By Elizabeth Vogel
The Bluff may seem smaller to you this year. It's not shrinking. The number of students has increased. The University of Portland welcomes its largest freshmen class in history.
There were a record 11,854 applicants to UP. Of those, 5,200 were accepted, and 897 decided to call it home. Last year there were 816 new freshmen.
While the influx of more students can be seen as a result of UP's growing popularity and record applicant pool, there are some concerns that the additional students could push UP beyond its capacity.
Jason McDonald, dean of admissions, said the dorms are the places on campus where a class this size will cause the most strain. He is less worried about other areas, such as academics.
"We've added more sections, so class sizes don't go up," McDonald said.
McDonald also said that this yearly increase in the size of the freshmen class will not become a trend. The University hopes not to exceed 890 new freshmen next fall. To achieve this, McDonald said, they will have to closely monitor their admits.
This week The Beacon examines the potential consequences that a record class size will have on residence life, financial aid, and in the classroom.
