This April, thousands of high school seniors will open their Boston College acceptance letters and find out whether they have received three or four years of housing. To those freshmen new to the BC community, this detail is of little importance. As sophomore year approaches, however, it is a fact of which students become acutely aware.
As sprawling as BC may seem while making the trek from Lower to the Quad to get to class, there is just not enough room to house every one of the 9,000 full-time undergraduates on campus.
Because of this unfortunate fact, students receive upon admission either three or four years of on-campus housing. Though it may seem to be arbitrary at times, this decision is not determined randomly.
"Admissions determines who is given three or four years of housing at time of admission, based on academic standing coming into the institution. There are some exceptions, one being if you are in the School of Nursing, and another if you are a scholarship athlete. Those are the only two that are always given four years, and we do tell parents that at open house," said Henry Humphreys, director of the office of residential life.
When it comes down to it, about 50 percent of the incoming class is offered four years of on-campus housing.
Students, however, aren't necessarily bound to their initial housing fate.
"Students can appeal for an additional year. Most generally do that fall semester of their sophomore year … generally, we can only accommodate people for medical reasons, but there is a high volume of students looking for housing for just a semester," Humphreys said.
Upon application for an additional year of housing, a student will receive either a denial, "space available," or guaranteed housing. A majority of applicants will get space available. "It's for those students with a fairly legitimate reason to live on but we can't just guarantee housing to," Humphreys said.
But what of those students who receive four years of housing? They can choose to either stay on or live off. The choice at first seems simple; the advantages of staying on are many.
"When you live on campus, you're connected with the BC community. BC students really cherish living on campus. It's part of the Boston College experience. The downfall to students who live off campus is that they feel disconnected from campus," Humphreys said.
However, living off campus has plenty of unexpected benefits.
"Juniors typically bypass housing for two reasons: They're studying abroad for the semester or the year, or they have friends with only three years of housing. Because that's their friend network, they choose to bypass living on campus to stay with them," said Steven Prue, assistant director for housing occupancy and assignment.
Alixandria Fogel, CSOM '09, opted out of using all four years of her allotted on-campus housing, and is currently living off campus.
"I thought it would be a nice opportunity. I'm closer to my friends, and it's more independence. Cost wise, it's about the same as living on campus. For me, there are no drawbacks," Fogel said.
Another student, Kelly Gerson, A&S '10, has also been given four years of housing but is leaning toward leaving campus for her junior year to accompany her friends with only three years of guaranteed housing.
"Really, I just want to stay close to my friends, and I'm also going abroad. It will just be a different experience, and I actually think it will be cheaper to go off," said Gerson.
Some stay on campus for pure convenience's sake. Though scholarship athletes are typically required to live on campus, many non-scholarship athletes choose to live on regardless.
"I think the biggest reason why staying on campus was convenient for me is that I run track and being on campus makes it easier for me to get to practice. I don't have to spend so much time in transit. Also, there's a lot less responsibility involved. Plus, all the girls I lived with since freshman year have four years of housing, so we got lucky," said Kara Musso, A&S '09.
On occasion, even sophomores choose to live off campus, though they are an anomaly at BC. Prue said that there are currently 157 students in the sophomore class eligible for housing who are not living on campus. (However, transfers and drop-outs must be accounted for in this statistic.)
"There is a certain percentage of students who for personal reasons choose to live off campus for their sophomore year," Humphreys said.
One such sophomore is Christopher Carey, A&S '10.
On why he chose to live off campus, Carey said, "I didn't get good housing. It was all right, I got a triple on Lower, but for the most part I think people do it because they're unhappy with the situation and want their own space or they don't want to live on College Road. Also, it's just a lot more freedom."
Are the freedom and independence of living off campus worth all the responsibility and hassle? Are the convenience and community experience that come with living on campus worth parting from friends? Whether they are freshmen, sophomores, or juniors, those making this decision have plenty to consider.
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