OT: UConn doesn't guarantee on campus housing for freshmen?

[JustbrewitMan]

She got accepted to Storrs. She lives in Massachusetts.

My friend is calling his daughter to see if she didn't fill out the housing selection questionnaire by the deadline. That could be the issue! If that's the case then she has herself to blame for her predicament.

They have spoken to people at UConn and they apologized and said her option is to find housing off campus. Unfortunately she lives out of state and doesn't know anyone else going to UConn so she would have to find a place for just her. Who wants that for a freshman experience at a big school? My friend is going to keep calling UConn. As spots open up maybe she gets a dorm on campus.

Yep, it’s quite possible they get enough takers for that deal I mentioned in an earlier post that she could get a spot opened up for her. Being from out of state will probably help her be higher on the list…

 

[WhereistheDove?]

Interestingly enough, my younger daughter (who has housing for fall) just got an email today from UConn trying to offer her incentives to commute to Storrs…free parking, a 2K stipend, and free food.

Seems like maybe they overbooked students vs. available rooms based on previous years modeling and may be stuck with scrambling to accommodate…

UConn had the overacceptance issue my first year but the resolved the shortage by kicking upperclassmen out of housing and moving some of us to the apartments and other generally non-Freshman options. Feels odd they wouldn’t follow that route again if it comes to it (and they can’t get people to voluntarily commute).

 

[NJHusky]

My kid has to study his first semester abroad in Seville, Spain with "guaranteed" enrollment and housing at the Storrs campus for the Spring semester.

This thread is going to make me watch out extra hard for when that housing deadline approaches this Fall/Winter..
And I'll also be crawling up his rear from across the ocean to keep us updated on any emails he gets from UConn about it that we wouldn't know about...

That's better than not having any housing choice, but feel bad for kids in this spot...great to be abroad, but when you come back for spring, all the 'newbies' have already settled into a social scene.

 

[Hurleyman216]

I think it's pretty unacceptable to admit freshmen if you don't have available housing for them (especially if you're housing soph/juniors/seniors on campus). That should be a 100% guarantee. There are enough people working at UConn that are making $200K+ a year that they should be able to figure out this very difficult math problem. I'm still a few years away from having kids in college, but I'd be pissed if this happened to my kid.

 

[husky8273]

can she defer for a year and work or travel?

 

[Chuck]

UConn had the overacceptance issue my first year but the resolved the shortage by kicking upperclassmen out of housing and moving some of us to the apartments and other generally non-Freshman options. Feels odd they wouldn’t follow that route again if it comes to it (and they can’t get people to voluntarily commute).

My freshman year they had gotten over the housing shortage, but there were guys in my dorm that lived in student lounges the year before. That was in the Jungle (I can't believe they don't call it that anymore) and the "quads" became the designated party room and many of the guys failed out or did very poorly.

I will say that UConn did a decent job getting you to apply, a decent tour, and easy acceptance process. But it slipped after that. Really poor process for signing up for orientation and housing. So I wouldn't be surprised if the OP's friend's daughter just slipped up, or maybe even UConn messed up. My son decided to go elsewhere in the end and we were all a little disappointed (but happy for her otherwise). But there were some administrative misses. I agree that UConn should be helping in this situation. Find off campus housing and introduce kids that are in the same position.

That's better than not having any housing choice, but feel bad for kids in this spot...great to be abroad, but when you come back for spring, all the 'newbies' have already settled into a social scene.

So many schools have started doing this that there's less of a stigma to show up in spring. I think Colby does this to like a third of their freshmen class. Northeastern has done it with a ton of kids and it's a one year requirement. But, they are usually going to a program associated with their US university so they are getting to know a lot of kids that will be coming back with them. Still not ideal, in my opinion, but apparently not as bad as we'd think.

 

[CL82]

UConn had the overacceptance issue my first year but the resolved the shortage by kicking upperclassmen out of housing and moving some of us to the apartments and other generally non-Freshman options. Feels odd they wouldn’t follow that route again if it comes to it (and they can’t get people to voluntarily commute).

I remember them moving kids I remember them moving kids into study lounges, I think four to a lounge for a while.

For what it's worth, maybe this is worth looking into? There are two bedroom two bathroom apartments available starting in August for $3500 a month. I'm sure there is an admitted student text group to help her find other kids in the same circumstance. Just an idea.

