Undergrads guaranteed rooms for four years

The Housing Department announced Monday that it will guarantee a room for every undergraduate, provided that students meet certain conditions.

As explained on the department's website, this policy was made "in support of the academic mission of the University and in recognition that residential living is an integral part of the Princeton educational experience."

While Princeton has traditionally provided all students with housing for the past 25 years, the new policy makes this common practice official, said Lisa DePaul, assistant director of undergraduate housing.

The statement was issued in direct response to the large number of students who were wait-listed last year. With an unprecedented 130 students on the wait-list, the Housing Department found "it difficult to say that all students would be housed," DePaul said.

She explained how these high numbers caused many students to worry they would not receive on-campus housing.

Cory Jerch '04 remembers how anxious he was when he found out that he had been wait-listed his junior year. He was worried he would have to "find off-campus housing which would be more expensive and less convenient," he said.

While Jerch was ultimately placed in the Hickman Apartments, he did not find out about his housing situation until two weeks before the start of school. The new housing guarantee would alleviate that uncertainty and bring "peace of mind to students on the wait-list," DePaul said.

Jerch added that he believes the policy is "exactly how the entire University, including the Graduate College, should operate."

However, the Graduate Housing Department has not followed the undergraduate lead in guaranteeing housing to all students. While all incoming graduate students are guaranteed housing if they apply by April 15, this guarantee extends only to first-year graduate students.

The Graduate Housing Department, however, said the University has been building more housing to accommodate the large number of graduate students who want to live on campus.

The Lawrence Apartments, which will offer 205 graduate apartments, are the College's current project, according to Patricia McArlie, assistant director of graduate housing.

To be eligible for guaranteed undergraduate housing, students must be officially enrolled at the University, must submit all forms on time, and must comply with all specified "terms and conditions."

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The complete new undergraduate policy can be found on the Housing website under the "Residential Living Policies and Dining Services Guide, Undergraduate Housing 2003-2004" section.