<p>neuchimie, you are right. Harvard has a big hole in the ground in Allston where their science center was to rise. I was referring to a larger endowment allowing Northeastern to offer more grants/scholarships to students. That would improve retention as students would not have to worry as much about rising loan balances etc.</p>
<p>As for the freshman class size, it has been frozen at 2800 since 1990. This has been a godsend for Northeastern. As the applicant pool has grown, acceptance criteria have risen. This class size freeze is partly due to an non-binding agreement with the City of Boston that FT undergraduate enrolment will not exceed 15,000. I have even heard that the freshman class size may be reduced to 2700 in 2012 as Northeastern is over the 15,000 limit due to increased retention. BU on the other hand has increased its freshman class size. When S2 entered BU in 1997, it was 3200, now it is 4100. More students, more tuition but no rise in their admission stats. </p>
<p>OK, son S2 went to BU. He has other redeeming qualities! LOL</p>