Applications to the University are down 2 percent this year after GW received a record number of 20,159 applications last year.

The University is not worried about the “slight decline” in applications, Director of Admissions Kathryn Napper wrote in an e-mail.

“As the selectivity of GW improves … it is reasonable to predict that more high school students will self-select themselves out of the application process,” Napper said.

She added that applications to the University have increased by 25 percent in the past five years.

Applicants also had to complete a new online application this year. It combined parts one and two of the old application and required students to submit more information. Napper said this change in the application process caused less interested students not to apply.

“The positive news about this is that we believe that the applications we have received are from more serious candidates,” Napper said.

The Office of Admissions received about 1,700 early decision applications and accepted nearly 900 of them. Of those 900, 571 have already sent in their deposits.

The University has, however, seen a 4 percent increase over the last five years in applications from students who identify themselves as “multicultural.” Out of those who reported their ethnicity, 35 percent are multicultural, which includes black, Asian-American, Latino-American and Native-American students. International students are not included in this category.

Napper added that students are also less likely to include their ethnicity in the applications. The number of students who refuse to report their ethnicity has gone up by 32 percent in the past five years, Napper said.

GW received the most applications from New York, New Jersey, California, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania this year.

While applications from California have increased by 63 percent in the past five years, the number of prospective students from the other top five states only increased between 6 and 16 percent this year.

Napper said, “Much of the increase can be attributed to more personalized marketing and efforts of our regional offices.”