 

[cohenzone]

In the dark ages i lived in the Towes when they were only a few years old. One semester we gad 5 guys sleeping on cirs in our TV room because the admissions and acceptances were beyond expectations. Im not sure hiw many dorms did the same. They moved out only as attrition occurrex around campus. Back then, there was far less off campus housing. Good luck. .

 

[HooperScooper]

I remember them moving kids I remember them moving kids into study lounges, I think four to a lounge for a while.

For what it's worth, maybe this is worth looking into?

Looks nice. And pretty much on campus. Bet it's pricey though.

 

[CL82]

Looks nice. And pretty much on campus. Bet it's pricey though.

It's not actually horrible at 3500 for two. And it certainly is much nicer than the dorms I lived in.

I think if I was in that position, I would reach out to the school and ask if they could give me a tuition scholarship to equalize the differential between that and on-campus housing. Especially for an out of state student, I think they might be open to it.

 

[McLovin]

She got accepted to Storrs. She lives in Massachusetts.

My friend is calling his daughter to see if she didn't fill out the housing selection questionnaire by the deadline. That could be the issue! If that's the case then she has herself to blame for her predicament.

They have spoken to people at UConn and they apologized and said her option is to find housing off campus. Unfortunately she lives out of state and doesn't know anyone else going to UConn so she would have to find a place for just her. Who wants that for a freshman experience at a big school? My friend is going to keep calling UConn. As spots open up maybe she gets a dorm on campus.

Usually you can find a spot in an off-campus apartment with roommates somewhere online - no idea what they would use to find it these days, but back when I was at UConn I think there was a Facebook group for it.

Not an ideal situation for her freshman year, as rooming with other freshmen on campus with dorm common rooms, dining halls etc is a great way to meet people, but hopefully she can find some other nice girls to live with off campus.

If there is a waitlist for dorm rooms, she should join it. People transfer mid-year and spots open up.

 

[WhereistheDove?]

I remember them moving kids I remember them moving kids into study lounges, I think four to a lounge for a while.

For what it's worth, maybe this is worth looking into? There are two bedroom two bathroom apartments available starting in August for $3500 a month. I'm sure there is an admitted student text group to help her find other kids in the same circumstance. Just an idea.

Knew some guys freshman year that had a converted study lounge in north. Apparently the first few months, people would constantly just walk into their unlocked room, thinking it was still a lounge.

 

[JustbrewitMan]

I remember them moving kids I remember them moving kids into study lounges, I think four to a lounge for a while.

For what it's worth, maybe this is worth looking into? There are two bedroom two bathroom apartments available starting in August for $3500 a month. I'm sure there is an admitted student text group to help her find other kids in the same circumstance. Just an idea.

WARNING- “Boomer” post incoming…

Housing crunches have been a thing at UConn forever. When I went there from 1989-1993 they stuffed 4-5 people into triple rooms at Hilltop and turned doubles into triples. Everything worked fine.

Nowadays, living on campus is definitely much more country-club living and no one would be thrilled at all about being cramped 3-4 into a small dorm room.

Thus this thread.

 

[husky1bags]

It is likely they missed a deadline. My daughter's friend had same situation. She originally committed to a different school then switched to UConn.

There was only one other time I remember when UConn ran into this problem and they ended up putting some freshmen into the hotel on campus.

It happened back in 1988 Fall Semester I had to live off campus for 1 semester

 

[Greedo]

I think it's pretty unacceptable to admit freshmen if you don't have available housing for them (especially if you're housing soph/juniors/seniors on campus). That should be a 100% guarantee. There are enough people working at UConn that are making $200K+ a year that they should be able to figure out this very difficult math problem. I'm still a few years away from having kids in college, but I'd be pissed if this happened to my kid.

Not everyone that gets accepted will actually attend. It’s not as simple as admit just the number of students that you have housing for because many will choose different schools and enrollment will plummet. They need to guess based on previous years what percentage of the accepted students will actually choose to attend. This year was likely pretty unprecedented with students choosing to attend because of the back to back championships.

 

[McLovin]

Not everyone that gets accepted will actually attend. It’s not as simple as admit just the number of students that you have housing for because many will choose different schools and enrollment will plummet. They need to guess based on previous years what percentage of the accepted students will actually choose to attend. This year was likely pretty unprecedented with students choosing to attend because of the back to back championships.

