Hundreds of Boston University students will not attend BU for the spring semester because they will leave on study abroad programs, transfer to different schools or graduate early.
An estimated 520 students will return from study abroad programs, while 130 to 140 students will transfer in, and about 30 to 40 students will enter as freshman, according to BU spokesman Colin Riley. But Riley said about 1,250 students graduated from the university in December.
Riley said the population stays relatively stable from semester to semester because as many students usually leave the university for study abroad programs as will return from the semester before.
“There is a very static, stable enrollment at Boston University,” he said. “[But] we never know exactly how many students there will be until the first day of school.”
Riley said the low attrition rate at BU leads to the static enrollment numbers.
Compared to several other Boston-area schools, the freshman retention rate at BU is relatively high. According to the Princeton Review’s website, 89 percent of freshmen return to BU as sophomores, as compared to Northeastern University, which has an 84 percent return rate, and the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, which has an 83 percent return rate.
However, other area schools have higher retention rates than BU, including Boston College, with 95 percent, and Harvard University and Tufts University with 96 percent each.
“[The low attrition rate] tells us that students are making good decisions about the school they are going to,” Riley said. “Students are succeeding well and more students are coming back.”
School of Hospitality Administration freshman Jacqueline Cornell will attend class today as a first-semester freshman. Cornell, after being selected by BU last spring, deferred her acceptance until this semester.
“I took a semester off to work and earn money to pay for school,” she said. “I also took classes at a local community college.”
Cornell said she was one of 90 students attending her recent orientation – 60 were transfer students and 30 were new freshmen.
Cornell said orientation and move-in went smoothly but there were some problems with housing.
“I had to reapply for housing,” she said. “It was based on what was available.”
Cornell said she did not find out where she was going to live until the day she left her California home to fly to Boston. She said the short notice delayed getting her belongings to BU.
College of Arts and Sciences sophomore Eryn Ascenzo transferred to the university this spring from Brandeis University. The orientation was well organized and welcoming, Ascenzo said, though she was disappointed during her class selection period because of the number of full classes.
Ascenzo said she transferred to the university because of BU’s strong Art History program and study abroad programs.
“I didn’t like the Art History program at Brandeis,” she said. “I felt the program was stronger here as well as the visual arts program.”