Increasing Elite Supply: "Stanford considers accepting more students" SF Chronicle

Papa_Chicken · December 17, 2007, 8:37am

[Notoriously</a> selective Stanford considers accepting more students](<a href=“http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/12/17/MNP0TRO48.DTL]Notoriously”>http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/12/17/MNP0TRO48.DTL)

excerpts

Stanford University is considering increasing, for the first time in decades, the number of students it enrolls each year. 

The idea comes after Stanford, one of the most selective schools in the country, admitted just 10 percent of applicants this year, the smallest percentage ever. 

A 20-member study group of faculty, trustees, alumni and a student has been formed by university President John L. Hennessy to weigh the benefits and challenges of expanding the student body. The campus currently has 6,689 undergraduates. It’s not clear how much Stanford might expand, although Hennessy has used the term “slightly” larger. 

If university officials accept a larger freshman enrollment, Stanford will join a growing list of highly selective universities that are opening their doors wider to outstanding students. Stanford, like other elite institutions, has increasingly turned away valedictorians, those with perfect SAT scores, exceptional musical and athletic prowess, and a host of other accomplishments that might have guaranteed admission some years ago.

Schools like Princeton, the University of Chicago, Duke and Rice are all expanding and Yale is considering it. Stanford’s study group plans to consult with everyone from alumni to community members and report back to the board of trustees next fall. A decision will probably come in the next year. 

It’s no coincidence that universities are talking about making more room after seeing explosive growth in their endowments. Stanford is near the top with a fund of $17.2 billion. 

“These colleges are wealthier than they’ve ever been, and yet we’re saying ‘no’ to more kids?” said Lloyd Thacker at the Education Conservancy, a nonprofit in Portland, Ore., dedicated to improving the college admissions process. 

Thacker applauds universities’ efforts to grow: “I think that this could be seen as an educationally responsible thing to do.” 

There are many reasons for the tremendous admissions pressure. The nation saw a 21 percent increase in high school graduates between 1991 and 2003 and is projected to see another 6 percent by 2016 for an annual total of 3.2 million grads, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.

Other universities have gone through that already and are in the midst of or have just completed an expansion: 

– In 2005, Princeton began a seven-year effort to increase its undergraduate body by 500 students - or more than 10 percent - to 5,200 students. The university admitted just 9.7 percent of applicants in 2007 and hadn’t expanded in 30 years.

– Duke is increasing its engineering undergraduate class by 200 to 1,089, which will make it 18 percent of the undergraduate population, up from 15 percent. 

– The University of Chicago recently finished an expansion that grew the on-campus undergraduate body by 1,000 students - or more than 28 percent - to 4,500. 

– In 2006, Rice began expanding its undergraduate class by 30 percent to 3,800, which will take place over a 10-year period. 

– In February, Yale’s governing board will consider adding two new residential colleges to the campus of 5,275 students.

tokenadult · December 17, 2007, 1:30pm

Thanks for the link. I’m not sure Stanford has enough housing stock to increase its enrollment much at all. As it is, undergraduates can’t stay in consistent housing all four years. Stanford has LAND galore, but it needs to rethink its approach to housing to compete with Yale, Harvard, and even Princeton.

DSC · December 17, 2007, 3:37pm

They have the land, build on it, and accept a couple more kids.

There is no real reason to have an acceptance rate under 20%, providing land isn’t too scarce. Obviously time to build is neccesary, but it is not like there are not the quality of students they want.

WashDad · December 17, 2007, 4:51pm

Why doesn’t Stanford re-gift about $10 billion to the University of California, which can serve a bazillion more students with that money?

Wasn’t there actually a serious proposal on the table about 50 years ago to make Stanford a campus of the UC? Maybe it’s time to revisit that idea.

WashDad · December 17, 2007, 4:54pm

Even better, why don’t they give that endowment to me?

xiggi · December 17, 2007, 5:11pm

Yes, that’d work. Or send the money to China or Korea. Or purchase the Niners and the Raiders plus hire competent coaches. Or simply give $20,000 to each Stanford applicant to attend Harvard.

Oops, you were serious, were you?

barrons · December 17, 2007, 5:45pm

Just make 1% of those admits real football players.

WashDad · December 17, 2007, 7:07pm

Xiggi, I was a lot more serious with the second post than the first…

t1388 · December 18, 2007, 9:50am

Seriously, I really like your humor. LOL. :)

knightshield · December 18, 2007, 7:25pm

This I find the most annoying: “A 20-member study group of faculty, trustees, alumni and a student.” One student. Seriously. We are the ones that have the most to gain/lose with additional students. Yet we have little representation to make our voices heard.

siliconvalleymom · December 19, 2007, 12:17am

Stanford has plenty of land to build on, but they do not have support from local government for bold development. Stanford has faced significant resistance on traffic/school impact/environmental grounds (salamanders on the golf course!). 
It’s a funny contrast to walk around UC Berkeley, which is so landlocked and hampered in development (lots of the same political issues, actually) and then stroll around Stanford’s huge campus with surrounding acres completely open.

Increasing Elite Supply: "Stanford considers accepting more students" SF Chronicle

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