First-time student enrollment has increased at MSU from 6,854 students in 2002 to about 8,100 students this year, only to be complemented by the lowest rate of students dropping out in the history of MSU’s Academic Orientation Program, or AOP.

As MSU gains recognition for its accomplishments in academics and athletics, more students are visiting campus and appreciating what the university and its campus have to offer. This year’s freshmen class had higher ACT scores and grade-point averages than last year’s incoming freshmen. And with so many strong applications being sent to MSU, admissions accepted more students, not realizing how many would commit to MSU instead of pursuing other schools.

Although a larger class size increases diversity on campus, it also places many first-year students in a crammed “transitional” living space with two roommates.

After AOP, this is many students’ first impression of this campus, and transitional housing could cause many to regret their decision to come to MSU before they have gained the complete college experience, diminishing MSU’s reputation instead of improving it.

Admissions might have accepted more freshmen this year than ever before because of a lack of state funding for MSU. Although MSU is set to receive a gross appropriation of approximately $298,733,800 from the higher education portion of the budget, approximately $15 million more than last year, the MSU Board of Trustees decided this was not enough to keep tuition rates from rising. The budget was not signed until this past summer, much later than acceptance letters were sent, but admissions might have anticipated a deficit in MSU’s budget and accepted more students to reduce it.

But even MSU President Lou Anna K. Simon recognizes the incoming student class size as a mistake, and hopefully the same mistake will not happen again next year.

Admissions needs to set a strict number of students accepted and put the rest on a waiting list or defer them until the spring semester. As accepted students commit to other universities, MSU then can admit wait-listed students, hopefully decreasing both the number of students in transitional housing and class sizes.

MSU should learn from the mistake they made this year and make sure the university has the proper accommodations for the number of students they accept. If class sizes continue to grow but the size of residence halls and classrooms stay the same, students only will have a decreased educational experience instead of truly enjoying the many benefits of being a Spartan.