Colleges across the country saw their endowments fall over the last year, and since it’s tough to implement big tuition increases at a time when families are feeling financially stressed, some schools have decided to bring in extra money by enrolling more students. Wesleyan will add 120 students over the next four years. Amherst plans to have 180 more students by 2012. Williams will add 10 students next year and Bowdoin plans to add 10 students in each of the next five years. Johns Hopkins University plans to double the number of transfer students. 

And there are plenty of parents who are eager to pay close to $50,000 a year for these schools. While other colleges are likely to see declines in enrollment as families choose lower-cost public universities, highly selective colleges will remain very competitive. Amherst and Williams have received enrollment deposits from a higher percentage of admitted students this year. Rice University has also seen an increase in the percentage of students accepting an admission offer. It may be that in a time when employment prospects are uncertain, families are willing to sacrifice to send their children to highly selective colleges in the hope that a diploma from an elite school will secure their future.