Housing officials said this week that they are close to accommodating all students on the waiting list.
About 200 students were left without housing after the conclusion of the housing selection process last month, said Andrew Sonn, director of Housing Services. As of Wednesday, 26 rising sophomores remained on the list and all rising juniors and seniors were given housing offers.
Matt Frisbee, president of the Residence Hall Association, said is “surprised by how many people want to live on campus.”
“Absolutely everyone will get housing,” Frisbee said.
Sonn said adding more single room options and the opening of Ivory Tower, a 700 bed-plus facility, attracted upperclassmen to campus housing.
Housing Services accommodates students on the waitlist by first giving out housing options that were initially reserved for transfer students, and then turning to rooms that free up from students who choose to decline their housing offers or study abroad.
“Oftentimes, with students studying abroad canceling their housing assignments, great options become available. We also strive to reserve open rooms for roommate pairs so we can keep friends together,” Sonn said, adding that students who do not like their original option can fill out a room change form at http://gwired.gwu.edu/cllc/index.gw/Site_ID/5198/Page_ID/.
Junior Dave Kantor received a room assignment in City Hall two days after being placed on the waiting list. He will be living in a triple with his friend and another student.
“GW’s housing is so good, unless you have to go, there is no reason not to stay,” said Kantor, adding that the situation was initially stressful.
Jonathan Malis, a rising sophomore got off the waiting list last Monday. Malis, who will be living in a quad in New Hall with three strangers, said at first he was “mad at the whole situation,” but is now “pretty happy” with what Housing Services gave him.
“A lot of people realize that the waitlist isn’t that bad,” Frisbee said. “You can still get good housing.”
Last year, a Board of Zoning and Adjustment ruling, mandating 70 percent of students live within campus boundaries, delayed housing selection until April. Technical glitches further postponed housing selection, leaving about 190 students on the waiting list by the beginning of May.
