Saint Anselm College has begun to welcome the class of 2027 to the Hilltop. With acceptance letters being mailed to students and confirmations being made, admitted students enjoyed an open house to get an understanding of all the opportunities Saint Anselm has to offer. The open house gave committed students an opportunity to meet with different academic departments, clubs, organizations, and administrators. The college looks to rebound from some low enrollment years, similar to other local small universities. 

According to the office of admissions, there are an estimated 400 first year students currently enrolled at the college for the fall semester. Over 3,000 students were admitted, leaving about a 7.5% enrollment rate for accepted students. “This is slightly higher than last year due to an increase in applications,” Julie Lanman, Director of Admissions, said. Last year, the college saw a decrease in enrollment percentage compared to accepted students. There still remains room for accepted and transfer students to enroll at Saint Anselm. However, the acceptance rate is not trending in a positive direction. “Our acceptance rate continues to be lower than last year,” Lanman said. 

The college has hosted several events for both admitted prospective students. There were admitted student events hosted in February and March, as well as one in the third weekend of April. At these events, students are given the opportunity to engage with faculty members of all departments, meet with clubs and organizations, speak with administrators, and understand what it means to be a part of the Anselmian community. President Favazza speaks at each event with the admitted student and their families about his engagement with the college community and gives his perspective on what being a member of the Anselmians Community is all about.  These events have been extremely popular with admitted students. An estimated 500 students have come to the Hilltop to learn more about what it would be like to be a student at  Saint Anselm. “We have seen an increase in the number of admitted students visiting the Hilltop. Between our last event and the other two admitted events in February and March, we have hosted around 500 admitted students on campus,” Lanman said. 

Recently, some small Liberal Arts colleges have struggled to maintain high enrollment numbers post COVID. In addition to the college’s low enrollment numbers, Saint Michael’s College, located in Vermont, has had similar struggles in maintaining strong enrollment. Saint Anselm continues to believe that their numbers are strong and that the dry spell in enrollment is surmountable. “Every institution has its own unique set of challenges.At Saint Anselm, we work diligently each year as a community to plan and adapt our programs, recruitment and enrollment practices to meet the demands of prospective students while staying aligned with our mission as a Catholic Benedictine college,” the Director of Admissions said. 

There are no further plans from the Office of Admissions or Enrollment to host another formal open house for admitted and accepted students. The college will continue to host individual and group tours, according to the Office of Admissions. In addition to the open houses, the visits continue to be effective marketing tools to give students a good understanding of Saint Anselm and all that it has to offer. It has been advised by the Office of Admissions for current students to interact and talk with prospective and admitted families. An email from the Admissions Office went out to all students encouraging them to speak with and exemplify the Anselmian values to all students and families that visited the Hilltop during the Open House. As enrollment season continues, the college is looking forward to seeing more students enrolling and becoming a part of the Anselmian and Benedictine community.