While Binghamton University’s overall undergraduate admissions numbers have continued to grow, transfer applications have fallen to a 10-year low.

The official figures were discussed by the Professional Staff Senate (PSS) — the official governing organization of professional employees at the University — during their meeting on March 29. Since the fall 2013 semester, freshman applications increased from 29,025 to 41,642, approximately a 43 percent rise. During the same period, transfer applications decreased by nearly 18 percent, from 4,590 to 3,774. The acceptance rate for both have fluctuated between around 40 and 50 percent throughout this time.

BU President Harvey Stenger acknowledged the decline in transfer applicants when describing the Binghamton Advantage Program (BAP) expansion during his 2023 State of the University address.

“What we’re trying to do is help [SUNY Broome Community College (BCC)] improve their enrollment, and at the same time, we’re trying to turn around that problem that [was] identified before,” Stenger said. “We are lacking transfer students. We don’t have enough transfer students to meet our goal.”

Stenger expressed hope for the impact of the BAP expansion — which would allow students to live at BCC or at home while also encouraging participation in BU’s student life and guaranteeing a transfer after one year.

The PSS also noted that international student applications are not-yet as high as they were before the COVID-19 pandemic, though the numbers are growing — unlike transfer applications.

Overall freshman applications, though growing, also faced a slight dip years back — though before the COVID-19 pandemic. BU had 38,712 total freshman applicants in fall 2018, which dropped to 37,512 in fall 2019. Since then, however, freshman applications have ramped up steadily.

Ryan Yarosh, the senior director of media and public relations at BU, credited larger statewide initiatives as a potential factor for recent increases in freshman applications.

“The increase is most likely connected to a SUNY policy that offered a two-week period when any student could apply with no fee,” Yarosh wrote in an email. “This has never happened before, and we received more than 20,000 applications during these weeks.”

Alana Nappi, a freshman majoring in business administration, explained how the fee waiver — offered for a portion of fall 2022 — impacted her decision to apply to various universities.

“I sent in my transfer application to [BU] during those two weeks with no application fee,” Nappi said. “It definitely gave me the incentive to apply to more SUNY schools than I otherwise would have.”

While transfer applications to the University have consistently dropped each year, the PSS reported increased figures from international students. According to a Forbes report, larger applicant pools are a national trend among institutions using the Common Application.

Mason Day, a junior majoring in biology, related his college experience to the flux of current events.

“I definitely had a less than normal experience when I decided to attend [BU] during the middle of the [COVID-19] pandemic,” Day said. “I knew some people who put off going to college during this time and instead tried to take time off and work, so it makes sense that people could be deciding to come back to school when things are better now.”