Two months after the largest freshman class in Penn State history moved into their University Park dorms, the university is now counting even more applications than last year -- and it's time for the university to be extremely careful.

A 24-percent increase in applications from last year means that Penn State is susceptible to following last year's mistake of accepting too many students, a mistake which has led to housing shortages and an overall crowding issue downtown and across campus.

It's perfectly understandable that more people would be applying to Penn State. Students across the nation have been increasingly applying to multiple colleges, and Penn State's rolling admissions and lack of essay requirements make it a desirable addition to high school seniors' lists of college possibilities.

There is certainly nothing wrong with having more applicants to a college.

It's a situation that makes Penn State look popular and attractive, as well as increases the caliber of freshman classes.

However, the admissions office must be careful to allow such benefits to take place.

If too many students are admitted too early to Penn State, more highly-qualified applicants who apply later will either not be accepted or will simply add to the masses of the accepted.

Penn State has the opportunity to raise the standards of admission and improve its academic image -- and they need to take advantage of it.

Admissions office, take some more time with those "maybe" applications. Of course reading over 100,000 applications takes a long time, but taking a few extra weeks could result in some worthwhile benefits for the current student population.

Send out the "definitely yes" applications right away and let those students know that they're in. These are the students that will most likely raise the bar.

Hold the middle-ground applications a little longer, and perhaps the ones who really care about Penn State will stick with them.

Penn State is in no danger of under-accepting students this year, so it's time to start being more aggressive with applications.

After this year, Penn State will have established a higher GPA and SAT score for accepted applicants, which will make it more desirable for high-caliber students.

There is a wonderful situation at hand for Penn State and the admissions office. We can only hope the university makes the best of it.