Not sure how I feel about this. My daughter will be a sophomore this coming fall. This means if she wants to stay on campus her junior year, she needs to decide this by September. Even if she does commit to living on campus a year in advance, she may or may not get to have any say where she will be living based on the lottery. I understand the logic trying to get 2nd year students to remain on campus, but I think it would be just as beneficial for 3rd and 4th year students to stay on campus. I think this may persuade a good portion of 3rd year students who are on the fence about housing to look for off campus housing.
Wondering how others upper class parents feel about this change.
I believe UD only has about 7300 dorm spaces available with about 4000 taken up by freshman so this only leaves 3300 for sophomores, juniors, and seniors. Some of these spaces are taken up by Honors Program students who have scholarships including dorm space. In past years UD has had some problems in actually filling up all the dorm space for upperclassmen. They obviously, for financial reasons, would like to fill up all the spaces as most dorm students are also required to have some type of dining plan. Perhaps they are anticipating an overall shortage in future years with a probable reduction of available dorm rooms with the closing of the two largest freshman dorm complexes (Rodney and Dickenson), even with the new/renovated freshman dorms opening up this Fall. Perhaps this new plan has been formulated to address this or at least to get some idea of the number of students who are interested in staying in “on campus” housing to assist in UD’s housing planning process. I would guess it is a matter of personal perspective if this new process will increase or decrease the number of students who would want to stay on or off campus.
Actually a great portion of “off-campus” housing is actually located “on-campus” or on the fringe of it (UD even provides campus bus stops at some of these). Our DD lived in a sorority house her sophomore year and then lived in an apartment on Main Street almost right across form the UD bookstore her Jr./Sr. years. IMHO living “off-campus” can provide a student with additional life experiences ( responsibilities like dealing with leases, setting up TV/internet services, obtaining renter insurance, paying utility bills, etc.) that they would not get living “on-campus” for all 4 years. These experiences really helped our DD once she graduated and moved into her first apartment in New York City (if you can deal with these types of things in NYC you can deal with them anywhere). Just my perspective. I realize for some students that their perspective might be different but I really would not perceive living off-campus to be detrimental for most students.
honestly the only thing I can say as to having to make a decision about housing in September is that IF they are planning on moving off campus they pretty much have to have their decision made. two years ago when my D was considering moving off campus she looked at places the entire month of Sept and Oct 1 signed her intent letter with the management company. My D’s place is closer for her than both of her UD housing assignments and she’s been very happy living “off” campus.
I would agree with lefty1 in that if you want to lease an apartment for the following year that you need to begin this process in September as most of the preferred locations fill up fast. Most students do this in groups of students as many of the larger apartment complexes have apartments that house 4-5 students (some smaller number apartments are available but are usually more costly). So you really need to have a group of students who are willing to commit to live together or be willing to pay the monthly rent for the apartment with fewer students.
It appears that for upper class on-campus housing a student can apply as an individual or as a group of up to 4 students. It was not clear if the group of students would only be only eligible for one lottery pick or if each student in the group would be eligible for a lottery pick. I guess this needs to be clarified. If each student in a group would be eligible then, at least statistically, one’s chances would be better applying as a group. .
What are the best ways to go about finding reputable off campus housing? I have noticed some very nice places and some that frankly are pretty scary. Do they tend to find off campus housing by word of mouth or are some type of agency/property management company helpful? Does anyone have experience/advice for subletting while studying abroad?
Many students find out about off campus housing from info from other students. Our DD had a good experience with the Lang Development Group. This company has been building a number of new apartments (most were 4-5 students per apartment with each student having their own room area) on Main Street in the area of the UD Bookstore. Our DD moved into a brand new apartment in 2008 at 102 East Main Street, almost right across the street from the UD Bookstore. Since then Lang has been building a number of new buildings with rental apartments in the same area. IMHO it is the most perfect location to have an apartment on campus. You might want to check it out.
I agree with Mwallenmd, for the most part the kids ask around to each other and see where they want to live… for my D some areas that she considered “sketchy” she avoided. She has rented on South Main Street almost across the tracks from Dickinson and Rodney next to BWW with Tsonias Management. I can say they have been very good to my D and her room mates in regards to repairs and issues and the building is new and the hallways are kept clean. They are building a new building on Main street as well but I understand it’s a bit pricey. Just looking up Lang and Tsonias will give you a very good start of locations for student housing.
There is also the newer student housing- The Retreat… it’s a big off campus but offers shuttles… I was skeptical about their ability to transport the kids efficiently but it is a nice housing option for students. Does anyone have feedback for them after their first year? I will begin the process of searching with my son and room mates in September but I think they want to be as close to campus as possible.
Thank you for both suggestions. I will pass along to D. They definitely look like the type of place/locations she would be interested in. She and at least one roommate want to study abroad fall of junior year so they have some research to do.
My D lived in an apartment right off campus managed by EJS Management (you can google them) during undergrad and we all found it fine. The management company was very responsive and the townhouse was half a block from Main Street. She is now in graduate school and paying her own way, so she lives in the Ivy Hall complex and absolutely loves it. It used to be the party area, but that has changed and the development has done a lot of upgrades in the last couple of years. The apartment is large, bright, in good shape and has tons of storage. There is a gym and laundry, and the cost is substantially less than most places. I am a picky-psycho-helicopter mom and we are very happy with the Ivy. There are plenty of excellent off-campus options in the area. You can start by looking for information here http://www.udel.edu/studentlife/offcampus_housing.html
The Retreat is simply too far. Personally, I think there are so many closer options that it’s not necessary to go with something so expensive and inconvenient.