Requests exceed available space by approximately 900
"The number of [upperclassman] applicants for housing was approximately 2,700 by the deadline, which was about 800 more than the prior year," said Colleen Mullis, Housing's assistant director for marketing and communications. "Approximately 1,800 spots were reserved for upperclassmen, which is about 28 percent of the available spaces."
Housing determines the number of spaces reserved for upperclassmen when it receives an estimate of the incoming freshman class size from Undergraduate Admissions in December. All freshmen are required to live on campus and thus must be afforded space in USC's residence halls. While President Harris Pastides has said the incoming class of 2016 will not outnumber this year's freshman class of 4,550, the space available for upperclassmen will experience a 200-bed drop for the Fall 2012 semester. Last year, 2,000 spots were made available to upperclassmen.
Because of the disparity between space available and applications submitted, many students have been left to wait for rooms to become available or withdraw their own applications and look for off-campus housing.
"Before I was even able to sign up, there were no more rooms available anywhere. I was told that I could wait to see if people cancelled their housing assignments, but it would be unlikely that someone in an apartment-style dorm would," said Emily Petrey, a third-year early childhood education student. "I was not going to play the waiting game, so I signed a lease for an (off-campus) apartment."
Housing appointments are given to students randomly in two rounds; the first round is reserved for students who have been accepted into an associated learning community and the second is for the remaining applicants, Mullis said.
"As long as you submit your housing application by the deadline, you are put into a general lottery. There is no points system and there is no advantage given to students with a higher GPA or anything like that," Mullis said. "When it's time for you to get an assignment, people get appointments via email."
Haley Smith, a second-year tourism management student, said she missed her online selection appointment because she never received an email notification.
"I got generic emails saying there would be a lottery and a waiting list, but never one with a specific information," Smith said. "I gave the office a call today and all they could say was ... that I should have gotten an email and they don't know what happened. I don't have on-campus housing for the fall. They told me that they were at capacity and that I should look off campus."
While many students have taken the option of off-campus housing, those currently without an assignment can also wait for rooms to open up at the risk of losing their $100 advance room payment, which is only refundable until April 1.