Housing

[frogger]

Never again will I let my child apply to a place that doesn't have enough housing for every applicant. Every apartment around is wait listed and we started looking months ago. Just a warning and something to think about when applying to colleges.

 

[J-rap]

Wow, I would never have even considered that a possibility!  That's really terrible.  Is there dorm space?

[catz]

I will say I know my son's university is cramming 3 kids into doubles because of unexpected higher numbers so guaranteed housing doesn't necessarily mean great housing.  I think a lot of schools are going to be struggling with this coming this fall because of deferment, extra kids that didn't get the full freshman dorm experience will want it after doing their first year in their childhood bedroom, etc.  My son's university is a mess for housing this fall and they've already announced this will be the largest ever incoming class. 

I will say at my son's U that stuff will open up as the school year gets closer for sublets, people dropping, etc.  Frantic shuffling happens late summer.  They already announced no chance for the kids on dorm wait lists this time though and usually they clear out a lot if not all of their wait list.  They do guarantee for those who have housing deposits in my april sometime but plenty of people want it after that date.  

Anyway, I did want to mention that I do think it's a very unusual fall on many campuses and I am sorry it has hit your family.  I hope you find something for your student soon.  Back in my day, I was on a wait list for housing at a large university and moved into some place about 10 days into the semester.   Good luck!  ❤️  

[MEmama]

DS's university doesn’t guarantee housing, either, although as an international student he will have priority. Off campus housing in his new city is expensive and hard to come by, especially from overseas. He'll be okay this year but next year might be a different situation unless he wants to AND can secure on campus housing again. 

[1234]

Housing is tricky at dc’s university as well. They’ve had a lot of trouble with older dorms so off campus housing has been going fast. They signed their lease for this August last year. It’s crazy.

[teachermom2834]

My son’s intended university is overbooked too. Upperclassmen who planned to live on campus and didn’t find off campus apartments were late to find out there was nothing left for them after freshman room selection. (I guess they let freshman pick first). Transfer students out of luck too and harder to find off campus housing when you are new. 
 

Very frustrating indeed. Hope it works out soon, OP.

[frogger]

No dorm space either. That would be the simplest. 

[MEmama]

Is it common for people to let a room? It’s not ideal, maybe, but in some areas it might be a decent alternative to an apartment. 

[frogger]

20 minutes ago, MEmama said:

Is it common for people to let a room? It’s not ideal, maybe, but in some areas it might be a decent alternative to an apartment. 

Yes, we have been searching room mate sites, room for rent sites, Airbnb, all sorts of things. Hopefully, something will show up but it is stressful.

[RootAnn]

I thought they pretty much got through the wait list for housing if this is your kid at the same place as mine. Mine still has an open room in her suite. 

Also, there are still people looking for roommates on the parent FB page. I saw a post today looking for a male to share a house with two others. $650/month (includes everything, I think). Own room & bathroom.

[frogger]

I hate hate hate Facebook but perhaps he will have to make an account. Part of the problem is the lack of vehicles. We can find people sharing homes but they are often too far away. Neither my son or the person he was original going to share a place with have a car which of course, really restricted how far you can go. He will probably have to ditch his friend because he can go 5x's as far as his friend on his bike.

 

After many hours today we did find some fancy studios that cost more than the two bedrooms he had been asking about before. They are not only way more expensive but actually worse for him as there is no where to store his bike but they are a place to live. He would just have to leave his mode of transportation home. 😕

Edited July 4, 2021 by frogger

[Longtime Lurker]

1 hour ago, frogger said:

After many hours today we did find some fancy studios that cost more than the two bedrooms he had been asking about before. They are not only way more expensive but actually worse for him as there is no where to store his bike but they are a place to live. He would just have to leave his mode of transportation home. 😕

Could he just bring his bike inside?

[frogger]

57 minutes ago, Longtime Lurker said:

Could he just bring his bike inside?

He does that where ever he can get away with it. He was able to bring it in at the dorms and store it in his room. I'm going to have him double check the dorms again just in case since RootAnn said they were getting through the wait-list. He isn't here now so I can't ask.

Edited July 4, 2021 by frogger

[gardenmom5]

6 hours ago, teachermom2834 said:

My son’s intended university is overbooked too. Upperclassmen who planned to live on campus and didn’t find off campus apartments were late to find out there was nothing left for them after freshman room selection. (I guess they let freshman pick first). Transfer students out of luck too and harder to find off campus housing when you are new. 
 

Very frustrating indeed. Hope it works out soon, OP.

The school the girls attended (and a different one 1ds wanted to go to) both require freshman live on campus.  So, they have priority.

