Scrambling to find an on-campus housing placement is something Loyola Marymount University students are unfortunately familiar with. As the year comes to a close, students apply and receive information for on-campus housing for the following Fall semester.
With “apply” being the key word, housing is not always guaranteed, which often leaves students feeling uncared for and stressed as they have to figure out where to live.
The housing application process began earlier in March, and now students are able to select on-campus housing for next semester. However, it’s not that simple.
Each student is assigned an LMU classification: LMU Blue which is typically for rising Sophomores, or LMU Crimson which typically holds rising Juniors and Seniors.
These classifications determine which students can be added to the housing group as well as which dorms and apartments the under and upperclassmen students are able to choose from, according to Student Affairs.
Students then must create a housing group of 1, 2, 4 or 5 people and will receive a timeslot for when they can choose housing placements. “I didn’t receive information about my timeslot until very last minute” said rising sophomore, Michelle Balasu. “It’s also inconvenient to not have three people in a group.”
After completing the housing application process and abiding by the very specific criteria, students must wait and see to receive followup information for if they got accepted to their desired placements.
As students grow impatient with hearing back from Student Housing, many of them are hit with “waitlist” results. Meaning, the housing they selected may already be full or it’s set aside for lowerclassmen if needed and are therefore placed on a waiting list.
This raises concerns about why there isn’t enough housing, why can’t students get a direct answer and so on. Additionally, the waitlist is maintained throughout the summer, keeping students in the lurch for far longer than they would have liked, and that means that students may get assigned housing separate from their desired group depending on if limited space becomes available, stated by Student Affairs.
Student Affairs also states that when overflow housing occurs (when students applying for housing exceeds capacity), students may be placed in double rooms that have been converted into triples or they may even be placed into study rooms converted into dorms. As this may sound convenient for the school, students wonder why their tuition and desires aren’t met with adequate accommodations or plans.
“It’s pretty interesting to see people living in study rooms when there are definitely open spaces around campus,” said Eric Fisher, a junior placed in a study room when he returned from studying abroad. “There’s just this issue of the housing office being too slow to give out normal housing and too quick to give overflow.”
With the school using overflow plans as a convenience, it’s evident that students having a bed to sleep in is not at the top of the school’s priority list.
Many Students feel as if the school isn’t noticing or taking their situations into consideration.“Two of my friends are rising seniors and are trying to live on campus but got waitlisted, even though open spots are shown on the housing portal,” Fisher continued. “[Housing] makes it so difficult for abroad and transfer students as well.”
The worry of returning to school should not include where someone is going to be living. With the cost of tuition as high as it is, the housing process should be a lot more convenient and a lot less of a hassle for the students.
