November 15 is the first Early Decision deadline for applicants to Pomona’s Class of 2006. The College’s admission committee will, as always, consider a broad variety of factors in selecting qualified candidates. As Pomona’s notoriety increases (with commendable precision, the official web site notes "1,005 media mentions in 2000-01"), admission will inevitably become even more selective. After two years of over-admitting applicants, however, the admission committee must make a special effort to restrict class size in order to ensure the continued well-being of the College community.

The school said by Princeton Review to have the "happiest students" in America and ranked number five among national liberal arts colleges by U.S. News and World Report can expect a markedly larger applicant pool this fall than ever before. With such rapid growth, overcrowding on campus remains a serious concern. Housing is already stretched beyond capacity, and the potential for another large incoming class poses an immediate threat to the ideal of Pomona as a residential campus. When too many students are living in one place, the benefits of an integrated academic community are compromised by over-concentrated housing.

The issue is made more acute by the fact that the admissions committee has established somewhat of a pattern of over-admission. The Class of 2005, at 393 students, was larger than anticipated by at least 18. This placed even more pressure on an existing housing crunch, one result of which is the semi-permanent "Trailer-Clark" housing structure north of Clark I, a fixture substantially and even symbolically out of step with the character Pomona has worked so hard to cultivate.

In order to alleviate the housing crunch and ensure the highest quality of education for those whom it does admit, Pomona must take advantage of its role as prestigious institution. For the Class of ’05, selectivity and yield, or the number of accepted students who matriculate, were both improved over the previous year. With more thorough statistical analysis, the College might have anticipated a higher yield and compensated by admitting fewer students, thus helping to alleviate the housing problem.

It falls on the committee this year to correct their mistake by admitting fewer students. Certainly the opportunity of an education at Pomona should be offered to as many qualified and willing students as possible, but selectivity is justly one of the College’s hallmarks, and it will ensure Pomona’s well-being for a considerably longer time than will admitting a few extra students. The admission committee should consider carefully the consequences, as well as the qualifications, of the class they admit.