Early Decision 1 (ED1) applications from high school seniors who want to attend Emory College are up 9 percent over last year, and applications to Oxford College are up 25 percent, according to preliminary data as of Nov. 19, 2014.

This is an increase of 107 from last year's 1,146 seniors who applied ED1 to Emory College and an increase of 91 from last year's 363 seniors who applied ED1 to Oxford College (data as of Nov. 19, 2013, for Emory and Nov. 22, 2013, for Oxford).

This year's increases also come on the heels of last year's record 20 percent increase in ED1 applications for Emory College and 35 percent increase in ED1 applications for Oxford College.

"We're pleased with this increase of interest in an Emory education," says John Latting, assistant vice provost for undergraduate enrollment. "These early applicants have essentially decided that Emory's liberal arts experience is at the very top of their college list. Early decision applications are a barometer of increasing national and international interest in Emory."

Kelley Lips, dean of enrollment services at Oxford, agrees. "We're doing a good job clearly articulating the benefits of an Oxford education within Emory University," she says, "and that message is resonating with applicants. We have seen a steady increase in the number of students who choose to apply to Oxford early decision, indicating that more students are considering Oxford College their top choice."

Students who apply through the early decision admission plan know they want to attend Emory University and commit to enroll if they are admitted.

"Given that academically prepared students now apply to an average of 10-12 colleges, students who apply through our early decision program are making a big decision when they commit early in their senior year to Emory," Latting says.

Applicants living outside the U.S., both international students and American students living abroad, account for 70 percent of the growth in ED1 applications for both Emory and Oxford. Latting and Lips attribute this increase to the expertise of four admission representatives who focus on international recruitment, up from one staff member two years ago. Additionally, top states for ED1 applicants are Georgia, New York, Florida, California and New Jersey.

An "Emory education" has become synonymous with academic rigor, unparalleled choice and opportunity, a student experience seamlessly uniting the curricular and co-curricular, an unrivaled alumni network, and access to Atlanta – one of America's top college towns. The university increasingly is being recognized nationally and internationally for its shared values of excellence, integrity and optimism fueled by a record of achievement in the growth of student quality, the impact of the faculty's teaching, scholarship, and research, and service to the world by Emory's 130,000 alumni.

Two key initiatives to enhance the academic experience of Emory undergraduate students are underway:

• The Quality Enhancement Plan – The Nature of Evidence: a five-year plan to empower students as independent scholars and collaborative thinkers capable of supporting arguments with different types of evidence.
• Commission on the Liberal Arts: working to implement a vision of Emory University as a leading residential liberal arts research university with students and faculty deeply engaged in innovative interdisciplinary learning and scholarship that crosses traditional academic boundaries, integrates a liberal arts education across the entire university, and crosses into local and global communities.

ED1 admission notifications for Emory College and Oxford College will be released on Dec. 15. The Early Decision II and Regular Decision deadline for both colleges is Jan. 1.