<p>I ws talking to some of my friends at washu and they were telling me that the acceptance rate is going to decline this year because WUSTL overenrolled for class of 2010. Is this true?</p>
<p>In principle, manjaap, this is true. Colleges have ways in which they can reduce the need to do this, but they cannot completely eliminate it. Take a look at UPenn, for example. Last year, they admitted 21% of their applicants, but their freshman class overenrolled and caused a significant housing shortage. This increase in yield meant that Penn had to be very careful this past year so as not to accidentally overenroll again and to get rid of the housing stress. That meant they had to reduce the size of their freshman class for this year and to be extra cautious in admitting candidates. By being cautious and admitting even fewer students, they would have some leeway in case yield went up by a significant amount. They accepted 17.7% of applicants this year and took very few off the waiting list.</p>
<p>But will the same thing happen to WashU? My guess would be yes, and perhaps by a similar amount. This year, WashU probably admitted around 17-18% of applicants, and next year I wouldn't be surprised to see it dip below 16%, possibly even to 15%.</p>