Ohio State plans to replace paper admission applications with electronic forms, beginning with the 1999 freshman class. Despite obstacles in cost and technology, the Office of Admissions is designing a web application process, said Bill Karl, associate director of systems support for the office.”We have been talking about an on-line application for seven years,” Karl said.Although many software programs are available to students who wish to apply electronically, technology needed for the university is new, he said.The Sept. 8 issue of U.S. News and World Report said about half of future college applicants would prefer to use electronic forms.The reason for this preference is the growing number of students who use the Internet and the extinction of the typewriter, the magazine said.Paula Compton, associate director of freshman admissions at Ohio State, said computers have replaced the typewriter in many homes creating a demand for electronic applications.However, Ohio State is not the only Big Ten university that is planning to implement this procedure.Terry Brown, associate director of admissions at Indiana University, said it has an on-line application available.”We implemented the program in December 1996,” he said. “We received about 300 applications last year.”The advantages to electronic applications are numerous, Karl said.”In my opinion, it allows students to apply to multiple places by one application,” he said.Students can edit their application more easily and it may save some errors, Karl said.Software companies feature programs in which applicants answer a set of questions and then the computer converts answers to the specifications of each university being applied to, Compton said. This allows people to get applications on a computer and send them in a more direct manner, she said.However, this system of applying would have no effect on a student’s chances of being accepted to a university, Karl said.Telephone conversations between students and the admissions office and campus visits should not suffer because of an electronic application, she said.”Human interaction with a student is very important to the admissions office,” she said.One problem with an electronic application is the lack of involvement of high school guidance counselors, she said.”If the application is done electronically, the student is not getting the assistance they might need,” she said.The admissions office is working with an advisory board of high school counselors to devise solutions to this problem, she said.One solution is an electronic application completed by students but reviewed by guidance counselors to ensure completeness, she said.Karl said OSU faces some problems in implementing this type of program.”One of the main problems is our current system,” he said. “It was developed back in the early 1980s, so it is pretty old.””We need to enhance the current system to receive web applications, and we are going to do that,” he said.Karl also said that funding could pose a threat to starting electronic applications. He could not give an estimated cost.This technology may not be economical right now, but it will pay dividends in the future, he said.Although the problems have caused delays in developing an electronic application, this new service should be available to students soon, Karl said.