 |
Vincent Capone, a junior, said he can't afford to live off-campus. |
Campus housing options scarce
Hundreds denied for fall semester; Economy spurs a rush to dorms
Returning to the University of Massachusetts at Amherst after a year teaching in China, Vincent Capone, a junior from Winthrop, was counting on a dorm room to save him the hassle, and considerable expense, of living off-campus. Unfortunately, a startling number of his fellow students had the same idea.
Inundated with requests for dormitory rooms, the university told Capone and some 200 other students that they should not expect college housing this fall and referred them to a database of local apartments and potential roommates.
Now Capone and scores of other returning college students are scrambling to find alternative lodging with the start of the semester just three weeks away. College officials across the country blame the housing crunch on rising utility, food, and commuting costs, which have made the once-trendy off-campus apartment an economic liability.
"You plan for a good number of juniors and seniors to move off campus, but that didn't happen this year," said John Hoey, a spokesman for the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth, which this summer received 700 applications for 400 additional spaces on campus. "We were a little shocked."
In another surprising turnaround, 150 applications came from students who had previously lived off-campus. Typically, students do not return to campus after they leave, said David Milstone, associate vice chancellor for student affairs.
The mounting expense of living off-campus has sharpened competition for dorm rooms and added to the financial burden many students are facing this fall. An anemic economy and chaotic student loan market have already conspired to make tuition bills particularly daunting, and for students like Capone, who rely on financial aid and loans to pay for campus housing, the prospect of renting an apartment is unsettling.
"There's a confluence of financial factors this summer," said Edward Adelman, executive director of the Massachusetts State College Building Authority, which manages dormitories for the state college system. "Students are looking to walk to breakfast and class, and leave the car in the lot a few days a week."
Dormitories at the nine state colleges for the fall will be 5 percent above capacity, Adelman said, with three students sometimes sharing rooms meant for two.
At UMass-Amherst, the number of returning students seeking on-campus housing increased by more than 400 over last year, officials said. In the letter informing students of the housing shortage, university officials acknowledged they were caught off guard by the heightened demand, and named national economic trends as the cause.
"National trends in college and university campus housing indicate that more students are choosing to live in campus residence halls," stated the letter sent by the housing office earlier this month. "The increase in the cost for utilities and commuting are making living on-campus a more attractive option for many students."
A UMass-Amherst spokesman said the housing office is still in the process of placing students in dorm rooms and does not have a solid estimate of how many students will not be able to live on campus. Boston College, Suffolk University, and Northeastern University are also reporting high demand for campus housing.
Colleges have traditionally urged students to live on campus, believing dormitories provide a safer, more engaged experience that encourages students to be more involved in college life. Surveys indicate that students who live on campus do better in school and are more likely to graduate, administrators say.
To that end, colleges have built increasingly plush dormitories over the last few years, complete with a range of amenities that students - and the parents who are footing the bill - have come to expect. Instead of cramped, cinder-blocked doubles off double-loaded corridors, students live in spacious single rooms in apartment-like suites with kitchens and dining rooms.
At Boston University, a 26-story dormitory slated to open next fall will feature air-conditioned rooms and high-speed Internet and cable television. Like previous new dorms, the 960-student facility will fill up immediately, housing director Marc Robillard predicted.
Robillard said students have consistently clamored for more student housing, and that those who choose to live off campus may change their minds when they see the heating bills this winter.
"When that reality hits, things may change," he said. "If you go off-campus, you're really taking a financial risk."
The freedom and amenities of off-campus life have long attracted undergraduates, and the ability to share living expenses with several roommates often makes it less expensive than campus housing.
This fall, however, the equation has changed. High food prices have made the campus meal plan more of a bargain, and surging fuel expenses have chased some students back to the fixed costs of the dormitory.
"In the dorms, your utility bill isn't going to spike," said James Baumann, director of communications and marketing for the Association of College & University Housing Officers International, a professional organization based in Columbus, Ohio.
The cost of dorm rooms at Boston-area colleges varies widely by type and institution. At UMass-Amherst, a single room costs between $5,300 and $7,600 for the academic year. At Boston University, an apartment with two or more students costs $9,920, while a single apartment costs $13,270. Framingham State College, where most students commute to campus, charges about $5,000 a year.
College rooming costs typically rise in tandem with tuition, but do not usually climb excessively from year to year.
College administrators say they have heard growing rumblings about the cost of gasoline from students shuttling between work, home, and classes. The added expenses are upending a precarious financial balance, they say.
"We're expecting to open at capacity, and the demand is such that we're looking into new residence halls," said Glenn Cochran, director of residence life and housing at Framingham State. "Students are working hard to make it all work."
At this point, Capone would settle for the most spartan room. Because he did not live on campus last year, he was not allowed to apply for housing until Aug. 1. This week, he said an employee at the housing office told him his odds of landing a room this fall were "slim and none."
But with little savings, Capone, 21, said he cannot afford an apartment and said he may have to take the semester off.
"I've been able to pay for campus housing with financial aid and student loans, but with off-campus you have to pay up front," he said. "School starts Sept. 1. What am I supposed to do?"
© Copyright 2008 Globe Newspaper Company.
