<p>Someone might’ve already asked this, but I can’t find the thread. If returning students get on-campus housing (I know the chances this year aren’t great), do we get to pick before freshmen?</p>
<p>Yes if it’s like last year. </p>
<p>If I recall correctly the ones who “qualify” to get on-campus housing go first.
First up is locking in same room selection; then those wanting to change dorm/rooms (ie. honors going from Riverside to Ridgecrest);then I think it’s incoming freshmen.</p>
<p>Great! Thanks socal2bama!</p>
<p>Yes, returning students pick before freshmen. As I understand it, rising sophomores have priority for GETTING housing, then juniors, then seniors, but rising seniors who are allowed to recontract PICK housing first, followed by juniors and sophomores.</p>
<p>Does anyone know when the notifications that you have qualified or not will be sent?</p>
<p>An earlier email said they would notify people of their eligibility to re-contract on Feb. 5.</p>
<p>S got an email today that said they would start notifying people early next week.</p>
<p>I think one point to remember (unless I am mistaken) is that although rising sophomores do have “priority” on room selection, it is really the incoming freshman who have priority on overall availability because the housing office has to make sure that enough beds are available in general to the new traditional students coming in who are not commuters. I would think that availability would drive how many offers are available to current students.</p>
<p>It’s true that freshmen are guaranteed housing while upperclassmen are not, but I have to think UA will be estimating the need for frosh housing because they’re going to let upperclassmen know next week whether they can recontract. Once you’re told you can recontract, you are guaranteed housing.</p>
<p>Son has heard rumors that even if an upperclassman has been told he can come back to campus, they could later get bumped to make ro for incoming freshmen. I Am hoping this rumor is false, but I would love to get some clarification from housing on this. Because of this rumor, son’s floor mates have gotten an apartment for next year.</p>
<p>My S got an email today from housing that said they would start notifying students on Feb 5 if they are able to recontract. </p>
<p>It also stated that students who are able to complete the recontracting process are guaranteed on-campus housing. Housing deposits will be due by February 11.</p>
<p>I don’t think that would happen. They could have done that last year instead of making arrangements with EE for the upperclassmen to create room for the freshman.</p>
<p>So does anyone else get nervous every time a reminder email is sent about today’s deadline? I start wondering “did we not do the application correctly?” and I go check to make sure it still says “Completed”!</p>
<p>I wouldn’t put much truth to that rumor unless it’s explicitly stated in the housing contract and I’m pretty sure it isn’t. Once the student signs a housing contract, Housing would have a hard time getting out of it unless the student does something to cancel or breach the contract.</p>
<p>There have been reports in the past of incoming freshmen granted housing exemptions because of space availability. Housing does keep a very small amount of overflow spaces open for spring admits and students returning from study abroads. It was reported in the CW a couple of years ago that Tutwiler actually had more bed spaces than Ridgecrest South because some of the overflow spaces were being used.</p>
<p>Housing does reserve the right to consolidate students into different rooms, but I haven’t heard any reports of them doing so as it’s hard to argue that a sophomore can’t be in space A, so they need to be moved to space B so an incoming freshman can live in space A assuming that both spaces are of equal price and quality.</p>
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<p>Not until you posted that. Off to check!</p>
<p>I got a question for the old timers: why wasn’t there this amount of nervousness last year with recontracting? Aside from ever-increasing enrollment, what has essentially changed? (Has UA finally reached it’s capacity ‘tipping point’?) I’d like to know how many actual students last year did not get asked to recontract - how many kids were essentially displaced and could not get a room even after being put on a waiting list? We are either worrying about nothing, or there is something serious driving this that I don’t know about.</p>
<p>And, ^^^, then after you log in and check, doesn’t it bother you that there is no log-off button?! We just have to close the browser down, and hope that no buttons got inadvertently pushed along the way to amend your application. I am so De Niro, ala silver-lining-playbook right now…</p>
<p>Hey y’all! It’s me again.</p>
<p>I want to put your minds at ease. If a student is notified next week that they will be allowed to return to campus next year, AND they pay their housing deposit on time, they will NOT be bumped for an incoming freshman. The upperclassmen who moved spaces last year did so voluntarily and were not moved from a space they selected in another building.</p>
<p>Hope this helps!
Janine Gascoigne</p>
<p>It is too much worry: Freshmen are guaranteed housing. Sophomores then juniors then seniors who choose to re-contract are given priority in that order. After re-contracting is approved then seniors, then juniors, then sophomores choose in that order. Returnees to the same room/suite choose first, then moving to different location is second choice, which happens a few days later. This is all done before freshmen even choose housing.</p>
<p>Many students will choose to move off-campus due to finances or for other reasons. New dorms are opening up maybe even as early as fall 2014.</p>
<p>aeromom,
Last year we were all worried about the ability to recontract just like all the parents this year.</p>
<p>I think the main difference is that sometime in October of 2011, housing sent out a notice that all students that were currently housed in a Living Learning Community would be guaranteed housing as long as they met all the recontracting deadlines. Since Honors Housing is a LLC, that included all students that were currently residing in Honors housing. </p>
<p>That took that pressure off of the parents who had students in Honors housing. There was still a certain amount of anxiety for the students and parents who were not in one of the LLC. I dont know how many of those students were actually able to recontract but all of my son’s friends were able to recontract that wanted to stay on campus.( Including those students in Rose Towers who were displaced when they demolished the Towers last July).</p>
<p>Seccat: This is a useful perspective. My S is vacillating between staying in his current Honors dorm (soon to be non-honors) or move to Honors. His first choice is to stay put…but I keep pointing out the Honors designation might come in handy. VOte is still out, because, why worry about this decision until we know for sure if we have a decision to make!? Next week cannot come soon enough.</p>
<p>^^^Good point, aeromom. I don’t remember all this anxiety last year, either. And I have not shared any of this thread with my son, so I’m not adding to their anxiety. Maybe because Riverside will be non honors next year, that started the anxiety level rising. I am very upset that the floormates have gotten an apartment, but I’ve kept that to myself. It’s their business and their choice. I really wish my son would stay put, hope his suitemates can return, and not have to upset the applecart. But, like all have said, we won’t know until next week. I am sorry the boys heard the bump rumor and panicked, but I understand that they wanted to have things in place in case they weren’t granted a room next year. </p>
<p>I do have a question for housing:</p>
<p>If son chooses to stay put, which I gather is the first choice, can he move to another room once that option opens, in a matter of days, or will he have to wait until freshmen pick to do so? I’m thinking that maybe if his suitemates can’t recontract, perhaps he can try to get into a single, or get a room in an RA suite.</p>