With the housing selection process for 2012-2013 rapidly approaching, students are hurrying to get their affairs in order as they decide where they want to live for the next school year. Opportunity to be granted off campus housing has always been a point of interest for upperclassmen students at Gustavus; seeing the enormity of the incoming first-year class this past fall, many students are hoping for a similar situation to happen this coming year.

The availability for open rooms and beds on campus dwindles as more first-years are admitted; to fix this problem, Residential Life grants certain upperclassmen permission to find their own homes in St. Peter. Director of Residential Life Charlie Potts is in charge of both on-campus residential responsibilities and the off-campus housing permission process.

“We had our largest incoming class in the history of the college this past fall, but

I don’t want people to think that just because the first-year class was big last year that we will be forcing all seniors to leave campus for housing, or that we’ll be allowing anyone and everyone who applies to live off campus to do it—we’ll adjust accordingly to accommodate the larger class, and that may mean slightly adjusting the number of students who receive off campus permission for 2012-2013,” Potts said.

Although the excitement of a large incoming class holds potential for more off campus possibilities, that is not the only contributing factor.

“As always, it’s a system based on seniority—what the seniors decide to do

affects all the other classes. Seniors will be considered first, then groups of seniors

[who are combined] with juniors, then groups of juniors,” Potts said. “Applicants who apply to live together receive permission as a group.”

Senior Della Bro, who currently lives off campus, explains her process of early preparation for off campus living.

“I started touring off-campus houses and connecting with landlords during the fall of my sophomore year,” Bro said. “The sooner you start connecting with landlords, the more successful you will be in negotiating rent costs.”

Students who wish to live off campus should not sign a lease until they are sure that they are granted permission; but it goes without saying that if you are serious about living in a house, early preparation is necessary.

“You have to start preparing early if you want the process to go smoothly-the one thing I would tell people is to choose your roommates wisely. Your best friends aren’t always the best or most reliable roommates.” Senior Abby Roff said.

Implemented this year, the new Room Draw system shows initiative for a more organized housing selection process.

“If someone doesn’t get permission to live off campus, then he/she would be in the regular housing process. The intention is to notify people of off campus permission by spring break. So if you don’t get permission, you’ll have at least a couple weeks to regroup and find an on campus place where you’d like to live, since the Room Draw events are on April 15, 16 and 22,” Potts said.

Financially, many students who live off campus have seen significant decreases in living expenses compared to living on campus in dorm or apartment style living. That being said, the cost of your housing also has other variables that you may not have factored in when they were already provided for you on campus.

“I have been keeping track of rent payments, utilities payments, grocery costs, and gas money—and thus far, living off-campus has significantly decreased my living expenses,” Bro said. “But the decrease in living expense isn’t the same for everyone and depends a lot on your own lifestyle choices.”

“It’s easy to take for granted the amenities on campus—a meal plan, custodians, close proximity to friends, easy walks to class, etc.” Roff said.

Although living off campus is both seen and experienced as a great time, there are also negative aspects to being responsible for your own house and losing amenities that are provided for you on campus.

“What happens when fifty people you don’t know show up at a party at your house? What happens when the heat won’t work and you can’t reach your landlord? Statistics show that students living on campus in residence halls fare better academically than those living off campus”, Potts said. “Part of the Gustavus experience is living on campus and engaging with others and sharing the experience of being here. This has always been the case and will very likely always be the case.”

Off campus applications can be found through the Residential Life website and are due on Wednesday, March 14, 2012. For more detailed information on off campus housing and important dates, visit https://gustavus.edu/reslife/.