FALL 1999 APPLICATIONS TO CSUN SET RECORD.

Byline: Sharline Chiang Daily News Staff Writer

A record number of high school and community college students have applied to CSUN for the fall semester, and more are expected to apply by mail over the Thanksgiving weekend.

This unprecedented rush comes as California State University, Northridge, is working for the second consecutive year to avoid overenrollment by limiting the incoming freshman class to 2,200 students.

More than half of those seats will be claimed by those accepted through this year's Instant Admissions Day, held Nov. 11.

This year's was the highest single-day turnout in the event's nine-year history, drawing 1,800 students and offering on-the-spot acceptance to 1,600. Last year, the event was held over two days and drew 2,000 students.

The caliber of students also went up, university officials said.

``We saw a lot of truly high-achieving students with GPAs of 3.0 and above and SAT scores well above 1,000,'' said Ludim Seja de Manzano, director of student outreach and recruitment. ``It was a very impressive group of young people.''

Reasons for the surge in interest include the growing number of college-bound students, new buildings from 1994 Northridge Earthquake recovery and CSUN's rising academic reputation, officials said.

``The word just basically got out. We did nothing different,'' said Marcelo Vazquez, an outreach and recruiting coordinator. ``I guess it's the popularity of the university.''

Lorraine Newlon, director of admissions and records, said the majority of first-time freshman applications will come after Thanksgiving, bringing the total to about 8,000 applicants.

``That's the traditional time to fill out applications,'' Newlon said. ``The families are all together, and commonly that ends up being a time when they fill out applications and mail them.''

This year also marked the second year in a row that CSUN limited admissions to the month of November. In past years, the university accepted applications up to 10 months before the start of school, but the window was narrowed last year once the number of applicants surged.

Overenrollment in 1997 shut 300 freshmen out of required classes such as remedial English and math. More than 100 students were stuck on a dormitory waiting list.

In addition to Instant Admissions Day, university recruitment officials continued to bring the admissions process to local communities.

Recruitment officers spent the past week visiting the Crenshaw and Ventura areas, and they plan to visit East Los Angeles and Pasadena later this month.

``Once we've admitted these students, our next job is to make sure they attend next year,'' Seja said.