<p>Its confusing but keep in mind that mostly every kid applying to college applies to more than one school, so even though you apply and are accepted doesn’t mean you will actually attend. So in the case of Stanford they know that approximately 30% of the applicants that they ‘accept’ will go to a different school. In some cases, kids will go somewhere less expensive because of a good scholarship or they may choose another top school, like HYPM etc. Regardless of the reason, Stanford knows this in advance and therefore has to admit 30% more than what they can accommodate just to come out with the 1700 they need for their freshman class.</p>
<p>Does that make more sense now? Does that help?</p>