Applications for college admission surged in 2005 because of a combination of factors, including a \"population wave\" of high-school graduates, more of whom are applying online and to multiple colleges, according to an annual report released today by the National Association for College Admission Counseling. The report, \"State of College Admission 2006,\" said that 73 percent of colleges saw an increase in applications from the previous year. Last year the association reported that the number of applications had decreased slightly for the first time since 1999. \"Last year it seemed that the application wave had crested,\" said David A. Hawkins, the association\'s director of public policy and a co-author of the report, \"but this year they came back with a vengeance.\" The same was true of early applications. After two years of reported declines, colleges saw an uptick in both early-decision and early-action applications in 2005.