York led Ontario universities in resisting a decline in applications following the year of the "double-cohort". While most universities saw a 30 per cent reduction in the number of applications over 2003, York’s numbers fell by only 16.2 per cent.

"It’s important to realize that this is a just a slow down in the growth of student applications after an extraordinary year," said Sheila Embleton, York vice-president academic. "Overall the proportion of students choosing to attend university is still rising and we anticipate another healthy intake this fall."

The number of students attending Ontario universities will rise by 5.1 per cent over 2003-2004 withYork receiving a large share of applications from the 71,000 secondary school students planning to enroll for the 2004-2005 academic year. The figures also show increases in the number of students who put York as one of their top three choices. The proportion of students who indicated York as their number one choice grew 20 per cent over 2003.

"In an environment where students have so many choices for post-secondary studies, these numbers confirm York’s growing reputation as a forward-looking, innovative university and leading centre for interdisciplinary teaching," said Embleton. "We’re delighted to see so many young people looking to the future and choosing York as the place where they can best prepare for it."