Unraveling of college admissions: more students apply early

When markets unravel, we often see dates at which transactions are finalized move earlier and earlier.
Something different is going on in college admissions: the dates for early admissions are staying the same, but more students are applying early, and colleges are filling a higher percentage of their entering class early.
Here's a story on the rise in early applicants: As a Broader Group Seeks Early Admission, Rejections Rise in the East

"Early admission to top colleges, once the almost exclusive preserve of the East Coast elite, is now being pursued by a much broader and more diverse group of students, including foreigners and minorities.
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"Duke, for example, received 400 early applications this year from California or overseas; in 2005, it was fewer than 100. Haverford College, outside Philadelphia, saw early applications from abroad double this year from last. And at the University of Chicago, there were double-digit rises in the percentage of early applications from black and Hispanic students."