BURLINGTON, Vt. (AP) – Some 160 more first-year students than expected turned up for this fall semester at the University of Vermont, raising a question about where to put them all.

As in past years when the “yield” – the term campus officials use for the number of accepted students who decide to enroll – was bigger than expected, double rooms are being converted to triples and lounges into living space.

UVM had converted 123 double rooms to triples as of Thursday and turned 28 lounges into dorm rooms. Students assigned to triples got $550 discounted from their housing bill.

“It’s not that bad; I wasn’t upset,” freshman Bobby Mullins said. “I don’t spend that much time here – we’re outside a lot. When it gets cold … there’ll be more body heat.”

Trying to predict exactly how many students will show up in a given September is a tough thing for many schools. In addition to the variable of the yield, there’s the “melt,” – comprising students who pay a deposit in May after they’re accepted and then don’t end up coming to the school in question.

“It’s a crapshoot,” said Chris Lucier, UVM’s vice president for enrollment management.

UVM is not the only Vermont school to see a bumper crop of students enrolling this year. The entering class at Lyndon State College was a record 555 students, up from a previous high of 519.

At Johnson State College, 553 first-year students enrolled for this semester, up from 526 last year.

“We turned all the corner rooms in Governors and Senators residence halls into triple-occupancy rooms,” said college spokesman Stephen Mills. “In addition, we added 10 beds to the college’s Martinetti administrative building.”

Some 645 students enrolled this fall at Middlebury College, about 40 more than expected and also a record, said spokeswoman Sarah Ray.

“We converted about 22 lounges into bedrooms, yielding a mix of doubles and singles,” she said. “We let 20 more students than usual live off campus.”