Approximately 160 first-year students did not submit the $400 advance housing payment by the Feb. 27 deadline, said Eileen Simmons, director of Housing, Meal Plan and ID Card Services at Syracuse University.

Simmons said only first-year students – who need to fulfill the two-year housing requirement – are still eligible to pay and participate in the housing selection process. Upperclassmen are locked out of the housing process until May 1.

‘It’s difficult, but we have to stick to the deadline to plan for the fall so we know ‘X’ number of students are living here,’ Simmons said.

Of the 160 students, Simmons said some have not paid the fee, which increased $50 since last year as it does every four years, because they might be waiting to see if they will live in a fraternity or sorority house or they might not be sure if they are returning to SU.

The housing department sent out an e-mail to these students recently to inform them of their options and what to do if they are not planning on returning to school.

Though she said the number of people that missed the deadline is on par with previous years, she said the economy has also affected students’ ability to pay the housing fee.

‘We’ve had a few families contact us and say ‘I don’t have the $400,” Simmons said. ‘We’ve worked with financial aid under these circumstances. If someone wants to live with us, we don’t want to leave them out in the lurch.’

Simmons said she has yet to have a year in which all housing is filled before those who missed the deadline can apply, including upperclassmen. Simmons said students are often upset by the policy of having upperclassmen wait until May 1.

Kayley Noonan, a sophomore advertising and psychology major, said she missed the payment deadline by one day because of a financial problem with her parents.

‘I was pretty disappointed because I really like who I live with now and I wanted to live with her next year,’ Noonan said. ‘But I’m hopeful that things will work out and I’ll be able to live with her again.’

Noonan said she spoke with the housing department about her options for next year.

‘Right now I’m hoping to find someone that paid the deposit and isn’t planning to live on campus next year so that they can go through the process with my roommate and then pull out so I can take her place,’ she said.

Simmons said that the department is currently in the next phase of the housing process, where students will accept the terms and conditions. This phase will provide a more definite number of how many students will be living on campus next year, she said.

As of now, 40 more students have agreed to the terms and conditions than last year’s number at this time.

‘I thought our numbers would go down as far as with payment and accepting terms and conditions, but I haven’t seen it yet,’ she said. ‘I think parents planned and budgeted for this year and it will be the following year I think that we see a bigger impact.’

With no guarantee of on-campus housing, some students have turned to off-campus housing as another option.

Norman Jemal, president of NRJ Realty, a privately owned corporation that specializes in college and university off-campus housing and owns property near SU, said he usually sees an increase in the number of students looking for housing once March 1 arrives.

‘We see the spike because it’s the time that on-campus housing closes and grad students just got their acceptance letters, so they’re looking for a place to live,’ Jemal said.

While there is an increase in March compared to other months, Darya Rotblat, the interim director of the Office of Orientation and Off-Campus Programs, said in an e-mail that the number of students looking at off-campus housing has not increased since previous years.

She said she hopes the lack of increase is a result of better information and communication about the housing process.

Simmons said she thinks some students are hesitant to make a commitment because they are unsure whether they want to live on or off campus.

Students are able to withdraw their payment up until May 1 and receive a full refund. If a student decides not to live on campus after that date, the university will keep the money, Simmons said.

The housing office will offer options in late April for students who missed the deadline or changed their minds and now want to live on campus.

‘There will be a point when we don’t have space,’ she said. ‘The more planning done before you leave campus, the more opportunities available.’

krkoerti@syr.edu

Published on March 17, 2009 at 12:00 pm