[media-credit name=”Patrick Halloran” align=”alignright” width=”500″][/media-credit]

The population has grown substantially in the 2015-2016 school year. Approximately 9,700 students, undergraduate and graduate, are enrolled in the university this year—2,100 of those are new students, both freshmen and transfers.

Vice President of Public Affairs Lynn Bushnell said in a statement that the brand and prestige of attending this university resonated with students and parents.

“Our success in developing academic programs that are attracting more students has not gone unnoticed by respected organizations like the New England Association of Schools and Colleges, Moody’s Investor Services and Standard & Poor’s. The university community should be very proud of these accomplishments,” Bushnell said.

During the 2007-2008 school year, the university planned to move the enrollment up to 10,000 undergraduate and graduate students. With that number, the university “believes it can sustain excellence in its programs and provide diversity in its co-curricular offerings in its student body,” Bushnell said.

Now, the numbers are right in line with the growth plan.

Junior Meaghan Goode said she noticed her classes got bigger.

“I don’t like that,” Goode said. “They’re only larger by five to 10 people, but in some classes, that makes a big difference.”

Bushnell said this year there were nearly 24,000 aspiring applicants for the Class of 2019.

“The university received 23,897 applications for this year’s class,” she said in the statement. “The most popular majors are physical therapy, biology, health sciences studies, finance and psychology. We also had 7,500 applications for the 90 seats in the medical school.”

There are eight schools at Quinnipiac, five of which are located at the North Haven campus: the School of Law, the School of Education, School of Health Sciences, School of Nursing and the School of Medicine.

Recently, the university added a shuttle from main campus to the North Haven campus.

“The expansion of the North Haven campus has definitely contributed to the growth, particularly at the graduate level,” Bushnell said in the statement. “We have invested more than $300 million in our North Haven campus. Forty percent of all our students now take classes in North Haven… We will always be deeply invested in Hamden as we have two campuses there, but any future growth will likely focus on North Haven.”

On the other hand, Quinnipiac has come across some issues with housing.

Senior Nicole Babish said she heard the news about the new freshman dorms replacing some study lounges.

“I think that’s ridiculous. It’s upsetting that the school isn’t putting in enough effort into making things bigger,” Babish said.

Goode said the freshman housing situation is out of control.

“I would never want to live with seven other people in a lounge as a freshman,” Goode said. “I thought that living in a quad was a big enough adjustment from high school and living at home, but the eight person rooms… I can’t imagine.”

The dining hall is also becoming an issue, according to Babish.

“There’s no way the [cafeteria] can accommodate as many students as we have,” Babish said.

Sophomore Jackie Walsh thinks the cafeteria is big enough but admitted there are times when it’s too crowded.

“[If there are] too many people there at the same time, it becomes difficult,” Walsh said.

With such a large increase in population this year, the university expects enrollment numbers to plateau or increase only slightly in future years. Quinnipiac expects admissions to become much more competitive as it’s reputation heightens.

“The university community should be very proud of these [academic] accomplishments…the university’s quality and prestige are resonating more broadly with prospective students, causing a greater demand for a Quinnipiac education,” Bushnell said.