There has been a lot of talk on campus this fall about “overcrowding” and the supposedly larger-than-usual freshman class. In Harris, lines have been consistently out the door, people have been forced to battle over free chairs, and others have been banished to the wall-facing counter seats, rejected even from the “antisocial room.”
While there are, in fact, more students on campus this semester than usual, the numbers are not actually significantly higher, according to several members of the administration, and the campus is “by no means overcrowded.” According to Martha Merrill, Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid, “The College’s current enrollment is only 15 students above our ‘normal’ or projected status.” There are currently 502 freshmen in the class of 2013 (the target was 500).
The College did see a significant increase in the number of transfer applicants this fall, which was a more significant source of the overall increase in population than was the freshman applicant pool. Merrill explained that “it is not always easy to hit our targets perfectly. We thought we might lose more currently enrolled students due to the economy, so we admitted a few more transfers and ended up seeing a stronger yield than in recent years.”
While there is normally an average of twenty transfer students each semester, this fall there were thirty-two.
Perhaps because Conn has such a small campus, even the slight est increases in student body seem more significant. The number of students studying abroad or taking personal or medical leave also contributes to the fluctuations in the population. Two to three fewer students than average are studying abroad this fall, and despite the economy, slightly fewer students than usual have transferred away.
This summer, many rising seniors received e-mails stating that Residential Education and Living was “considering allowing a very small number of additional students to move off campus for the fall… we could extend permission to live off campus as late as July 15.” These missives led to speculation that the college had admitted too many students for the campus to house.
The pre-arrival e-mail to students from the Res Ed office also stated, “We are expecting to be very full in the fall and we are doing our best to house everyone according to their preferences.”
Ever-changing numbers and their unpredictability are some of the challenges that the Residential Education and Living office faces each semester. But to student concerns, Amy Gauthier, Director of Residential Education and Living, said in an interview that “while the campus is certainly full in terms of bed space, it is not at capacity.”
Generally a certain number of rooms are kept open in case of irreconcilable roommate differences, asbestos and other health or safety hazard problems in rooms, and, especially this semester, for quarantining seriously ill students or housing their roommates while they recuperate.
Gauthier continued, “There are still about twelve or thirteen available beds, and there were no new “forced” doubles, triples or quads this semester. In terms of room change requests, “we haven’t had a lot of complaints. I think people know we’re pretty full, so they are more likely than usual to work through issues rather than try to move.”
While there is a waitlist for room changes, this is the case every semester.
In terms of continuing to manage enrollment numbers, Dean Merrill said, “We will continue to monitor overall enrollments as we move into decision-making for the Class of 2014, but we do not anticipate making any significant changes. Our first-year target continues to be 500. We will likely use transfers and the waiting list as a way to manage incoming enrollments, but it is always difficult to anticipate wait list use elsewhere (that would impact ‘summer melt’ [when students who have enrolled do not arrive on campus in the fall for various reasons]) as well as what eaffect the economy might have on upperclass student enrollments.”
Armando Bengochea, Dean of the College Community, said that the slight increase in student body this semester has not had any significant negative impact. “Taking a handful more of very good transfer applicants last January and this fall does not put great stress on the curriculum, advising program or other systems of the College.” Overall, he views the increase as a positive reflection on Connecticut College. “This is really great for the College as it is one among many signals that we remain a very desirable school in a very crowded admission landscape in New England.”
