Only 22 new transfer students entered Brown this fall, down from 145 last year. These 22 students, selected from the largest ever transfer applicant pool, represent an acceptance rate of between 5 and 6 percent, meaning that it was "much harder to get in as a transfer than it was as a freshman," according to Dean of Admission Jim Miller '73.
The transfer acceptance rate was less than half the 13.8 percent acceptance rate for first-years and lower than Yale University's acceptance rate of 8.6 percent, which was the lowest general acceptance rate in the Ivy League. Twenty more transfers will enter in January, Miller said, down from 50 last year.
Miller attributed the sudden decrease in transfer numbers to a lack of available spaces.
"The number (of transfers) we admit every year is really driven by the number of seniors who graduated the year before," he said, adding that "the other issue is that the freshman class is larger than we expected." Brown welcomed 1,475 first-years this year, while there were 1,549 graduates in May. The size of the incoming class has been increasing for the past few years.
Miller said the number of transfer students admitted "can be as high as 175 or 180," depending on the number of spaces available. Last year's 145 was an increase from 112 in 2004.
Michael Thompson '07, founder and president of the Brown Organization of Transfer Students and a transfer counselor, told The Herald he does not think that transfers should be penalized because of the number of incoming first-years.
"As a numbers game, if someone doesn't do their job, transfers shouldn't suffer," he said. "I don't think it's fair."
A housing shortage last year meant that some of the 1,585 incoming students, including a number of transfers, were temporarily housed in converted lounges. Thompson noted that only three transfers are in temporary housing this year, though he believes housing transfers in lounges would be preferable to decreasing the number of transfer students so suddenly.
Thompson said administrators should have received "more input from students" before dramatically reducing the number of admitted transfers. He said he believes the decrease will be detrimental for both the transfer population and the larger University community.
"I feel strongly that it's a very negative thing for transfers," he said, adding, "It's hard to have a sense of community ... the critical mass isn't there."
Thompson continued: "Transfers bring in a very unique perspective from outside. As far as questioning the system, it's something transfers do."
Eric Rodriguez '08, one of the select 22 transfers beginning his Brown career this semester, brings just such a perspective. Rodriguez transferred from a community college in California, where he enrolled after serving military duty in Iraq. He said although he was surprised to be part of such a small group, having "heard that on average Brown accepts anywhere from 100 to 200 transfer students," it has also been "kind of cool because everybody knows who we are." He added that when he found out, upon arrival, that there were only 21 other transfers, he "was really surprised and a little bit honored."
Head Transfer Counselor Andrew Lipsky '07 said Brown is generally perceived as a "transfer-friendly" place, a reputation that may have been "misleading" for this year's transfers, who likely have expected to join a much larger group.
"I think it's definitely a bad thing that there's less transfers," he said.
He echoed Thompson's opinion that transfers make noticeable contributions to the Brown community. "They oftentimes are more active than the average Brown student," he said, adding that as a transfer, "You don't take it for granted that you're here."
Natalie Rubin '08 said Brown's transfer-friendly reputation was part of the reason she transferred here last spring from Carleton College in Northfield, Minn.
"There's that sense that when you get here you won't be alone," Rubin said. She said she fears the low number of transfers admitted this year "might deter future people from wanting to transfer here."
Lipsky agreed, saying, "If the numbers stay where they're at in the future, Brown will become a less transfer-friendly place."
