Discontent among Ithaca College students over Fall 2024 housing assignments for apartments prompted action from the Office of Residential Life. For the first time, Res Life allowed students who originally applied for Circle Apartments in groups of four — and could not be allotted one — to reapply in groups of five to potentially secure an apartment.

According to the reapplication email sent March 20, Res Life identified 14 five-person Circle Apartments that could be allotted to 51 four-person groups that applied.

Junior Anya Watkins, who will be a senior in Fall 2024, applied to a Circle Apartment but was placed in a Garden Apartment. Watkins was then reassigned to a Circle Apartment after the reapplication process. Watkins said she had concerns about other students being unable to secure their preferred housing options because of high competition. 

“I’m happy we were able to secure a Circle, but I wish the process wasn’t as difficult as it was,” Watkins said. “We had to jump through so many hoops. … I feel bad because most people didn’t get their first choice and there was so much competition, not only in the initial selection, but in the reapplication.” 

High demand for apartments

According to the initial housing assignment email sent out March 20, 1,305 students listed an apartment as their top choice with only 1,100 beds in the Circles and Gardens complexes available. Res Life received 128 four-person apartment requests, while only 76 four-person apartments are available. 

For the 2024–2025 academic year, there is a high demand for four-person Circle Apartments, Gardens Apartments, single rooms in Lower Quads and single rooms in Towers. However, the availability of apartments cannot keep up with the student demands. 

There are 45 four-person apartments, however, six of those are designated for apartment assistants (AA). Sixty-five five-person apartments and 50 six-person apartments were available for student application. 

In the Garden Apartment complex, there are 120 two-person apartments, with four of the apartments reserved for AAs. Thirty four-person apartments and six six-person apartments were available for the 2024–2025 cycle. 

There is also a rising demand for single-room dorms. According to the March 20 reapplication email, 61 students listed a Lower Quads single room as a top choice, while only 16 single rooms are available and 77 students listed West Tower single room requests for 10 rooms. 

The price of on-campus room and board per year at Ithaca College is $15,934. The prices of the same room at other comparable colleges like Bard College, Vassar College, Clark University and St. Lawrence are $17,180, $16,560, $11,164 and $15,995, respectively. 

Sophomore Gavin Schauder, who will be a junior in Fall 2024, was another student who was denied in the first round of selection, but was placed in a Circle Apartment during the reapplication process. Despite receiving an apartment and worries subsiding, Schauder said his experience with housing was not positive.

“Res Life has definitely not been as professional as I would like them to be,” Schauder said. “They’re going to need to step up if they want to keep all their students happy and receive less complaints, which I’m sure they got a lot of this year.”

Sophomore Carly Dixon, who will be a junior in Fall 2024, said she reapplied for a Circle Apartment but unlike other students, did not hear back about updated housing assignments. Dixon said she was placed in Emerson Hall and wishes that she could live in a more independent setting.

“I won’t be able to grow as an adult and be more dependent on myself,” Dixon said. “I feel like [Res Life] needs to communicate with us more, especially with putting so many juniors back in Emerson.”

Upcoming changes

Res Life Housing Specialist Ryan McCarty said changes and improvements are being made to housing for the 2024–25 academic year.

McCarty said the college is converting larger triples in Emerson Hall, which have two separate rooms and one shared bathroom, to accommodate four people, giving priority to juniors and seniors. McCarty did not specify a timeline for this.

“There is so much time to fix the things that don’t seem to be going right for you right now,” McCarty said. “I think [students’] time is better spent on worrying about [their] finals. Because I guarantee that most of you are going to end up in a place you want to be.”

When it comes to meal plans, students who live in dorm buildings are required to register for “The Residence Plan.” The plan consists of meal plans starting at $6,870 for the academic year. 

The college requires students to live on campus until their junior year. When students can live off campus, they often have to consider renting prices. Fair Market Rent (FMR) prices in Ithaca are high compared to the national average as of 2024. The Ithaca FMR area is more expensive than 94% of other FMR areas with an average Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom apartment standing at $1,664 a month.  

Jeffery Golden, associate vice president of Auxiliary Services, said students may be backed into a corner financially because of this. 

“The real estate housing market in Ithaca is hugely problematic and hugely expensive,” Golden said. “It’s hard for students trying to live off campus.”

Employee housing

Boothroyd Hall, located in Upper Quads, has also been repurposed as employee housing. In Fall 2023, it was empty after it served as a COVID-19 isolation space. Golden said Terrace 10 was offered to faculty, staff and visiting international professors who might want to live on campus, and then moved to Boothroyd.  

The employee housing initiative first launched in Terrace 10 in 2022 before briefly transitioning to Terrace 1 in 2023. However, because of the Terrace Elevator Construction Project, residents of Terrace 1 have been relocated to Boothroyd Hall. Golden said the residence halls the college uses for employee housing are subject to frequent change. 

Golden said residents can pay $500 a month to live in Boothroyd. Golden said it could be less demanding to live in Boothroyd, or even stay there for short periods, rather than commute from long distances or attempt to find housing in Ithaca. Residents of Boothroyd have access to the same amenities as students.

“You have to attract high quality, high caliber faculty on the content side, and so having affordable housing is an important part of that,” Golden said. 

Updated student housing

In Fall 2022, the college began a housing option in Eastman Hall, in Lower Quads, specifically for seniors and graduate students. Rooms in Eastman Hall feature single rooms that were previously double rooms and are open during winter break as well. 

Senior and graduate students can reside in Eastman Hall for $10,100 per year and also have the option of living there on a per-semester basis. Residents have access to a meal plan consisting of 21 meal swipes per week and $200 Bomber Bucks per semester. 

Golden said options like these offer affordable, unconventional opportunities to upperclassmen.

“Offering something like this for seniors and grad students puts them in a … situation where they’re on campus, but it’s a slightly different vibe,” Golden said. “It’s a little bit more independent than your average [residence] hall scenario.” 

Watkins said a more flexible housing policy could also allow upperclassmen to live in housing of their choice. 

“If they can’t put everyone in the housing that they want, at least let juniors live off campus,” Watkins said. “Maybe try that and it would give people more options.”