 percent decrease (from 9,708 in 1995 to 9,603 this year) in applicants this year.

"While Arts and Sciences applications are down this year by less than one percent, they remain at a very high level in historical terms, so we are not concerned by a .6 percent downturn in applications this year," Saleh commented. "We are 11 percent ahead of our fall 1993 numbers, and the 9,771 applications that we had this year were exceeded only by two other years: 1995 with 9,831 applications and 1988 with 10,074 applications. We'll rebound next year."

Increases reported in other units were: " Agriculture and Life Sciences, a 1 percent increase over last year (to 3,545 from 3,508 in 1995; this was the highest number of applications in the past six years.

• Architecture, Art and Planning had a 2 percent increase, from 738 in 1995 to 754 in 1996.
• Engineering saw a 7 percent rise in applications, to 4,156 this year from 3,875 in 1995.
• Hotel Administration had a 7 percent increase in applications, 656 this year, up from 614 in 1995.
• Human Ecology, up 3 percent, from 1,237 in 1995 to 1,278 for this year.
• Industrial and Labor Relations had an 18 percent increase in applicants, a total of 648, up from 551 last year; this is the highest number of applicants in the past six years. On their application forms, students self-identify their ethnic categories. Application totals among underrepresented groups were:
• African American applicants increased by 1 percent, from 903 in 1995 to 916 in 1996.
• Asian American applications increased by 1 percent, from 3,631 in 1995 to 3,674 this year.
•  Hispanic applications increased by 7 percent, to 620 this year compared to 582 in 1995
• Mexican American applications are up by 6 percent, from 197 in 1995 to 209 this year.
• Native American applications decreased by 25 percent, with 55 applications this year compared to 73 in 1995.
• Puerto Rican applications increased by 12 percent, from 217 in 1995 to 244 this year.
• In 1993, the university began including the categories of "bi- racial" and "multi-racial" on its application forms. Students self-identifying in those categories also increased this year, from 318 to 351 in the bi-racial category and from 17 to 27 in the multi-racial category. Saleh notes that most of these students would probably have classified themselves in one of the other minority categories in previous years.

By regions, applications were up in all geographic areas, except the Midwest, which had a 7 percent decrease in applications. The largest number of applications are from the Metro New York area (4,341), and New York state as a whole supplies the greatest number of applicants, at 6,374, or 31 percent of the total.

"New York continues to be our most important and strongest market," Saleh said. "However, we are seeing sustained growth since 1993 in three areas that were previously identified as critical new markets to the university: the mid-Atlantic region, with 11 percent growth, the Southeast, with 15 percent growth, and the Far West, with 17 percent growth since 1993 and 29 percent growth since 1991.

"Strong growth in these areas and modest growth in our traditional areas of New York and New England are key to maintaining strength and geographic diversity in our freshman class," he added.