Miami University has achieved a record number of Early Decision applications for a second straight year after having “revved up” its presence in high school recruiting, according to Michael Kabbaz, associate vice president for enrollment management.

Students applying Early Decision have declared Miami as their top college choice and are committed to attending if accepted.

“We’ve worked very hard to go out there and visit more high schools,” Kabbaz said. “We’ve nearly doubled the number of high schools we’ve visited this year as compared to last year. We’ve increased our outreach efforts not only in the state of Ohio but around the country.”

Miami announced in a news release that its Early Decision applications had risen 11 percent from 916 in 2011 to 1,007 as of Tuesday, and less than 24 hours later that number, according to Kabbaz, had risen to 1,016. In 2010 the number of early applications had been 531.

“We had a 93 percent increase last year, which was the largest in the nation,” Kabbaz said, noting that other prestigious schools have early-decision application rates that have become flat, such as Johns Hopkins University, or even are declining, like Dartmouth and Duke.

He said high school students are choosing Miami for the quality of education it offers.

“As you talk to families around the state and around the nation while you’re recruiting, they’re talking about outcome,” Kabbaz said. “When are they going to graduate? They’re talking about graduate programs, employment. We’re a really good destination and a good return in investment.”

Miami has earned recognition from Smartmoney.com, which ranks the university 11th in the nation for return on investment (tuition) this year, and the school has appeared on Kiplinger’s annual list of the “100 Best Values in Public Colleges” ever since it was published in 1998.

Also, for the third straight year U.S. News & World Report has ranked Miami as one of the top three universities nationwide committed to teaching undergraduates, and Payscale ranks Miami first in Ohio for best salary potential after graduation and 42nd among public universities nationwide.