Forget waiting for regular college admissions. More seniors are choosing to apply early for college.

The Los Angeles Times reports.

More high school seniors taking early admissions to college

While most of her classmates at Arleta High School anxiously await word on their college applications next month, Unique De La Torre has been a portrait of calm since she was accepted in December to a private New York university.

She is among an increasing number of high school seniors taking advantage of early admission programs, which allow students to apply to their top choices in November and find out in December — removing a lot of stress and uncertainty in the process.

More than 460 colleges nationwide, many of them top private institutions, offer early options as well as the chance to apply during the later, regular period. Most students still choose the latter.

But the number of colleges offering earlier deadlines has increased by about 7% in the last five years, according to the College Board. And most of those colleges report that they are receiving more early applications, according to surveys conducted by the National Assn. for College Admission Counseling.

Stanford’s 7,297 early admission candidates were the largest in the school’s history, up 24% from the previous three years, officials said. Pomona College in Claremont saw early admission applications increase more than 40% last year from the year before.