Undergraduate applications to Carnegie Mellon University jumped 19 percent this year, to a record-setting 22,052, from 18,493 applications last year.

The school's numbers as of Feb. 1, and data released by several other top universities in recent days, suggest yet another round of application surges among some of the nation's leading schools.

Over the last four years, applicant totals to Carnegie Mellon have climbed by 56 percent, according to university data.

Mike Steidel, the school's director of admission, said the volume appears linked to such factors as the ease with which students can apply electronically to many schools, and publicity his own school received from favorable college rankings, including Kaplan/Newseeek's description of Carnegie Mellon in August as one of 25 "new Ivies."

Ivy League schools "are so tough to get into [families] are looking for other opportunities, other options ... maybe Emory, maybe Washington University, maybe Boston University, Northwestern," Mr. Steidel said.

Northwestern University saw its total increase this year by almost 19 percent, to 21,839, spokesman Chuck Loebbaka said yesterday. Last week, Princeton University reported an 8 percent increase over the previous year, to 18,891, its third straight record-breaking year.

This marks the first year Northwestern has participated in The Common Application, which enables students to more easily apply to larger numbers of schools. Carnegie Mellon has been a participant for several years.

"What we're seeing the last couple years is this huge charge toward the electronic version," Mr. Steidel said.

Applicants to his school are vying for one of 1,360 freshman seats. How much more competitive it is to fill one of those seats will depend on the school's yield, or the share of accepted students who enroll.

Among the big jumps: a 27 percent increase in international applications.

Penn State University, the state's largest school, said its applications as of January are 9 percent ahead of last year. An estimate was not available from the University of Pittsburgh.