As students pack bags and head to Moscow, a handful of students will arrive at the Fair Bridge Inn instead of campus. With dorms filled, as of Tuesday, about 60 students will temporarily be moving into the hotel as they remain on a waiting list.
Julie Kerr, assistant director for housing operations, said while the dorms have 2,015 spots, 2,102 students applied this year.
“I think for us right now, this is kind of unprecedented,” Kerr said. “We weren’t expecting this many students based on our numbers last year, so this is a new challenge for us.”
The high number of housing applicants appears to be from a large incoming freshman class. According to John Kosh, marketing director of auxiliary services, last year’s dorm enrollment was around 1,700.
Last Friday, Aug. 12, students on the waitlist were notified of the arrangement through email.
“Because we guarantee housing for all first-year students, Housing & Residence Life has partnered with FairBridge Inn & Suites to extend housing’s capacity on a temporary basis,” the email stated.
Those that remain on the waitlist applied for housing after July 1.
“This year has been kind of an abnormal year in housing numbers,” Kerr said Tuesday. “We’re still having students apply for housing, literally today.”
The number of students requesting dorms is expected to go up as Greek life has wrapped up its recruitment.
As dorms become available, students are expected to be moved from the hotel to campus. Housing plans to move all students in by the end of September based on a 3% “melt” of residents that usually leave the dorms.
“The reason that we say by the end of September instead, that is typically when most students make that final decision,” Kerr said. “The first kind of big withdrawal date happens around them. That’s when students get to college and then sometimes realize this may not be the right fit or the right time.”
As students cancel their enrollment and leave the dorms, the students from the FairBridge Inn will be able to move in.
Most amenities provided in dorms will also be provided at the hotel, including laundry, fridges and internet. Kosh noted that the hotel rooms are likely bigger than the dorm rooms students anticipated moving into.
To make the college experience as normal as possible, there will be resident assistants at the hotel and activities to bring the students together.
“It’s really going to be a very similar experience to living in a residence hall,” Kerr said. “It’ll just be an 11-minute walk from the main campus.”
UI security will make rounds at the hotel as they would on campus.
Kosh commended Housing & Residence Life for making things work with move-in day scheduled for Aug. 17.
“I’m kind of proud of the amazing work that Residence Life and Housing has done,” Kosh said. “Preparing this, the thought and care that went into it, the late nights, the long hours to make this an incredibly smooth transition.”
Freshman dorms at capacity, pushing students off campusHaadiya Tariq can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @haadiyatariq
Jennie Hall
Yet all sororities are under capacity. And need to fill their houses. Remind the women there is a place for them in the Greek system!! Family abounds!!