Great idea. Stanford has the space for more housing, especially as they move some of the admin support functions to Redwood City, and I think it’s a great thing to increase class size to the extent possible.
As the article notes, Yale is doing the same thing - I think it’s 200 more spots per class staring in the fall of 2017.
I think the admission rates for Stanford and a few others are getting so low that the schools have to start worrying about applicants losing interest . . . it’s great to be selective, but at 5%, some people the school would like to have won’t bother to apply.
Stanford also had exceptional students 20 years ago, but then the school was admitting 20% so it didn’t feel like you had to win the lottery to get in.
It’s also tough on alumni relations when a high percentage of qualified legacies don’t get in, as is the case today.
So I think increasing class size has some compelling benefits for Stanford as an institution, as well as for prospective future students.