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Reading the stimulus at first, this question can seem baffling. However, its really not a difficult question, as most of the answer choices listed do not require much thought to eliminate. Options (A), (D), and (E) can almost immediately be eliminated.

Between (C) and (D), (C) is an easy winner because it alone explains how the number of offers can increase without the class size increasing. So (C) it is.
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Attachment:
College.PNG
College.PNG [ 8.49 KiB | Viewed 11449 times ]

Clearly option (C) is the winner...


This year, the number of applications at College X increased by nearly 5%, while the size of the entering class and the structure of the admissions process remained the same.However, the admissions director of College X claims that this year a greater proportion of its applicants received offers of admission from the college than in years past.

A. This year College X moved up in all major rankings of undergraduate programs.

Irrelevant and out of scope.

B. This year, the number of high school graduates who applied to colleges increased by 5%.

This has been explicitly been stated in the stimulus " number of applications at College X increased "

C. This year, nearly twice as many accepted applicants at College X decided to attend other colleges.

number of applications at College X increased.... greater proportion of its applicants received offers....... size of the entering class remained the same.

So, the issue is most of the students receiving final offers are not joining the college..


D. The admissions process at College X is substantially more competitive, as compared to other colleges of similar academic profile.

Irrelevant and out of scope.

E. College X is located in a major metropolitan area with a high concentration of potential college applicants.

Out of scope


This is not a hard nut to crack , but a very good question, all the other options except (C) can be easily negated, I call this question a test of Negation for Test Takers...
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This year, the number of applications at College X increased by nearly 5%, while the size of the entering class and the structure of the admissions process remained the same. However, the admissions director of College X claims that this year a greater proportion of its applicants received offers of admission from the college than in years past.

Type- paradox

A. This year College X moved up in all major rankings of undergraduate programs. - Incorrect - the shift in rankings is not relevant

B. This year, the number of high school graduates who applied to colleges increased by 5%. - Irrelevant

C. This year, nearly twice as many accepted applicants at College X decided to attend other colleges. - Correct - This explains why more students received admit since lots of them chose to attend other colleges

D. The admissions process at College X is substantially more competitive, as compared to other colleges of similar academic profile. - Irrelevant

E. College X is located in a major metropolitan area with a high concentration of potential college applicants. - Irrelevant

Answer C
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