I think the class size varies because of last-second changes -- three years ago, when I started, we were supposed to have 100 but apparently someone decided not to come just as classes were starting and it was too late to fill the spot (or something).
They do try -- one of my classmates was literally in her U-Haul on her way to Columbia P&S when she got a call from Duke pulling her off the waitlist. She turned around and started heading south. It was a tricky adjustment, since she didn't have an apartment or anything!
Our starting class of 99 is now at 97. On the first day of orientation, one person deferred. She's now class of 2006. Two weeks later, someone else left. I've heard different reports: some people said there was a death in his family; others said he was simply uncomfortable being so far from home. And we lost one more at the end of our first year. He decided he didn't want to be a doctor after all.
Technically, I'm not even in that class anymore. I'm doing an extra year of research and graduating in 2006. Lots of people do this -- you pay a few hundred bucks to maintain your student status, but there's no tuition charged. Nice. And I got an NIH grant that gives me a tidy little stipend each month for the year, and covers my health insurance. Even nicer!
