Rogers Hall changes for 2013/2014

<p>Did anyone else who is resident of Rogers get the email I did? Basically, it said Rogers is closing for the summer and when it reopens in the fall, its changing its pricing scheme to semesterly rather than monthly. It put a wrench in my plan as I wanted to keep my room year round as I have summer classes. I don't know if this is old news or its being sent around now however.</p>

<p>Yeah, it definitely sounds interesting. There were rumblings that they would make this change for this year (this was rumored around last April). With that in mind, I’m not surprised they finally decided to go through with it, although I guess I am surprised by some of their news.</p>

<p>What gets me is that they are closing Rogers for the summer. My first thought is that they are going to be doing some much-needed maintenance, but knowing how FSU can be with projects (they’ll build entire buildings in only a year or two, but take 6 months to a whole year to build things like the Sand Volleyball courts by Salley, or the new parking lot at the corner between Smith and Salley), I’m not sure they’d be able to complete any major projects within the building over just the summer.</p>

<p>My second thought was that this is nothing more than a money-grab by FSU- which really would not surprise me. Traditions garners almost double each month in rent what Rogers does, so it’s possible that they are just closing down the building that doesn’t make as much money.
Although I then must ask, in the email doesn’t it say that McCollum and Traditions (not Ragans, which has always been open during the summer, while McCollum hasn’t) would be the only buildings open in the summer? If that’s the case, why are they basically removing 550+ spots for summer housing? Or is this just another piece of misinformation by the “wonderful” FSU heads? </p>

<p>Then I have to ask, why are they making such a huge deal out of how Rogers will no longer be month-to-month? The only real change is going to be that you can’t just move out in the middle of the semester. That does suck for some people, I will admit, but it was something that Housing has considered getting rid of for a LONG time.
While every building has a semester rate for Housing, you can still pay it each month- there’s just no longer going to be any difference between how Rogers and every other Hall on campus operate, which I actually think is a good thing, because it was always pretty damn confusing having to explain to people why the one building was different. </p>

<p>On the bright side though, FSU won’t charge anyone rent for the 4 days of May that they will be open. So there’s some good news I guess, even though I didn’t expect them to charge anyone moving out when Spring semester ends a whole month’s rent anyway.
I believe that waiting until the day before Spring Break starts to send this out was rather poor timing. This should have been sent out at the start of this semester, especially since this isn’t a new change- it’s been talked about for at least a year now.</p>

<p>Many who planned on returning to Rogers after the summer may not see the big deal but, those like me who wanted to keep our current rooms for the summer, it is. Another thing is that, the only notice I seen thus far is through email. No flyers or notices around the hall yet. Not everyone checks their email frequently, some may get caught off guard by the deadlines. Considering I turned down an offer for off-campus housing in late January for this coming year, it’s kind of a “too little, too late” notice.</p>

<p>I understand the big deal. If you wanted to live here year-round, they’re not giving you much notice that you can’t. </p>

<p>It’s very typical of FSU Housing (or really FSU in general), unfortunately. Which is very problematic.</p>

<p>Damn that sucks that they are sending out last minute notices like that. I think they are going to be putting carpeting and other changes in the rooms, bc when I left last year the head of maintence dude (the super friendly nice guy) thought my room was vacant and was excited because he and another dude had a whole carpet rug thing rolled up bc they were going to put it up in some other vacant rooms in the Hall.
I’m kind of curious what they are going to do in the rooms, bc there is some mold and rust issues in some rooms, I know in my room and the room across from me both had mold issues.
So are you not going to be able to have your room assignment stay the same for Fall since they are basically kicking everyone out for Summer. That’s really unfair tbh, typical of housing though</p>

<p>I <em>think</em> that as long as you apply for a room in Rogers by the deadline (they mentioned I want to say March 22nd, although I don’t recall), you’ll be able to keep your room in the Fall. The new way of applying for Housing as a returning resident is basically that you pick your room, so while I could see them screwing that one up, I doubt they will.</p>

<p>There’s still a number of things from that email that seemed to be incorrect. McCollum has never been open for summer residents while I’ve been here. Unless it goes in like 5 year intervals or something, it just doesn’t make sense why they would list it instead of Ragans for summer housing. </p>

<p>I still think that, once the closure for summer is done, the biggest change is no more being able to move out mid-semester. That’s one thing that made Rogers somewhat appealing. Although, I knew it was just a matter of time before that changed, after talking with a few people in Housing last year and that being brought up. Since it didn’t happen for this year (as I was told was going to happen), I chalked it up to being simply more misinformation courtesy of the fine folks at one of FSU’s departments. I’m actually kinda surprised they actually went through with it…</p>

<p>Apparently the Housing people decided to tape an envelope containing the email they sent out (but in official letter form instead!) to everyone’s door on Monday. If you didn’t get one, it literally was a word-for-word copy of the email, just with notice that they were going to have an info session on it last night (at 5 or 5:30pm, don’t remember- I couldn’t make it anyway so I didn’t really pay attention to that time). </p>

