BURLINGTON — A decision to waive an early-application fee is being credited with helping to increase the number of students applying to the University of Vermont by 2.7 percent.

The growth is part of a plan by UVM President Thomas Sullivan to make the school more selective by accepting a smaller percentage of the number of students who apply.

In addition to the decision to waive the $55 early application fee, UVM officials believe there has been a positive “buzz” about the school among students and high school guidance counselors.

“That buzz continued through a very good summer visit season and into the fall,” said Chris Lucier, the school’s vice president for enrollment management.

As of last week, 22,277 students applied for admission to UVM, just below the all-time record of 23,365 set in 2009.

Of the total number of applicants this year, 2,118 came from Vermont students, a decrease of about 5.5 percent from last year.

Lucier said he could not explain why there was a drop in Vermont applications, but he expected a rebound. “This year we will likely have the third- or fourth-most applications from Vermont students since 1980,” he said.

“We have received over 2,000 applications from Vermont students consistently since 2006, the same period that the number of (high school) graduates in Vermont has been declining,” Lucier added. “This reflects our focused outreach to recruit Vermont students in the face of the declining demographics.”