1ds ended up getting into our local university - which saved a ton in tuition, room and board, etc.  He's living with 1dd while working on his MS. (the college wouldn't tell any one if they got in or not until JULY!!!!! before their Jr year when the academic year starts in September! - so he was still having to put down no-refundable deposits at the other school.  the university finally cracked down on the college for that, so his undergrad class is the last one to deal with that.)

[frogger]

It is somewhat funny that my daughter's housing has turned out cheaper than my son's. She is in downtown Chicago and he is in Alabama.  If he could find a rental off campus it would be way cheaper. I don't know what or if he will find much of anything currently on or off campus. We just need to be faster at jumping on things I guess.  I wish they had less fancy dorms and simply more of them and cheaper. 

[73349]

I have a family member who actually did not finish college because there was no safe & affordable housing available near the university, which would only provide housing for first-year students. I would say if you find somewhere, consider as long a rental agreement as you can.

[frogger]

1 hour ago, Carolina Wren said:

I have a family member who actually did not finish college because there was no safe & affordable housing available near the university, which would only provide housing for first-year students. I would say if you find somewhere, consider as long a rental agreement as you can.

If he can find something that is decent he at this point is willing to accept 12 month leases and pay over the summer. His savings is gone and he is stretched thin but by the time you pay application fees, and shipping your stuff or finding storage, and putting down deposits, and hours looking it just isn't worth it. Pretty sure child 3 is staying local so that will be one less headache. 

[MerryAtHope]

I hope he can find something. Does the school or town have a bus system? I actually lived 3 miles out a couple of years, but the buses were decent. I sometimes walked in good weather.

[klmama]

FB may be your answer.  That's how my dc and former roommate found a house near campus after they couldn't find 2 more friends to share a university apartment (4 students had to apply together).  Someone posted needing 1-2 housemates.  

[MEmama]

Your kid might try university specific, admitted student discord or Reddit sites too. Social media is their friend. 🙂 Truly, it’s how *everything* gets done. 

[Amy in NH]

nm

Edited July 5, 2021 by Amy in NH

[Amy in NH]

On 7/3/2021 at 5:20 PM, MEmama said:

Is it common for people to let a room? It’s not ideal, maybe, but in some areas it might be a decent alternative to an apartment. 

I never lived in a dorm.  When I transferred to university 30 years ago with an associate's degree obtained while living at home, I rented a room from a single woman who owned a house just off campus. 

It was a good arrangement for both of us (until her husband moved back in).

13 hours ago, MerryAtHope said:

I hope he can find something. Does the school or town have a bus system? I actually lived 3 miles out a couple of years, but the buses were decent. I sometimes walked in good weather.

The following year I was able to live in a nearby town because of the bus system which served a tri-town area including the university.

I rented a room in a 12-bedroom house, with 11 other renters who did not know each other upon move-in.  We shared a kitchen, living room, and 3 bathrooms (only 2 showers).  It was an amazing experience, and one of those housemates is still among my best friends today.

Edited July 5, 2021 by Amy in NH

[frogger]

13 hours ago, MerryAtHope said:

I hope he can find something. Does the school or town have a bus system? I actually lived 3 miles out a couple of years, but the buses were decent. I sometimes walked in good weather.

No, it is a very rudimentary bus system. The city is not cyclist friendly either but he knows what to look for since my DH is a long time bike commuter and has studied safety issues so we were able to train the kids which I think is still pretty uncommon. Of course, most room mates aren't so it would be better to have room mates with cars if he wanted to move further out.

 

One thing I love about the other child going to Chicago is that it is so easy to survive without a car. You can go anywhere at anytime, it seems. So easy.

 

He had multiple room mates lined out and they had searched out places Spring of 2020 but everything fell apart over Covid. He and the one international student were more nervous about heading back due to distance and stress and shipping things and Trump's threats. When campus closed his buddy was in a scramble since he couldn't just go home. His home borders were closed. If I'd had known, I'd have invited him here but DS lost contact because both were trying to figure out what to do with stuff etc.  

 

I think I'm just nervous because it is feeling very close and the reason he didn't go back in January was because he never found a place. 

 

 

[Kassia]

@froggerthat is really stressful and I'd be feeling very nervous, too!  I agree that social media is a good place to search right now.  The school dd attends has a facebook page just for students looking for/leasing rooms and apartments and their reddit page has a long thread for students looking for housing or people to live with.  

 

ETA - another place social media could help is a facebook parents page for the university.  That's where I found my dd's temporary housing for the summer and it worked out great for us.

