I’m wondering what the general process is for applying for dorm space during the summer before school starts (ie., late). Ds cancelled his sophomore yr room reservation because he was not sure he was going to return, as he was considering transferring. He decided to return after all, so he sent an email to Housing asking if it would be possible to get a dorm room at such a late date (beginning of Aug.). He received an email saying that he’d be put on an email list and that he’d receive notification of availability on Friday (his email was a Sun; her response was a Mon). Waited, waited… Friday morning, nothing. When I called Housing late morning on that Friday, the answer in woman said they fill rooms as they receive contracts. I asked about the email list andshe said initially that there was no such thing. I called back after obtaining the email from the Ass. Dir., and read it to her. She asked someone and then said oh yeah, list. So I asked to speak to the Director. The Director said that’s their policy (no, it’s not written down anywhere) and she’ll get around to doing it when she gets around to doing it. It may be Fri morning (which it hadn’t been) or it may be that night.
Is this typical? It seems incredibly difficult. Why send an email about the list instead of the boilerplate link to the housing contract page (which is what she finally sent “when she got around to it”).
This does nothing to dispel the impression that this particular State Uni is too large to care about its students. How is late housing handled elsewhere?
At my school I came in to the housing office, applied for housing in late July, and got a crappy dorm in August. They showed me which dorms were available and told me that it would take two weeks to process the application since it was late in the game.
In your case I would start looking for off campus housing now. If the school comes through, great. If not, you have a contingency plan. What school does your son go to? They may have some off campus directories or Facebook groups.
But were they helpful or did they delay your ability to apply for housing? I don’t understand why this Uni’s housing office wouldn’t make the contract available after the initial request. It seems unnecessarily difficult (not the word I’m looking for but hopefully ykwim). I’m just wondering why it was done this way, when a room HAD been available five days after son had sent in a request…but may not be available by the time he finally received and returned a contract.
I’m frustrated w higher ed offices at large Unis that come across as indifferent to the students they are supposed to be helping. I wish ds had been interested in a smaller, more student-oriented one some days!!
My university helped me. I filled out the forms, they processed them within the time-frame they said, and everything went smoothly. I go to a large state university. Some schools are better than others.
Again, has your son began to look for off campus housing? A