<p>I think it's a good idea, more qualified applicants ==> more accepts</p>
<p>when would this proposed move take effect? For the class of 2012? or later?</p>
<p>Excellent article. I think that would be a great idea for Stanford. I was never fond of the idea of super-exclusivity, which is why I've always admired schools such UCLA, Michigan, Berkeley, etc. for educating a large number of people while maintaining 1) student excellence and 2) an education + opportunities of an elite private. Stanford's class size has been as large as it is now, if not smaller, probably for a very long time. Stanford currently has the resources to expand to accommodate more students, many of which would usually be turned away even though they're extremely well-qualified -- for example, the user chillaxin. As the article says, it'd allow for more diversity and would probably liven up the campus even more.</p>
<p>Some might think, though, that increasing the freshman class might make Stanford seem less selective (by acceptance rate), which might hurt its reputation. I don't think this would happen -- if we assume apps will keep increasing, Stanford will seem just as selective as ever while also allowing more students access to one of the best educations available. Just look at Penn -- it has about 10,000 undergrads and still does extremely well in rankings.</p>
<p>If we go by that number, Stanford would have about 2,500 students in the freshman class -- about the same number that it usually accepts. Assuming a 70% yield, it would accept about ~3,571 students. With 24,000 apps, that's about a 15% acceptance rate, still extremely low. And assuming that 75% graduate in 4 years (as has been about the record, I believe), 15% in 5 years, and 5% in 6 years, the total undergraduate population would be about 10,500 students. Adding in about 11,500 graduate students, the grand total student population would be ~22,000 students (funnily enough, about the total number of applicants in recent years).</p>
<p>This is an increase of about 4,000 students from what it currently has, or about 1,000 per freshman class. Could it accommodate them? I think so. It would have to build more dorms, of course, and hire more professors to maintain its class sizes, and also add more facilities, and more money would have to be allocated to financial aid, and all that. But with a $17 billion-dollar endowment, I think they can do it.</p>
<p>And they wouldn't have to increase it by 1,000 students. It could be more like 500 students, as the end of the article suggests. But it'd be a step in the right direction, methinks.</p>
<p>too little, too late, for high school class of '08 :(</p>
<p>I think it's a good idea too. Exclusivity isn't what makes a college great in the first place. I'm more curious as to why Yale and Princeton, which both have significantly smaller student bodies, don't consider doing the same.</p>