Binghamton University’s on-campus housing signups are three months earlier than University at Albany’s and four months ahead of Stony Brook University’s and University at Buffalo’s.
Since Oct. 16, students who want to live on campus next year have been figuring out their preferred community, priority level and planning with friends. This year, sign-ups take place from Nov. 7 to Nov. 16. Prior to the fall 2014 semester, the housing process took place during the spring semester, six months after many independent landlords aimed to sign leases for the following fall.
According to Sue Briggs, associate director of housing for Residential Life, BU’s sign-ups occur in the fall because that’s when students begin making decisions for the following year.
“The housing sign-up process is in sync with the timeframe in which students are considering their housing options,” Briggs wrote in an email. ”This ensures that students have the best possible information with which to make their decisions.”
ResLife hosted three information sessions before group registration began two weeks ago, and videos available on the office’s website guide students through the group formation and sign-up steps of the selection process.
Leah Tompkins, an undeclared freshman, said the resources provided for students are very helpful, but the timing of the housing process proves difficult.
“They give you a lot of information about deadlines and what to do, so they don’t expect you to figure it all out on your own,” Tompkins said. “The worst thing is just how soon it is, especially for first-semester freshmen because you don’t really know a lot of people yet.”
BU’s housing process operates on a priority system, giving preference to students who want to remain in their current community. Priority levels, which range from one to nine, determine when a student can register and the type of rooms from which they can choose.
Noah Cone, a sophomore majoring in physics, lived in Mountainview College during his freshman year, but because members of his group had lived in Hinman College, he was unable to live there again this year.
“If you have low priority, you have very little chance of getting anywhere,” Cone said. “We literally only had Hinman and one or two rooms left in College-in-the-Woods.”
Students who sign up to live on campus, but later decide not to, must cancel by March 8 and pay $200. If a student fails to sign up in the fall, they can apply when the process open again in the spring.
Briggs wrote that ResLife aims to provide the best environment possible for on-campus students.
“Residential Life is always working to preserve the collegiate structure of the residential areas that students value so highly,” Briggs wrote. “We develop and adjust the priorities to provide students the best possibility of remaining in their current community and living with the students of their choice.”