The admissions office must hate our basketball team, because any real fan knew we were obviously going back to back.

They better be more prepared for when we threepeat this year.

 

[temery]

Compromise - if you don't get on campus housing, you are first in line for bb tickets and class registration.

Back on topic - I've had dozens of student over the years with parents who bought a house/condo near campus (different colleges) for their kid, and rented rooms to help pay the mortgage.

Not doable for many families, but numbers made sense.

 

[Stew Crew]

The admissions office must hate our basketball team, because any real fan knew we were obviously going back to back.

They better be more prepared for when we threepeat this year.

Timing is also impeccable. UConn wins in early April and decision deadline is May 1. Strike while the iron is hot.

I also wonder if the FAFSA fustercluck had anything to do with it. Many students had no idea what schools were going to offer in financial aid. Considering that UConn is a relative bargain, more students may have opted for UConn over private schools, given that the financial aid was up in the air. I have at least one friend whose daughter chose UConn over another school, partially because the other school could not tell her how much aid she would be getting.

 

[alphasigko]

UConn desperately needs to keep expanding the housing in Storrs. We had 56,000 applicants for the 2028 class this spring. I think that number was like 45,000 last year for the 2027 class. And a lot of that increase in applicants can likely be attributed to Dan Hurley and the Back to Back National Championships.

I think there's about 20,000 students (UG and Grad) in Storrs, we really should be pushing that number up to 25,000 - 30,000 in the next 10-15 years.

Exactly.... A lot of Universities are in the progress of major student housing expansions.

 

[alphasigko]

Timing is also impeccable. UConn wins in early April and decision deadline is May 1. Strike while the iron is hot.

I also wonder if the FAFSA fustercluck had anything to do with it. Many students had no idea what schools were going to offer in financial aid. Considering that UConn is a relative bargain, more students may have opted for UConn over private schools, given that the financial aid was up in the air. I have at least one friend whose daughter chose UConn over another school, partially because the other school could not tell her how much aid she would be getting.

Yes "FAFSA" has to play a major part in it. It is the worst but the only Fed Loan supposedly Analytic way of categorizing your ability to pay.

 

[MilliniumPrince]

Part of the reason they are hoping to expand housing at the Harford and Stamford campuses. From the institutional perspective, this is a good problem.

 

[Edward Sargent]

I got accepted to UConn but went to the Stamford Branch. Much better education. Many of my professors came in from outside jobs to teach because they enjoyed teaching. I was able to keep my lab job at Greenwich Hospital and met my wife. Did I say my tuition was $93.50?

 

[CL82]

Compromise - if you don't get on campus housing, you are first in line for bb tickets and class registration.

Back on topic - I've had dozens of student over the years with parents who bought a house/condo near campus (different colleges) for their kid, and rented rooms to help pay the mortgage.

Not doable for many families, but numbers made sense.

A buddy of mine did this planning to sell it when his kid graduated, but he ended up keeping it and renting it and using the proceeds to buy more. Ended up being a nice little side gig for him.

 

[Stew Crew]

Yes "FAFSA" has to play a major part in it. It is the worst but the only Fed Loan supposedly Analytic way of categorizing your ability to pay.

They "improved" the FAFSA process and website this year. The government was late rolling it out, there were problems with the website when it first launched, and they made it much more confusing. Between my 3 kids, this was our 14th time filling out a FAFSA form and it was the first time we made errors in the submission. We realized it right away but it took 6 weeks before we could go into the system and make the required modifications. It was clear many parents had exactly the same issues based on the email we received from UConn saying that we made an error.

 

[Stew Crew]

I got accepted to UConn but went to the Stamford Branch. Much better education. Many of my professors came in from outside jobs to teach because they enjoyed teaching. I was able to keep my lab job at Greenwich Hospital and met my wife. Did I say my tuition was $93.50?

Fortunately, it seems the branches have improved over the years. In the 80s, the Waterbury branch was nothing more than a glorified high school. Some of the kids that started there struggled when getting to Storrs. In part, they felt like they had to catch up on 2 years of partying. Moreso, the teachers in Waterbury were much more lenient, allowing makeups and extra credit. In Storrs, it was pretty much sink or swim. I took 2 summer courses in Waterbury. They were the two easiest A's in my time at UConn.