LULA BURKE, Editor-in-Chief—
Fifty-three new students arrived on campus for this spring semester: Though 17 were transfer students from other institutions, this is the first year that Denison allowed freshmen to enroll mid-year. Those 36 students will likely graduate a semester later than a student who enrolled in the fall.
According to the Denison website, “Denison’s spring enrollment program allows students the chance to pursue a gap semester. Many students who chose a spring enrollment path may use their time to travel, participate in service, athletic, or artistic programs, spend time with family, practice some self care, complete an internship or job experience, read all of Proust, or many other noble pursuits.”
Lauren Dyer of Northbrook, Illinois came to Denison this semester after taking more time to decide where to enroll after her senior year. She was glad that there were so many students in the same situation, and that Denison opened up Spring Enrollment just in time for her to apply.
“When it got to April 30th [of my senior year] I was like “well shoot, I don’t really want to go to any of these schools I picked out.” Since I applied to Denison as a transfer student, this spring was the earliest I could start,” she said. “I knew there was a bigger spring start group this year, so I felt comfortable missing that typical fall orientation experience.”
Dyer decided to take a semester of classes at a local community college during that “gap” semester, which is what the admissions office suggests students do to “keep [ their]minds sharp and help ensure a seamless transition to Denison in January.” Other popular options include travel, service, work, and independent study.
“It was cool to experience that kind of college environment before coming to Denison. I got to meet lots of people that I wouldn’t be able to meet at a four-year school. For example, I became friends with a 35-year-old professional makeup artist in my Women and Gender Studies class who was just starting her education again,” she said.
She said she is liking Denison so far, and feels lucky for the weekly What to DU emails helping her learn more about campus and its events.
“Everyone here is so friendly and my professors are great. Honestly, my favorite part so far is the “Denny deer.” I always see them on my way to Bryant in the morning and they’re so cute. It’s also cool that there are so many events on campus to go to,” she said.
Dyer is not sure whether she will graduate in the spring of 2025 (with other freshmen) or in the winter of 2025. The Denison website notes that acquiring the 126 credits required to graduate “can be accomplished over any number of semesters.”
“Students who enter Denison in the spring are certainly able to graduate 7 semesters later with careful planning. One option is to enroll at Denison with existing college credit earned from AP or IB examinations. Alternatively, students can complete a few extra courses during the academic year, or they can enroll in summer courses and transfer those credits to Denison.”
Accomodating 53 new students in the middle of the school year may seem like a challenge for Housing and Residential Communities, but Director of Admission Drew Riley noted that the amount of students on campus is always changing, and this semester is no different.
“As I’m sure you can guess, the number of students in housing is always in some sort of flux. We always have a small number of students who leave Denison between the fall and spring semesters, either on a leave of absence or to transfer to another institution. We also have students who study abroad in the spring semester, of course,” he said.
This new option for prospective students opens doors to trade opportunities, work experience or simply a semester of rest, all of which contribute to the campus community.