Scripps College welcomed eight new transfer students this spring.

The admissions office received 20 transfer applications this semester, of which 13 were admitted, and nine enrolled. According to Scripps Admissions Office Admission Counselor and Transfer Coordinator Kristina Brooks, one student deferred for personal reasons. Last fall, Scripps was unable to admit any transfer applicants due to a lack of space, Brooks said in her Feb. 9 e-mail on the matter. “In the fall [of 2011], we had 144 applications and could not admit any, so we were very happy to admit a number of highly qualified students this spring.”

First-year transfer Kaitlin Morris is very happy to be here, too. “It’s been so much easier to make friends than I thought,” she said. “No one’s been sassy to me because I’m a transfer.” Morris’s older sister Emily is a junior at Scripps, which has also made Kaitlin’s transition easier, because Emily has helped introduce her to friends.

Kaitlin was wait-listed when she applied to Scripps her senior year of high school. She started last fall at Occidental College in Los Angeles, Calif., but wasn’t happy with social life there. Kaitlin said the transfer applicationtoScrippswaseasier,but asking Occidental professors to write recommendations for her made for some awkward conversations.

Kaitlin, who is originally from Newport Beach, Calif., was waived out of Core I, is in Core II right now, and will take Core III next fall. She is also currently taking Writing 50. She’s considering a minor-major or dual major combination of economics and European studies.

Transfer Team Leader Nadia Danilovich (’12) said that she feels that the transfer students are adjusting well. “Nobody’s come to me saying that they haven’t made friends yet,” said Danilovich. Two more peer mentors, both juniors and previous peer mentors, were added to accommodate the transfers, and Danilovich has added two transfers to her existing peer mentor group. She said that one of her biggest jobs as a peer mentor to transfer students is to make sure they’re making friends and signing up for activities.

This spring, the admissions office received fewer applications than normal, while more students were admitted than the average. Brooks said Scripps receives an average of 25 completed transfer applications in the spring, and about nine applicants are admitted, making for a 39 percent acceptance rate. The average yield of those admitted, said Brooks, is six.

Brooks said transfer students’ college grades are weighed more heavily than their high school grades during consideration. “We also consider what they will contribute to the campus community.” All new transfers are first years or sophomores. Danilovich said that all but three of the eight transfers are living on campus. Two have an apartment at Brighton Park north of the colleges, but pay Scripps room and board, and one found her own housing.