The class of 2027 was welcomed to Saint Anselm at the tail-end of August, with over 573 full-time students–the biggest class that the college has seen in recent years. Including commuter students and transfer students, the numbers soar above 600, no doubt creating an active and bustling environment for their new college experience. With a class this size, residence halls are maximizing space for students to reside, and academic departments are flourishing with new enrollment.
Director of Admissions, Julie Lanman, and Christine Gallardo of Residence Life both spoke with the Crier about the process of admitting the large class of new students.
According to Director of Admissions, Julie Lanman, “enrollment for 2027 is larger than what we have seen in recent years”, and that the breakup of the “first-time freshman class is 59% female and 41% male.” A class of first-year students might always look unfamiliar, but with “171 first-time freshman athletes,” according to Lanman, teammates have opportunities to get to know their respective upper and underclassmen.
The class of 2027 also has opportunities to engage with and gain new perspectives, with the nine international students that were welcomed in the fall. Lanman says “some of them are transfer students and a few are first-time freshman students,” with some coming all the way from Australia and Nepal.
Unsurprisingly, the Saint Anselm nursing program is just as popular as it’s always been, as they enrolled “116 students in the nursing program this fall,” according to Lanman. Though it’s not as high as the class of 2026 enrollment was, the college continues to attract and enroll students in the robust nursing program that Saint Anselm offers. With nursing ranking the most common major, it is followed secondly by business, according to Lanman.
With a class this large, where do we put them? Christine Gallardo of Residence Life discussed the process of housing such a large number of students. In response to students noticing the seemingly increased number of temporary triples and quads among the new class Gallardo said, “we do have more temporary triples this year than last, just with the size of the class being extra large this year.” Though that is understandable, due to there being more demand than supply, Residence Life is continuing to work to de-triple the rooms.
According to Gallardo, “we originally sent out letters with assignments with about 15 temporary triples, but we only opened with 10,” touching on their hard work to efficiently break things down for students in a smooth manner. “We’re working on getting the rest de-tripled as fast as we can,” Gallardo said, but finding available space with a large class such as this one tends to slow the process a bit. If any new students are in a temporary triple, just know that “it is something we’re working towards so they don’t have to be in those temporary spaces.
Inevitably, some students have complained about the temporary residence assignments. “I think most of them are really nervous before getting here, but once they get here they haven’t,” Gallardo said. Getting the rooming assignments about temporary triples before move in day caused a bit of confusion for new students, leaving them wondering how to fit all of their belongings in tight quarters. Residence Life takes those concerns seriously, as Gallardo added “they are our high priority.”
The process of assigning a temporary triple or quad really comes down to who fills out the paperwork. According to Gallardo, “we first go by those who missed the housing information form deadline,” and those students are marked for a potential triple assignment. For students who complete the form and still get assigned a temporary triple, extra thought is put into roommate assignments. Things like music taste are a big factor for roommate assignments, as are other things for finding accommodations for people’s tastes. Residence Life pays a lot of attention to commonalities among the new students.
Somewhat shockingly, Residence Life is “having more roommate conflicts with our double students than with our triple students,” Gallardo said. There is not always a particular reason for roommate conflicts, but it is generally difficult having to adjust to living with a person you don’t know. Why roommate conflicts are occurring more frequently with doubles isn’t really known; it could just be the adjustment to college as a whole.
Saint Anselm has proudly welcomed the class of 2027 to the college, and will continue to make them feel welcome to the community. With the large class size, roommate troubles or not, and a lot of fresh faces and ideas, the class of 2027 is well on their way to making Saint Anselm their home.
