Hello,
My son is an admitted freshman this year. Would love to hear some info from current students on the housing situation. I have been reading that Tech is planning increase their student population by 6,000 in the next couple of years. Where will they put all of these students? I think I read that Tech only guaranties on campus housing to Freshman and then you are on your own. Are their opportunities for students to live on campus after their freshman year? Are most students happy about moving to off campus housing after freshman year?
I know there was a shortage of on campus housing last year. Tech offered a generous financial incentive
to students who had an active housing contract to move off campus in order to make room for incoming freshmen. My son was more than happy to receive $2000 from Tech to do just that. There seems to be ample apartments around with shuttle service to and from the campus.
Thanks Emotive. Just thinking that it might be nice to go to a college where a student can live on campus for at least a couple of years before having to move off campus. Glad there are shuttles to get you to campus, Really did not want to have to think about getting a car for my son next year.
Some additional info about transportation at Tech:
http://www.tcs.vt.edu/alternative/no_car.asp#bt
I’m curious, are there any big universities that promise housing? It seems normal to me that upperclassmen move off campus at most places other than small liberal arts colleges.
Asil65, a few points about the availability of housing. While Tech plans to increase the number of students, some of those increases may be in graduate-level programs and most of those students will prefer to live in an apartment off campus. Also, there is some housing available beyond the freshman year. If you do the math, there is on-campus housing for approximately 9,300 students. Of that, approximately 1,000 beds go the Corps, 516 beds go to the Honors students (108 at Hillcrest and 408 at East Ambler Johnston), and 115 beds are found in the Graduate Life Center. That leaves 7,669 for the freshman class and any one else. There are other ways to get housing as an upper classroom. Some of the Living Learning Communities compensate upper class students to serve as mentors and they must live in the LLC. Galilleo and Hypatia are examples. West Ambler Johnston requires a two-year commitment from freshman and Resident Advisors have on-campus housing.
The situation last Fall that caused the housing shortage was caused when the residence hall that was built for the Corps was not ready on time. Since the Corps must live on campus, the civilian students were offered financial incentives to give up their housing.
My son lived on campus for two years. At the time, I thought that was the right decision. When he moved into an apartment and I saw how nice it was and how much more space he had, I wondered if we should have moved him to an apartment his second year. While the rent for the apartment is higher, it was not that much higher than what we had paid for the residence halls, especially the second year when students usually get nicer facilities, and he had a much better situation than sharing a small dorm room with another student.
After freshman year you have to enter a lottery to live on campus (you have to get under a certain lottery number to get housing… you find out pretty early about this, I believe.) My boyfriend received on campus housing through the normal lottery for sophomore and junior years, then a conditional offer due to the housing shortage his senior year.
Several other friends also had housing after freshman year through different means - one was in Galileo from freshman to junior year, but didnt want to continue during senior year. Others were RAs, or in honors housing.
Lots of students live off campus after freshman year - lots of privacy and amenities, can end up being cheaper with areas having low rent (some still around $300-$350) and not being required to have a meal plan. A few friends who wanted to live off campus junior or senior year found it more difficult to live with friends because so many groups of friends get their own apartments during sophomore year and stay together from sophomore-senior year.
"Are their opportunities for students to live on campus after their freshman year? "
Oh come on! Blacksburg is really one big campus. There is no off campus at all there. The entire town is part of the university in terms of how it feels (obviously not technically tho). You can’t compare living off campus at VT to living off campus anywhere else. Foxridge is pretty great. There are many great places to live off campus that feel like they are an extension of the school. It is described as off campus but, as I said, the entire town is one big university. It is simple to get around and these complexes are filled with only students cause nobody else is in town but students and faculty. Ok maybe there are a few others but really the entire place is one gigantic undergraduate community.
He could apply to the Residential Living Community at West AJ…they give them a guaranteed two year housing contract and the dorms are really nice…my daughter did it for her first two years and now she is off campus…there are other residential communities specific to majors like biology and engineering but I don’t know if they have two year contracts with those…good luck!
My student is a freshman this year living in RLC (Peddrew Yates). She was given the option to renew for a second year in the RLC. In addition, the Residential College at West AJ sent out an email inquiring about interest. Both of these options were done long before the housing lottery. Therefore, you would know that you had already secured housing before February. She decided to live off campus with friends. None of them submitted their names in the lottery (i.e., less competition).
As others mentioned, there are plenty of options. I think it depends on the amount you can afford or are willing to pay for rent off campus. Many of the complexes have individual leases. If you don’t have roommates–or not enough, they will slot you into a unit.
Years ago, I lived on campus at Tech for two years, my husband lived on campus for three. We would have preferred for our child to have stayed on campus for sophomore year, but we thought it better that she reside with friends and be happy.
Good Luck.
Thank you all for the great information. My son is looking forward to visiting in April. Maybe then we will understand what the term" off campus" really means. Good to know that the large growth of the school appears to be happening at the graduate level not UG.