Increased admissions yield for class of 2014 raises concerns of over-capacity

Due to the larger-than-expected size of the class of 2014, the college's office of admissions has faced decisions as to how to balance the size of the student body going forward as well as the acceptance rate for the class of 2015 and future classes.

The yield rate for the class of 2014 was 44.3 percent, leading to a class size of 636 students, which is larger than most previous years. This, in addition to the fact that fewer juniors are going abroad in the 2010-11 school year, contributed to the college reaching over-capacity.

"Certainly, as Wellesley was stretched in terms of the capacity to accommodate the larger overall enrollment, the focus will be on managing closer to capacity in the coming year," Dean of Admissions Jennifer Desjarlais said.

However, Desjarlais said, "It is too early to tell what the admit rate will be for the class of 2015, and there are always many factors to consider when making projections for admissions."

Desjarlais continued to state that, in recent years, first-year enrollment at the college has not been variable. The amount of juniors going abroad has also been steady in recent years. Both factors will be analyzed to determine if these changes are part of a growing trend or are merely irregularities.

These factors will be analyzed together with the composition of the applicant pool and how it compares to last year's.

As concerns on managing the issue of over-capacity increases, students ar concerned about the impact of larger futur eclass sizes and how it affects the quality of life for current students. "The housing crisis has been the most significant concern for me in regards to the larger class size," Amy Winstead '13 said. "Students are being forced to live at Regis College, when they chose Wellesley, a liberal college, as their residence. I think they should be given greater compensation."