ENROLLMENT-SWAMPED CSUN CUTS FRESHMAN SIGN-UP PERIOD.

Byline: Sara Fornaris Daily News Staff Writer

A tidal wave of applications has forced Cal State Northridge to cut short the first-year-student enrollment period, officials said Friday.

The university will stop accepting applications from first-time freshmen for the fall semester March 15, said CSUN President Blenda J. Wilson.

``We have exceeded our benchmark of 7,800 applications for first-time freshmen in the fall. At this rate, the applicant pool for fall 1997 would exceed our capacity to accommodate students with high-quality instruction and adequate course offerings,'' Wilson said.

By closing the application period next week, Wilson hopes to avoid a problem the university had in the 1980s, when many students were unable to get the classes they needed because of overwhelming enrollment.

Exempt from the new deadline are applicants under the Educational Opportunity Program, which includes students from low-income families; athletes, who are bound by NCAA rules that restrict their time frame for admission; international students; and the disabled, including students applying to the National Center on Deafness.

``We hold a few slots aside in the event we have anyone in these categories who want to apply,'' said Lorraine Newlon, CSUN's director of admissions and records.

CSUN also will continue to accept applications for other undergraduate levels, transfer and graduate students.

The surge of applications is the result of CSUN's assertive rebuilding schedule and expanded outreach efforts to offset a drop in enrollment the school experienced after the 1994 Northridge Earthquake, according to Wilson.