²ÝÁñÉçÇø

On Monday morning, Washington State University's Pullman campus will greet its largest freshman class ever — larger by 23 percent than any class it has ever admitted before, and bigger by more than 1,200 students than last year's class.

WSU, which last year reduced the number of freshmen admitted as a result of budget cuts, is now doing the opposite: It is growing the size of the school, with an emphasis on bringing in Washington state students. The school expects to have 1,100 more in-state freshman at the Pullman campus than it did last year.

That's a contrast to almost every other four-year public college in Washington, where the number of freshmen is holding steady or even shrinking. Only the University of Washington is expecting a bigger freshman class, but the increase is coming from out-of-state: The UW's in-state freshman enrollment is expected to be smaller than last year's by about 150 students.