Applicants for Class of 1959 Near Record

Applications for next year's freshman class will pass the 4,000 mark for the first time in the history of the College if the present rate of influx continues, the Admissions Office reported yesterday.

With over half the applications to the Class of 1959 already received, Dean Bender's office said that the number was now more than 200 ahead of the record-breaking total of 3,500 mailed to the College last year.

The rise has come, the office stated, despite repeated efforts to discourage border-line high school seniors from applying.

The prospective increase raised doubts that the Admissions Office would be able to handle a greater number of candidates effectively. Earlier this week, Dean Bender stated in his annual report that the present staff cannot effectively channel a greatly increased number of applications by present methods.

The Office stated yesterday that it still hoped the final total will not greatly exceed the number processed last year. It speculated that early figures may have been caused by increased tension among high school students and increased numbers of multiple applications.

71 Withdrawals Last Year

Last year the official total of prospective freshmen finally considered by the Admissions Office dropped by 71 because of late withdrawals.

Dean Bender in his report warned that even present pressures upon the admissions staff can stand no increases. He warned that drastic changes will have to be made in present admissions practices to handle a greater load.

"The burdens on our staff are almost intolerable," the Dean of Admissions asserted in his report. "It is our strong and unanimous belief that even if we can survive present pressures we cannot possibly channel by present methods the greatly increased number of candidates we will have in the near future."