The Oxford college at the centre of the Laura Spence row was expected to learn today whether the dispute has damaged student recruitment.

Magdalen College was hoping to know by the end of the day how many candidates have applied to study there.

Anthony Smith, president of Magdalen, thinks that the controversial publicity the college received earlier in the year may have heightened the college's profile and helped to attract extra students.

Magdalen College hit the headlines after Chancellor Gordon Brown accused it of elitism because it turned down Tyneside comprehensive school girl Laura, who was awarded a place at Harvard.

Mr Smith, said: "We don't know anything yet. I assumed that if anyone has been put off, the general publicity we got might have encouraged others to apply and it might have all balanced out.

"Last year was an absolute record. We got the highest number of applications we have had since I have been here - 509. We got the largest application among the colleges. That was a big increase on the year before."

Magdalen has 113 undergraduate places available to fill each year.

The deadline for applications to universities across Britain was Sunday.

An Oxford University spokesman said the admissions office expected to know how many candidates had applied to study there next year, by the end of the week.

Last year, more students from state schools applied to study at Oxford than their independent school counter- parts.

The number of applications from the state sector rose from 4,177 in 1998 to 4,378 in 1999, totalling 47 per cent of the total applications.

Meanwhile the number of applications from independent schools fell from 3,788 in 1998 to 3,474 in 1999, equating to 37 per cent of the total applications.