| I'd say is a combination of things.
1) Demand and supply. Yes, I know, this is such a terrible cliche, but I cannot put it more succinctly. The number of qualified applicants increases at a faster rate than universities can cope. In a few years, all top 50 universities are going to hve acceptance rates lower than 35%.
2) Michigan's optimal freshman class is roughly 5,300. For the last two years, Michigan's freshman classes have exceeded 6,000. That means that Michigan's resources (dorms, faculty, etc...) are streched to an unhealthy level.
3) The closing of a major dorm made it impossible for Michigan to risk another 6,000+ class.
All in all, I don't see Michigan enrolling more than 5,500 Freshmen for the next 2 years.
By the way, A2Wolves, when I said Michigan was on the "right path", I meant that in this day and age, a university cannot be considered elite by the majority of high school students it wishes to attract while maintaining a 60%+ acceptance rate. Not gonna happen. I personally know that acceptance rate means nothing. But I am not the majority of students. The majority of students, as petty as it may seem, actually care about acceptance rate. If Michigan wishes to remain a university of choice for the bulk of the talent out there, it is going to have to accept some modern-day restrictions, such as a lower admission rate. |