A hundred and fifty years ago, Penn State welcomed 119 students to campus. This year, it's expecting 44,000.

Enrollment at University Park has reached historic highs, but university and borough officials aren't worrying yet.

University spokeswoman Jill Shockey said the number includes students who are studying abroad or otherwise not on campus -- no need to panic over housing shortages or overcrowded classes, she said.

"That number is an estimate, and we won't have an official count until we do it in mid-October," she said.

Shockey said the higher number takes into account a larger-than-usual enrollment in 2006, when a class of about 8,000 freshmen arrived at University Park.

That particular year, 39 percent of applicants accepted their offer; this year, only 29 percent did.

Shockey said that a few other reasons contribute to the

larger-than-usual number this year.

Even more students are enrolled at Penn State's Commonwealth Campuses than ever before, and they contri-

bute to a higher enrollment once they get to University Park.

Enrollment and Admissions

Rob Pangborn, vice president and dean for undergraduate education, agreed with Shockey, saying a full, accurate count of enrollment at University Park won't be taken until mid-October.

Pangborn said that the number of students studying at University Park at this time last year was about 43,000 -- this year, it is 44,000. But he wants to emphasize that these figures are simply estimates, based on a "historical projection."

The university has been closely monitoring the current senior class, which was part of the larger-than-usual freshman class from 2006. And once they graduate, numbers will be closer to normal, he said.

Admissions standards weren't much stricter this year due to increasing numbers of applicants and those who accepted their offers of admission, Pangborn said.

"The number of offers we make isn't that sensitive," he said. "There's a complex interaction between number of applicants and yield of applicants. Last year, the target [number of freshmen] was 7,000, and we got 7,300. This year, the target was 6,800 and we got about 6,800."

Enrollment and Housing

The influx of 8,000 freshmen in 2006 was felt by Housing and Food Services, too. Lynn DuBois, director of ancillary services, said every student who wished to live on-campus this year, including upperclassmen, was offered a contract. That said, many students have been placed in supplemental housing.

DuBois also said the number of students living on campus drops as the fall semester progresses. As the semester continues, housing will survey students to see who is staying on campus, and students will move out of supplemental housing when there are vacancies elsewhere.

Enrollment and the Borough

For State College Borough Council member Theresa Lafer, the ever-growing university is not a negative or positive thing, but simply reality. As the university grows, more and more students are clamoring for downtown housing.

As the West End Revitalization Plan -- a longtime borough project that aims to create new housing options in western State College -- moves forward, Lafer thinks students and longtime State College residents can live together peacefully.

"In all, Borough Council is all in agreement -- we want a community that works for everyone, that's safe, and attractive, and attracts new students and retirees and everybody in between," she said. "I think that's the strength of State College borough -- people. That does include the student residents."

Collegian staff writer Somer Wiggins contributed to this report.