OSU Faces Housing Shortage Ahead Of Fall Semester Move-In

As the fall semester quickly approaches, Oklahoma State University is facing a shortage of dorm rooms to house students this year. The university says it is expecting a record-breaking number of students trying to live on campus.

Parents and students say the shortage is affecting housing arrangements that have been in place for months.

OSU says it has space for 5,600 students to live on campus, but it has about 5,700 applications.

For many students, living on campus is a part of the college experience, but for some OSU students this year, the thought of move-in day is causing concern. 

"I was a ball of anxiety yesterday," said incoming Sophomore Mara Barrios.

She says she already had a two-bedroom dorm picked out for her and a friend, arrangements she made with OSU back in January. But she's worried that will change.

"We got the email that someone else would be rooming with us, and we don't know if we can live with this person," said Barrios.

OSU offered a lower rate for adding that roommate, but Barrios says that would be three women living in a dorm designed for two. It's a solution to a housing shortage Mara or her mom Ashley didn't know about until two weeks before move-in.

"We just feel like the communication was really lacking," said Chase.

Emails sent to students earlier this summer hinted at issues, with OSU offering incentives like free meal plans to move off campus. In a statement, the university says it is used to housing changes and cancellations before school starts but had a lower number of cancellations this year than expected.

"It feels like they clearly had this information for a while and didn't have the solution to try to get it done and just kind of sprung it on everybody two weeks before move-in," says Chase.

Ashley and her daughter Mara hope to make changes to allow for a friend to be their third roommate but are waiting to see if that's possible.

The university says it is offering a $1,000 dollar scholarship and a free meal plan to people willing to move off campus. These incentives have been offered to students within a 40-mile radius of campus, those on the waitlist, and returning students with an assigned room. It says it is also working to lease housing off-campus for students to live.

OSU Statement:

OSU’s Housing and Residential Life (HRL) is excited to welcome students to campus for the 2024-2025 school year. Projections indicate we will likely have one of the largest freshman classes in OSU history and a record-setting number of non-freshmen seeking on-campus housing placements.

The increased demand is reflective of the affordability and value of OSU’s on-campus housing options, as well as the dynamic economic landscape.

The university’s occupancy management planning process allows us to scale up housing inventory to meet increased demand. Like other institutions experiencing increased housing demand, we are offering optional financial incentives or the opportunity to live in university-leased off-campus housing adjacent to our campus.

We know this may be challenging for students and families as they prepare for the start of the school year. We’re working through the process and anticipate the overwhelming majority of these students will be placed early next week.

Here are more questions we asked OSU:

OSU housing was overbooked by about 100 students, just want to confirm that number.

We have received a record number of applications from returning students seeking to live on-campus. We have a capacity of about 5,600 housing placements and we’re currently working with about 5,700 applications, but the situation is very dynamic.

We have not denied any freshman on-campus housing. Any freshman that wants to get housing through OSU will get housing through OSU. We’re simply working through the process.

Why would OSU accept that many students knowing they don’t have space to house them?

University housing has a remarkable number of variables, and we’ve experienced a record number of students applying to return to on-campus housing. This demand reflects the value and affordability of OSU’s on-campus housing. People want to live on campus, and they’re excited about being here at OSU.

Housing occupancy is a dynamic situation, and we generally experience a fluctuating number of elective changes to housing arrangements and cancellations throughout the summer. This year, we just happened to have far fewer cancellations, so we’re scaling up capacity with off-campus housing adjacent to campus and offering incentives.

You said this would be a temporary problem, how does OSU plan to remedy a lack of space? And what does the timeline look like for that?

The university is working through its occupancy management planning process to address immediate needs and will explore potential adjustments for next year.

Why are students finding out only two weeks prior to move-in about these changes to their living situation?

Housing occupancy is a dynamic situation, and we generally experience a fluctuating number of elective changes to housing arrangements and cancellations throughout the summer. This year, we just happened to have far fewer cancellations so we’re scaling up capacity with off-campus housing adjacent to campus and offering incentives.

What are the incentives to move off campus and/or add a roommate?

Financial incentives in the form of a one-time $1,000 scholarship and a complimentary meal plan (valued at $3,400) have been offered to students to live off campus. These incentives have been offered to students within a 40-mile radius of campus, those on the waitlist and returning students with an assigned room.