<p>[FSU</a> - University Housing](<a href=“http://www.housing.fsu.edu/Quicklinks/Residence-Hall-Rental-Rates]FSU”>http://www.housing.fsu.edu/Quicklinks/Residence-Hall-Rental-Rates)
Well, FSU Housing announced their 2013-14 rates. And if you’re currently in Rogers, it’s not good (see, I kinda figured this was a money grab. This practically proves it).</p>

<p>The new semesterly rate for Rogers will be $2340. Divide that by 4 months, and you get $585 a month. Considering that this year’s rate was $485/month + ~ $6/month for the UPS U-Box, you’re looking at a pretty big jump. Although I suppose the one good side will be that, unlike this year, you won’t be charged for the partial month of August once you move in, so you might save a couple hundred bucks there. </p>

<p>Just for Comparison, here’s what I seem to recall for Fall 2012 vs Fall 2013.
August/September was I think $655. Add in then October, November, and December at $485 each, plus the $25 U-Box fee (I don’t remember exactly how much it was, but I believe it was $24-25). $655 + $485 (x3) + $25 = $2135
Fall 2013: $2340.
Difference: $205/semester, or nearly 10% of the current rate (9.6% technically). </p>

<p>Also, they actually do list only Traditions and McCollum being open in the summer, which honestly just makes no damn sense to me. Do they really only have around 475 people living on campus (200 McCollum, 275 Traditions) that also stay during the summer? Maybe by cutting the number of spots available by not opening Ragans or Rogers, they’ll force a number of people into Traditions, so that they’ll be able to scalp them.</p>

<p>Finally, does anyone else notice that the rental rates for all of the returner-only buildings went up somewhere between $160 and $175? This isn’t some percentage increase, it’s just a straight up increase on nearly every building that’s uniform. </p>

<p>What gets me is that they had trouble filling Traditions this year at $3500 (for those that don’t remember, they said that it anyone that was a first-year resident last year would not be able to get into Traditions this year… and then a number of them did when they had trouble getting the building full, which was also a huge problem over summer as well). What makes them think that they will get it filled at $3675 (nearly $920 a month!) next year? I remember when they told me $3500 at their Open House, and I laughed at the lady and said “good luck filling this place… you’re insane” and she hesitantly agreed. </p>

<p>… Sorry for the mini-rant. I knew that this change didn’t spell anything good for Rogers residents. This just proves it. Oh, and if you’re wondering, 2011-2012 rent for Rogers was $465/month I believe. The year before, I believe it was $450/month. So you’re looking at an increase in one year ($485 to ~$595/month) that would typically take 3-4 years minimum to occur.</p>

<p>Edit to add one more thing- anyone else also notice that, according to the Housing page, singles in Rogers are also apparently going to be gone? Not that I think they were too common, but it seems kind of odd. I know one of my neighbors is in a single, whether intentionally or just due to a lack of people trying to live here.</p>

<p>I did the math myself, Rogers was the best bang for the buck, apartment style, under $500 a month. Next year, not so much. So, I did the housing contract for fall 2013, checked my bill and housing wants $225 instead the $100 they told us, did I do something wrong?</p>

<p>I honestly don’t know. I’m graduating, so I won’t necessarily be back next year, so I haven’t even looked at the housing contract.</p>

<p>I would assume that you did something wrong, but I don’t know. I’d probably contact the Housing office just to make sure.</p>

<p>It’s not even worth living on campus anymore w those prices.
Last summer Ragans was barely full I think only 2.5 buildings were full, maybe less and Traditions there was barely anyone there either. Not many upperclassmen opt for on-campus during summer if they are in town during summer sessions.</p>

<p>That’s probably why they are closing Ragans and Rogers (555 and 188 spots, respectively), and just keeping Traditions (275) and McCollum (199) open. They gain about 200 spots back, but are closing down nearly 750. </p>

<p>I get the feeling now, seeing all of the changes with Rogers, that they are closing it in the summer so that they don’t have anyone still living there in the fall when the changes take place. I’m not sure of the legalities, but I wonder if they would have to honor their previous rental agreements if they stayed open (basically, anyone living here under the current rules wouldn’t be held to the new ones, which would be a nightmare). It might not be so much of a cash grab as I initially thought (though it still seems that way, what with keeping Traditions open over the summer), but more of a way of making sure that, come August when people move in, everyone is on a fresh, new rental agreement.</p>

<p>That said though, all of this really just leaves a sour taste in my mouth. My current roommate said it best, that the only reason he doesn’t move off campus is simply the ease of living on campus. The other day a friend of ours was lamenting having to get up at 7 to make his 9am class on time with the buses, while my roommate jokingly said that half the time he doesn’t wake up until 8:45 for his 9am class.</p>