 

 

Edited July 5, 2021 by Kassia

[Farrar]

There are a couple of universities that did this to entering freshman for next year. Parents sent in deposits and then suddenly, oh, sorry, by the way, housing looks too tight to accommodate everyone after all...

Geez.

It's not a big deal in some places. There are plenty of student friendly apartments nearby. I agree that it really privileges kids with cars and kids who are extraverted. Sigh. I hope something works out, Frogger.

[KungFuPanda]

I wouldn’t factor a roommate’s vehicle into any equation. 

[Dmmetler]

Well, at least one school that we put down a non-refundable housing deposit for still hasn't acknowledged that my kid isn't coming, and keeps sending us stuff on housing assignments, etc despite the fact that we let them know in April that my kid had picked a different school. So maybe some rooms will open up as they finally get their act together. 

Have you checked hotels near campus? I know that when we visited Schools back in 2019-2020, Some of the just off campus hotels at some schools had extended stay rates that made them competitive (if you had a roommate) with on campus housing, and I assume that was the intent. 

[RootAnn]

Parents are posting a couple times per week on the parent FB page (no current students allowed to be members of the page for some reason) that their kids are still looking for roommates for places but you do have to be on it right away to get the spots.

My kid said there are GroupMes plus Reddit plus maybe Discords still having "roommate wanted" posts occasionally but not a ton for the apartments close to campus. I saw someone that was 192 on the upperclassmen housing waitlist just got a spot.

A lot of parents were upset that their kid didn't watch emails close enough to secure guaranteed housing (January for those who lived on campus this year -- n/a for those who lived at home due to Covid). I don't know how the process worked for those who were put on the wait list because they chose to stay at home & take classes remotely. But, as I said, I know kids who still have open spots in their suites so on campus housing isn't full yet.

[frogger]

6 hours ago, KungFuPanda said:

I wouldn’t factor a roommate’s vehicle into any equation. 

He may ditch the room mate but he will then have to foot a much bigger bill even for a studio or find another room mate. It all just feels too complicated.

[frogger]

7 hours ago, Farrar said:

There are a couple of universities that did this to entering freshman for next year. Parents sent in deposits and then suddenly, oh, sorry, by the way, housing looks too tight to accommodate everyone after all...

Geez.

It's not a big deal in some places. There are plenty of student friendly apartments nearby. I agree that it really privileges kids with cars and kids who are extraverted. Sigh. I hope something works out, Frogger.

Yes, he expected to get off campus housing so I won't say his school did this but then it felt too late in the game to get through the wait list and it was June and you have to respond right away or things get snapped up so having a job really disadvantages you. I'm just very flustered.

 

 

[frogger]

6 hours ago, Dmmetler said:

Well, at least one school that we put down a non-refundable housing deposit for still hasn't acknowledged that my kid isn't coming, and keeps sending us stuff on housing assignments, etc despite the fact that we let them know in April that my kid had picked a different school. So maybe some rooms will open up as they finally get their act together. 

Have you checked hotels near campus? I know that when we visited Schools back in 2019-2020, Some of the just off campus hotels at some schools had extended stay rates that made them competitive (if you had a roommate) with on campus housing, and I assume that was the intent. 

Yes, the extended stay hotels and Airbnb were more expensive but I told him it might be ok to do that for awhile while he keeps looking.

[Dmmetler]

FWIW, they've finally cancelled my kid's room contract for fall. So, hopefully someone who needs it will get into the dorm! 

 

 

[frogger]

My son found a place! Just a room. Someone he doesn't know but a little snooping on the internet and it sounds legit and posted a few years ago about housing so hopefully...

I guess he shared a room with three strangers when he moved into the dorms too so it isn't that different. 

[MEmama]

1 hour ago, frogger said:

My son found a place! Just a room. Someone he doesn't know but a little snooping on the internet and it sounds legit and posted a few years ago about housing so hopefully...

I guess he shared a room with three strangers when he moved into the dorms too so it isn't that different. 

Hope it works out well for him! 🙂 

[popmom]

Well, I was going to message you but I'm glad he's found something! I have tons of contacts who have kids at U of A and Auburn. I have 2 at Auburn. Message me if you want me to check up on the location etc. My nephew is moving to U of A this week. 🙂

I'm assuming this is U of A... do they not offer transportation? Auburn has Tiger Transit and virtually every student off campus has access to it.

Edited July 13, 2021 by popmom

[RootAnn]

@popmomNot U of A, fwiw. And there is a city bus system but it isn't very good. No campus bus system.

Edited July 13, 2021 by RootAnn