Applications to 'Cliffe Continue to Decrease

Applications to Radcliffe have decreased in number this year and will continue to diminish in the future, Margaret W. Stimpson, dean of Admissions, said yesterday.

The decrease so far has not been substantial--from 1897 last year at this time to 1838 now. And the final drop, she predicted, will only be about three per cent (2033 to a projected 1950). But Mrs. Stimpson foresees a further decline in future years, as a result of efforts to "discourage unrealistic applications."

Two policies in particular have combined with the smaller size of this year's high school graduating class to account for almost all of the decline.

Mrs. Stimpson and Patricia O'Connor, associate dean of Admissions, made a nation-wide tour this fall, for the first time, telling guidance counselors about "the problems of admission to Radcliffe and the problems of numbers." They have stressed the stiffness of admission requirements--"what it takes to get in and be successful."

They have also sent pre-application forms to foreign students, permitting only those who have a good chance of being accepted to send in actual applications.

The pre-application form has reduced applications from foreign students from 200 to around 25 in two years. Of these, four to five are admitted into each freshman class.

The form requests information on the students' proficiency in English and their plans for financial arrangements. The Admissions Office has found that many for-