Housing Shortage Causes Brown Transfer Numbers to Plummet

The number of transfer students enrolling at Brown University this acadmic year is sharply lower than the number enrolled in past years, the Brown Daily Herald reports.

A total of 195 students transfered to Brown in 2005 -- 145 in the fall and 50 in the spring.

This year, by contrast, only 42 transfers will come to Brown. 22 transfers enrolled this fall and another 20 are expected to enroll in the spring.

Brown Dean of Admission Jim Miller told the Herald that transfer admissions were reduced because of a shortage of on-campus housing. Last year, a number of transfer students and other undergraduates had to be assigned to converted lounges because other housing was not available. Transfer admissions were lowered this year to avoid a repeat of that situation.

In the past, Brown enjoyed a reputation as an exceptionally "transfer-friendly" university, based both on the number of transfers it accepted each year and on the support extended to transfer students.

Source: "Transfers: Going the Way of the Buffalo?" - editorial, the Brown Daily Herald, September 7, 2006