This question asks for a conclusion that can be drawn based on the statements in the stimulus, so it's an Inference question.
This stimulus states that, between two time periods, the school system's capacity filled up despite the fact that the college was admitting fewer people for every available spot in the system.
In this, or any other Inference question, look for the answer choice that must be true given the statements in the stimulus. It is not always possible to make an exact prediction, but take a moment to understand the implication of the information provided. According to the stimulus, the school system had the same capacity. To fill up more space, there needs to be more people coming in than going out. However, there are fewer people coming in, so there must be even fewer people moving out!
(E) must be true and is correct. For the percentage to increase, either more people have to move in or fewer people have to leave. Since fewer people are moving in, fewer people must be leaving. They must be sticking around longer.
(A) has no support from the stimulus. Just because this phenomenon occurred for one university at one point in time, it does not mean that it is generally true.
(B) might be true, but it is not necessary that it be true. Since the admission rates are given in number per 100 available spots in the school, it is not necessary that the number of spots decline in order to have an increasing rate of filled spots.
(C) is unsupported. There's no information in the stimulus about application rates.
Similarly, (D) could be true, but again, does not need to be true. As discussed above, fewer dropouts is only one way that average length of enrollment in the system could increase is by having fewer dropouts.
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Everything will fall into place…
There is perfect timing for
everything and everyone.
Never doubt, But Work on
improving yourself,
Keep the faith and
Stay ready. When it’s
finally your turn,
It will all make sense.