More upperclassmen are living off campus this year than at any time since residence in the Houses became College policy, Dean Watson said yesterday. Watson estimated that "by the time things settle down next week," some 140 undergraduates, almost all seniors, will be living in off-campus rooms and apartments.

Watson said the vast majority of students living outside the Houses are doing so "at the College's convenience" to relieve overcrowding.

Sharp decreases in leaves of absence and firings for academic reasons were the two main factors behind the overcrowding, Watson said. He also cited the gradual deconversion of House suites and the declining number of commuters.

Fear of the draft, Watson said, convinced many students that a leave of absence would be too risky. More college-age men are being drafted now that Selective Service defers husbands as a matter of policy, and some students planning two-year leaves returned early this Fall to escape induction.

Few Flunk Out

Watson said that only 33 students were dropped for poor scholastic performance last June. On the basis of past experience, the College had expected 75 or 30 to flunk out.

"With the 260 students living off or in Claverly and those in suites that should be deconverted," Watson said, "we could almost fill another House right now."

The College has no intention of changing its policy of keeping off-campus permissions to a minimum, Watson noted. When overcrowding is relieved by the Tenth House he said, the privilege of "living out" will again be reserved for special cases.