As the spring semester comes to a close, American University students are once again going through the process of choosing college housing, a process that looked different this year due to a new residency requirement stating that all students must live on campus for their first two years at AU.
Prior to this policy change, housing was guaranteed for first and second-year students, but it was not required that they live on campus. The change will go into effect this coming fall.
“To ensure the success of our on-campus residents, we are focused on student thriving and the whole student experience, helping them build strong communities and foster connections to fellow students and AU,” the Office of Housing & Residence Life said on their website.
Upperclassmen will still be allowed to live on campus if they choose, but are not guaranteed housing, following the status quo. There are also various exceptions to the new housing policy, most notably for transfer students, who will not be required to live on campus.
Erick Encarnación, a sophomore in the Kogod School of Business, is going through the housing process. His choice to live off-campus is based on many different factors, including cost.
“Everything is getting more expensive on campus, especially housing,” Encarnación said. “The options that are a similar price to on-campus housing are usually bigger than a dorm, so it makes more sense to look off campus.”
The University provides some resources to assist students who choose to leave campus, including the off-campus housing website. This website provides students with a hub for nearby housing options, guides for off-campus housing and other resources for finding roommates and sublets.
Jonathan Martinez, a sophomore in Kogod, is also searching for off-campus housing and is considering a number of factors in his search.
“The price and proximity to campus are very important to me,” Martinez said. “I would love to pay less, but I would prefer to be at most ten minutes from campus.”
For Martinez and Encarnación, living off campus includes changing an essential part of their college experience: social life.
“Seeing my friends every single day, that I’ll miss for sure,” Encarnación said.
A college campus provides a unique social experience that is unlike almost anything else.
“Bumping into them in the elevator or around campus is a different feeling, compared to having to formally plan hangouts,” Encarnación added.
Living on campus provides a sense of community for underclassmen, as a majority of their peers live within a maximum five-minute walk from them.
While this can be hard to let go of, a larger living space, a sense of independence and various other benefits to living off-campus can lure students away.
As the academic year comes to a close, students will continue scrambling for housing options for next fall. It remains to be seen how housing will change as a result of the new policy in the upcoming years.
“Having distance from college is nice, it’s a bubble and after these four years, I won’t be minutes away from my friends so it feels like something that’s inevitable,” Martinez said.
This article was edited by Cara Halford, Tyler Davis and Walker Whalen. Copy editing done by Luna Jinks, Olivia Citarella, Sabine Kanter-Huchting, Hannah Langenfeld and Ella Rousseau.