<p>Honestly, that’s pretty much how I feel. Well, that and that the rent is pretty much all-inclusive with regards to utilities. I can pay my rent between or after class by stopping at the card center, and if I do that, I don’t have to pay online and account for whatever “convenience” fees my rent or utilities include. The ease of living on campus is about the only benefit it’s got anymore…</p>

<p>Woah sucks for him that he has to wake up that early. I live away from campus, but I wake 30 minutes before lecture and always make it in time for my classes.
I did not find it convenient living on campus at all. That 20 minute walk every morning to get to my morning classes was such a headache and so tiring. Especially when the day was over and you have 10 books you’re carrying with you all the way back to Rogers. I like that I only have a 5 minute walk to my classes now that I can easily just drive to the closest garage to my classes.
They have so many options now though, some apartments even have shuttles that take you to campus as well so you don’t have to even need a car for some places. I’m sure more nearby apartments will include that option as more and more are opting for off campus living. Even a lot of the old crappy low rated apartments have new managers and are renovating so that is a good sign for a lot of the transfer students coming into Tally and not finding space on campus.
I really hope more and more choose off campus b/c Housing are so ridiculous and a pain in the ass to deal with.</p>

<p>So I know someone asked if someone would update on what the changes were with Rogers if/when they moved in.</p>

<p>Turns out, they redid the A/C within the building. That’s it. No other remodeling, nothing. In fact, my apartment now is arguably in way worse shape than the one I had last year, with the only notable exception being that all 3 closet doors are at least on the right track instead of last year where one was sort of half and half. </p>

<p>So as best I can tell, that extra few hundred bucks a semester is a real ripoff. There’s absolutely nothing different, since I’m not counting the AC as something different.</p>

<p>that sucks that they weren’t even able to give some upgrades or at least sort out the windows that are in horrid shape.</p>

<p>This will be my first year off-campus and I think the only thing I’m going to miss about on-campus housing is, like was said, the ease of it. But, it is ridiculous. Last year, I lived in a single room in Reynolds Hall that shared a bathroom with a double. It was nice and all, but it cost about $3,200 per semester. This year, that same room goes for $3,455, with, I’m assuming, no improvements. I’ve just moved into an apartment on Call Street, which will cost less than that. I am only responsible for electricity; all other utilities are covered by rent. I actually have a kitchen, a living room, a bedroom, a huge closet, and a bathroom. It is an old complex, but it’s under new management and renovations are taking place. The single room I had was just that: a small, single room with a small closet.</p>

<p>papertiger: In response to your post back in March, how far away from campus do you live, and do you ever have trouble with parking? I’m just thinking about it if I ever decide to move farther from campus in the future.</p>

<p>I lived less than 10 minutes from campus. My classes were during mid-day and I had no problem finding parking to be honest. I had classes at Bellamy, FAB, and Dodd Hall. As long as left my place giving me at least 15-30 minutes to drive around the garages near my classes it wasn’t a huge deal. It relieved so much stress living a little further away from the campus area.</p>

<p>

Yeah, it kind of irks me that they hyped up the shutdown as being because Rogers was undergoing maintenance… and then all they did was supposedly update the AC (and then it was out for almost all of Monday anyway). I agree with the windows thing though. So far in both apartments where the living room window is supposed to be sealed closed, there’s a gap- albeit very small, it’s still noticeable- between the window and the wall. Last year it was about 1/4 of an inch; thankfully this year it’s much smaller.</p>

<p>Last year where I lived in Rogers, there were small things that needed fixing throughout the year, but nothing all that huge. I think my roommate and I combined for around a half-dozen maintenance reports the entire year. </p>

<p>I know that already we’ve put in more than that for just idiotic things already- my door key being bent and requiring significant force to get the key out of the door (which I’m actually still waiting on them to fix, now 5 days later), the shower leaking (and then the repair guy trying to argue with me that it wasn’t leaking, and instead the shower curtain was causing the huge puddle), the shower head leaking, the cable outlet cover missing and my about stabbing myself on the cable there while putting stuff behind the couch, a towel rack hanging off the wall…</p>

<p>This summer they should have done some work to Rogers.</p>

<p>

Wow, I’m surprised you were able to pull that off. It seems difficult to execute, considering how packed the garages get.</p>

<p>I parked at the St Augustine garage. Always pretty easy to find parking there but Call St was always a crapshoot. I never bothered with Traditions garage, and if I had a class after 3-ish Woodward wasn’t so bad.</p>

<p>Plus midway through the semester people rarely go to classes so it wasn’t so bad. Beginning and end was crazy though so I made sure to get there much earlier.</p>

<p>For anyone wondering, the reason why the singles are gone is because they are now putting RAs in both Rogers and McCollum. McCollum was also open last year during the summer, I knew someone who lived there. Also can anyone tell me what Rogers is like? I’m thinking about going from McCollum to Rogers cause all the singles in McCollum are taken and I cannot handle 3 strangers next year. I’ve heard bad things about bugs, what did you guys think of living there?</p>