College Housing 101: Scrambling for Housing at RMU

If freshmen at thought scheduling classes was nerve-racking, the room-selection process for housing next year on campus mostly likely wil cause even greater anxiety for those new to campus.

 With RMU’s latest on-campus apartment complex, Salem Hall, to be completed by the start of the fall 2011 semester, a total of 111 apartment units with fully equipped kitchens, living rooms, two bathrooms, and a private bedroom for each occupant will be available to house 466 students, according to RMU’s housing guide for the 2011-2012 academic year.

With an enrollment of 3,000-plus students, however, that’s not a significant number of new rooms. Many students still will be scrambling to find housing and new roommates.

 Aside from the three apartment complexes, Lexington, Concord, and Salem, the only other housing for upper classmen is in Washington Hall, Marshall Hall, and Braddock Hall located behind the Giant Eagle grocery store. All other residential, traditional dorms are reserved for the incoming 2015 freshman class.

 Now, after living in a room the size of Paris Hilton’s walk-in closet, I am more than ready to live in an apartment complex with the convenience of a kitchen and private bedroom next year.

As a freshman, I have found the task of selecting a room daunting and confusing. Sure, the university has posted a guide online, but with a selection process more complicated than calculus, many freshmen find themselves dumfounded without a clue as to how to go about making their decisions.

To help those students, the Residence Life Office at RMU will set up information tables in the Nicholson Center food court from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Feb. 15 and Feb. 24  to answer questions or address concerns for newcomers to the whole room-selection process.

For some, the housing dilemma does not end with the room selection. Finding roommates for the next year can throw in a whole other kink.

I already have a group of friends ready to sign off on our housing contract for the next year, but others may not be so fortunate. RMU does offer the option, however, of linking random roommates with others who are unable to find one.

With the March 18 deadline to sign the housing contract and make a $250 deposit approaching fast, this room selection process is not something students should postpone for long.