A celebratory spirit was in the air at the admissions office Tuesday as the staff mingled near silver balloons forming the number 10,000 and munched on Horned Frog cookies. The admissions staff members were celebrating their 10,000th application received, a milestone reached Friday.

For the 2006 school year, TCU received about 8,700 applications. This year’s applications are ahead of last year’s record, according to the admissions office, and the year isn’t over yet.

Though a specific reason behind the increase is unclear, it is apparent that TCU is quickly becoming more competitive.

“It’s unprecedented and unexpected,” said Jim Atwood, assistant to the dean of admissions. “It looks like we’ll have 11,000 by the end.”

With the number of applications received this year, Atwood said, there will be a 100 percent increase from 2000 to 2007.

“We’re delighted that people have found out about this place,” said Ray Brown, dean of admissions.

Southern Methodist University has also seen an increase in its applications this year, said SMU Nancy Peterson, assistant dean of undergraduate admissions.

SMU is anticipating a 15 percent increase in applications, Peterson said.

There are several factors that could contribute to the sudden surge in applications, though, Brown said, it’s difficult to attribute it to one specific reason.

Though admissions counselors haven’t done anything dramatically different this year to recruit students, Atwood cited the greater number of on-campus programs designed for prospective students, as well as word of mouth from both past and present students, as factors in attracting students.

“There are a whole bunch of little things that come together to have a big impact,” Brown said.

Overall, Atwood said, enrollment numbers will not be affected by the growing number of applications.

The percentage of students accepted this year will be lower than ever, he said.

“The quality academic indicators might rise based on the fact that we have more students to choose from,” Atwood said.

Wes Waggoner, director of freshman admissions, said the application numbers will continue to grow this year, though they will begin to taper off.

It is difficult to predict whether the number of applicants will continue to rise at such a rapid pace in future years, Atwood said, as many things in admissions are cyclical.