“He wants to take advantage of every possible resource,” she explained. Later, Ms. Meintjes participated in a seminar on Romantic culture. James Fenimore Cooper, she offered, is “sort of meandering through different ideas and spaces. He is trying to be lost, to disappear.”

That is something she and her husband cannot do at this small college in the Berkshires. But that is also the point. And why, even as she embraces her youthful classmates, Ms. Meintjes also organizes gatherings for fellow transfers. “Most of us,” she said, “have lived a life before coming to college.”

That different energy appeals to elite campuses.

Community college transfers “are not your typical Ivy League student,” said Christina Paxson, the president of Brown University, who is in discussions with the Community College of Rhode Island “about formalizing a pathway to Brown.”

But there are other reasons that private colleges are interested in community college students.

Robert Springall , vice president for enrollment management at Muhlenberg College in Allentown, Pa., a leafy campus with fire engine red architectural accents, said his school faces rising competition for first-year students. So, administrators asked, “What other populations can Muhlenberg tap into to find talented and diverse students?” he said.

Students sometimes found their way from local community colleges, but last year, Muhlenberg began courting them. The college offered quicker reading of transcripts and counselors to help navigate. It announced a $15,000 annual scholarship for Phi Theta Kappa members. It also prioritized some spots for transfers, admitting them on March 1, rather than waiting for first-year students to commit on May 1 .

Last year, two community college transfers enrolled; this year, 12 did. And a survey of admitted students last spring revealed an interesting data point: Twelve percent had thought about attending a community college instead.

“We realized that more students that we would consider well-prepared were considering community college,” Mr. Springall said.