Incoming students will have to search for off-campus housing

Incoming freshmen who have not filled out housing application may be left to find their own places to live next semester.

Housing applications were accepted until 5 p.m. yesterday, but as of now, residence halls are 100 percent full, leaving some students wondering where they are going to live their first year of college.

The residence halls house a total of 5,971 students - less than the expected number of incoming freshmen - and 1,000 of next year's sophomores are going to be allowed to live in the dorms.

The Residence Life passed a rule effective this fall that will cap the number of students allowed to live in residence halls. The new policy also prohibits anyone from living in the dorms after four semesters.

Last fall, the incoming freshman class totaled about 6,000 students, a record high. That number had increased from about 5,000 in 1999.

This year, 200 students who applied for housing before the guarantee date were forced to live in hotels or residence hall lounges, or with resident assistants.

Blake Adler, who will be a freshman in the fall, is one such student. Adler, who lives in California, filled out a housing application upon his acceptance to UA and was told that the residence halls were full.

"My parents are really angry at the situation," Adler said. "Now we have to come over here before the summer and find me a place to live, which will probably be more expensive than on-campus housing."

Adler isn't alone. Sheri Long, an incoming freshman from Texas, was also denied a spot in a dorm and is worried about making friends.

"I was told that of the whole freshman experience was to live on campus. I only know one other person from my school that is going (to UA), and she already got a spot in a dorm."

Pam Obando, associate director of marketing for Residence Life, said she expected the residence halls to fill quickly, but that connecting with others when they come for orientation is a good idea.

"Obviously, our numbers are way up this year, but I can't say strongly enough how important it is to start looking into other options, even if they are on the waiting list."

Options such as Off Campus Housing Services and Commuter Student Affairs can help students find places to live and ways to get involved in clubs and organizations on campus.

Off Campus Housing posts a weekly list of housing for people needing an apartment or even a roommate.

"Every year, we get some students that are not able to live in the residence halls for one reason or another," Residence Life Director Jim Van Arsdel said. "This allows us to place students from the waiting list into a room."

Incoming students have until June 15 to cancel their housing acceptance and have their $250 deposits returned.

Obando said she expects some spaces will open up before then but said that incoming freshmen would still be wise to search for alternative housing.

Residence Life acknowledges that the current situation poses a problem but hopes that the 2004 completion of the Highland Commons part of which will be a 770-unit residence hall complex, will solve much of the problem.

"I just hope that the UA doesn't have to stop construction because of the budget situation," microbiology junior Angela Trike said.

"Otherwise, we're going to have a hard time convincing students to come to the UA."