The housing application process is coming up once again and students are hoping to get lucky this year. This can always be a stressful time for students who are trying to secure a place to stay in the upcoming school year.
Continuing students who plan to live on campus next year have major concerns about the housing application going live after the confusion and difficulties that ensued last year.
From worrying about the adequacy of their living services in these on campus residential halls, such as several power outages, to internet service that could be unreliable for days at a time, and numerous other concerns.
Some of the issues being that continuing students, who paid to apply for housing on time, did not receive a residential hall to live in, and therefore were forced to live in off campus apartments and some even having to stay in hotels because there were no more campus options.
To make matters worse, some students were not notified about their living situations until the last minute.
Skylar Jones, sophomore psychology student, shared her thoughts on the housing problems that arose last school year post several technical difficulties for many students.
“Housing last year was very stressful due to the fact that there was not many on campus housing options available post the WI-FI delay issues. While it has worked out for me now, at the time I certainly was not ready to move to an apartment,” Jones said.
Another factor that played into housing being so chaotic was the over acceptance of new students which limited the amount of space for continuing students.
Nyheim Russell, junior mass media student, believes that there are a couple of ways that the housing application process could be much smoother this year than years prior.
“I think there needs to be clear communication between Housing and Residence Life and the Admissions Office. RHA makes it clear that the Admissions Office is told of a specific number of beds available, and it is then the responsibility of the Admissions office to admit that many new students,” Russell said.
While many did not have good luck with finding housing, for some the process was a breeze. Sophomore journalism student, Jourdan Duncan, had no issues claiming a place to live on campus.
“It was a pretty smooth process to be honest. For it to be my first time, I paid my $175 housing deposit on time and was let into the housing portal with lots of options to choose from so everything went exactly how I expected it to, so I have no complaints,” Duncan said.
Emails were sent out recently from Housing and Residence Life to all continuing students, notifying students of the upcoming housing applications going live with instructions on where to go to apply and certain times students would be able to apply.
In the email it was also noted that the application process will close once all the continuing student application spots are filled. Do not delay, submit the 2023-24 housing application as soon as possible to avoid any issues. The room selection process will be held after course registration for fall 2023 in late April for all students with an active 2023-24 housing application.
In a recent newsletter sent out to all students from Residence Hall Association, they expressed that any questions or concerns can be sent via instagram.
