Students looking for on-campus housing have another shot at finding space.

Thanks to an unusually high number of late cancellations and no-shows there are nearly 100 open spaces in residence halls across campus, said Jim Van Arsdel, director of Residence Life.

While Residence Life received about 400 more housing applications this year than last, they also had about 400 more late cancellations and no-shows.

This year, 2,340 of the nearly 8,000 students who applied for on-campus housing either canceled their applications at the last minute or didn't show up during move-in week.

The openings come as a surprise to those at Residence Life who were planning to inform students that space was sparse.

"Our numbers were so far ahead of last year that we were convinced that if we had a problem we wouldn't have enough housing for everyone we committed to," Van Arsdel said.

By early July, Residence Life had a waiting list of about 300 students who applied for housing after the May 1 deadline.

Van Arsdel said Residence Life began calling students on the waiting list to inform them that possibilities for housing looked grim.

But due to the amount of cancellations and no-shows, everyone who remained on the list was offered housing in one of the 5,500 spots on campus within the first week of classes.

This is the second year Residence Life has been under capacity; there were around 250 open spaces last year, said Van Arsdel.

However, Residence Life does not plan to change housing restrictions established after a serious housing shortage in 2001.

Overcrowding in the fall of 2001 forced many students to live with resident assistants or in converted residence hall lobbies, study lounges and hotels.

In response to the overcrowding, Residence Life established a housing cap that allows only 1,000 students to return to residence halls after their first year.

The cap also requires that students live on campus for no more than four semesters.

"Our situation right now is created by a bunch of late cancellations, which is not the norm," said Van Arsdel. "The last thing we want to do is base a policy on an abnormal situation."

Van Arsdel said the housing guidelines are primarily intended to allow more freshmen to live in the residence halls their first year.

Studio art sophomore Ashley Rice, a second year resident of Manzanita-Mohave Residence Hall, said she thinks all freshmen should spend their first year of college in a residence hall.

"It's a good way to make a connection," Rice said. "Having all the resources right here helped me adjust."

Van Arsdel said anyone who is still interested in on-campus housing should, "Come on down!"

Residence Life will be accepting applications from all students, including those who may have already lived in a residence hall for four semesters, until all available spaces are filled.

The Residence Life offices are located in the El Portal building, 501 N. Highland Ave.