The number of transfer students admitted to Georgetown this year increased by 81, with transfer enrollment jumping by more than 40 for a total of 228 new sophomores and juniors this year.

This marks the second year of consecutive increase in the number of transfer students entering the university. In 2011, the university experienced an unexpectedly high yield on first-year students, causing the university to purposefully limit transfer student enrollment to 141. Since then, application and enrollment numbers have steadily risen.

The rise to 81 admitted transfer students was not heavily influenced by applications, as only 11 more transfer students applied this year than in 2012.

Senior Associate Director of Admissions Bruce Chamberlin said that this year falls on the higher end of the range of transfer student enrollment, which usually runs from 140 to 230 students.

Chamberlin attributed the jump in transfer admission rate to a slight increase in juniors studying abroad, as well as attrition in the Class of 2017 over the summer, also citing a welcoming attitude toward transfer students.

“We welcome transfer students as a critical mass, and bringing 220-plus students really gives some nice unity and some sense of cohesion and community to the transfer students when they arrive,” Chamberlin said. “We’re not talking about a handful of students. We’re talking about a sizeable portion of the student body … at least the transfer students I’ve talked to, they get an immediate sense of community.”

Keith Bennett (COL ’16), a transfer from Connecticut College this year, agreed and said he appreciated the feeling of coming in with a large community of fellow transfers.

“I didn’t expect the class to be as large as it is, but I’m glad it is — we’re already starting to bond as a transfer class,” Bennett said. “The transfer-only events [of NSO] were particularly good because, well, personally, I turn 22 in October, and meeting new freshmen was strange, being four years older than them.”

Chamberlin added that transfer students approach the admissions process more deliberately because of the difficulty of leaving another school — a sentiment Bennett agreed with.

“It was difficult to say goodbye to my friends,” Bennett said. “But once I got into Georgetown, it was a pretty easy decision in terms of fit — I was looking for a place that had opportunities beyond what was available to me at my old school.”

Matthew Ahern (COL ’16), a transfer from Austin College, acknowledged the differences between arriving at Georgetown as a transfer and a freshman.

“After one year of college, you know more specifically what you want or what you don’t want — you can think about things you definitely need to have in your new institution,” Ahern said. “That can definitely inform where you’re looking. And you’ve already gone through the process once, and while it’s not identical, it’s rather similar. That makes it more straightforward.”