For the first time in recent memory, not every student will receive their first-choice Dartmouth-Plan.
The Enrollment Committee decided yesterday to deny 65 freshmen their first-choice enrollment pattern to try to break the recent trend of Fall term over-enrollment.
The eight-member committee, which handles issues related to the D-Plan, randomly chose the freshmen out of a group of 225 students who requested to be enrolled in their remaining three Fall terms.
All 65 will receive their second-choice D-Plan that had one Fall term marked as an off-term.
The committee's action is part of a coordinated effort by several areas of the College to curtail rising Fall term enrollments, which in recent years have contributed to long wait-lists for housing. There have been about 3,800 students on campus the last two falls.
Registrar Thomas Bickel said yesterday if every member of the Class of 1998 received their first-choice enrollment plan, the College would surpass its target residence number of 3,737 students.
Bickel said there is a need to deny some first-year students their top-choice D-Plan. "Things look fairly good, but '96 Fall looks crowded," Bickel said.
Acting Dean of the Faculty Karen Wetterhahn, who chairs the Enrollment Committee, said, "As we look at projected enrollment, it looks like probably 94 percent will get their first choice."
Wetterhahn said those who were denied their first choice can go on "provisional status," which allows them to be enrolled if they can find off-campus housing or a room on campus opens up.
Both Bickel and Wetterhahn said they do not anticipate any enrollment or housing problems this fall. The numbers for this fall are closer to the 3,737 guideline than in previous Fall terms.
"The projections look fine. We're not expecting any problems," Wetterhahn said. The Greek system has "been very responsible in making sure all their beds have been filled. Everybody has pitched in to make sure the students can be accommodated."
Bickel said the College hopes to notify freshman of their D-Plans on Friday. The Registrar's Office hopes to get the data loaded on to computer by tomorrow night so students can check which plan they have received by computer, he said.
Bickel said that because the deadline for Fall term housing is today, no concrete numbers on those desiring College housing will be available for a while. From looking at the enrollment data, however, he said he does not expect any problems.
In early January, the Enrollment Committee released an eight-part plan aimed at reducing the number of students on campus next fall.
Besides deciding not to give all students their first-choice D-Plans, the committee suggested moving some off-campus programs to the fall and also recommended trying to convince associate deans and departmental chairs to shift some sequence classes from fall-winter to winter-spring.