TEENS AWAIT WORD FROM COLLEGES.

Byline: Cecilia Chan Staff Writer

Ryan Ruby raced home every day this week during a break in class from El Camino Real High School to check his mailbox for the anticipated fat envelope.

Daniel Dengrove of North Hollywood High School reflected Friday on his college application and his interview with admissions officers from Columbia University.

And Caitlin Gomez of Agoura High School adopted a laid-back attitude as she waited for replies from Harvard University and the California Institute of Technology.

``I'm not too worried but some of my friends are counting the days and looking at their watches,'' said Gomez, 17, who boasts a 4.27 grade-point average.

The three were among thousands of high school seniors who applied early to their top college choices and were anxiously waiting to hear Friday whether their applications had been accepted.

December is the peak month when universities that offer early decision or early action programs begin notifying applicants.

Under early decision, a student must sign a binding contract to attend a university and must withdraw all other college applications. Early action plans allow students to learn early whether they have been accepted by a college but they are not required to attend.

``I am definitely nervous, as well as all my friends,'' said Ruby, who applied for early decision at Columbia University. ``We are all anxious to hear where we might attend for the next four years of our life.''

Eager to put an end to the stress-filled waiting, more and more students are applying early to their top college choices, say local high school guidance counselors, college admission officers and students.

The California Institute of Technology, for example, has received 742 early action applications for fall 2001 compared with just 125 such applications in 1995, said Charlene Liebau, undergraduate admissions director.

And Stanford University has seen its early decision applications nearly double from 1,180 in 1996 to 2,227 for fall 2001, said Robin Mamlet, dean of admissions and financial aid.

``I think there are a lot of pressures now associated with the application process to colleges and many students would like to get it over with,'' she said. ``If they have a place of first choice, they want to see what they can do and get it done.''

Nationwide, 400 colleges offer early decision, early action or a combination of those plans, according to the College Board, a New York-based nonprofit membership organization of more than 3,800 high schools, colleges and other institutions.

While the University of California does not offer early decision to applicants, such programs vary at individual California State University campuses. California State University, Northridge, does not offer such options.

Students said knowing early saves them time and money from applying to other colleges and helps alleviate the stress of waiting until April to learn whether they've been accepted.

Early decision plans also benefit universities. Academic officials said such programs allow them to secure prized candidates, who tend to be of a higher academic caliber than those in the regular admission pool.

``It creates a process to firm up part of their incoming freshman class,'' said Barmak Nassirian, assistant executive director of the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers in Washington, D.C.

But critics of early decision say such programs put students at a disadvantage.

``I think many seniors, at 17 years old, are not ready to make that commitment and have not done the research yet on the college,'' said Elenna Turner, college adviser at El Camino Real High in Woodland Hills, where 25 seniors applied for early consideration this year, eight more than applied last year.

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Agoura Hills High senior Caitlin Gomez adopts a relaxed attitude while waiting for notification from Harvard and Caltech.

Joe Binoya/Special to the Daily News