<p>As I have stated previously, admit rates are overblown and get way too much attention (since factors such as size of class, self-selection, etc. come into play).</p>
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But Shaw and Hennessy both acknowledged that the University might face a number of other challenges if administrators decided to expand the size of the freshman class. </p>
<p>Anytime we consider this kind of objective, its clear that it has impact in lots of different places, Shaw said. In order to sustain and maintain the strength and quality of our programs and the undergraduate experience, the idea of increasing the student numbers will include the need to increase resources, housing, faculty [and] the admissions office as it relates to evaluating the candidates. </p>
<p>Shaw also acknowledged that if the size of the freshman class increased while the total number of applicants remained similar, the Universitys admissions rate would go up. But Shaw dismissed the prevailing assumption that a low admissions rate correlates to academic excellence. </p>
<p>He added that there would be no conscious effort to maintain the admit rate at its current level or fix it at any other value. </p>
<p>Admit rates are very misleading and they shouldnt drive this discussion in any way, he said. I think that we are too focused as a society on those numbers and what they mean. If in fact by admitting an extra number of students, you still maintain the quality of your class, then yes, expanding the class size is a good idea regardless of what it does to the admit rate. Admit rates might get higher, rising to about 12 or 13 percent, but to me, thats meaningless.
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