Campus Life, DU’s Neighborhood Relations representative and AUSA senators have teamed up to offer DU’s first-ever off-campus housing fair, to be held this Thursday in the Driscoll Ballroom from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Open to DU juniors and above, the fair will make local landlords and neighborhood associations available for students’ off-campus housing questions. Law students will also be available to discuss lease issues, and representatives from storage companies will be onhand to answer questions as well.
Campus Life budget coordinator Kate Bidstrup and sexual assault response coordinator Lisa Ingarfield used Colorado State University and University of Colorado- Boulder as models to create the first off-campus housing fair.
According to Bidstrup, there is housing available near DU year-round and it isn’t hard to find a place to live any time of the year. Even though there are three busy times finding off-campus housing, early June, late August and late December, there is no need for returning study abroad students to worry about housing, if they go about it with foresight.
“If students are looking to live on-campus when they return from study abroad, they should complete their housing application in MyWeb before they go so they can have an assignment when they get back. If students are looking for a place off-campus when they return, they should start looking no more than about six weeks prior to when they plan to actually move in,” said Bidstrup.
While there are a lot of students who want to live off campus, there are many students whose first choice is to live on-campus. According to the Housing and Residential Education Web site, housing is guaranteed for DU freshmen and sophomores under the age of 21, but cannot be guaranteed for all students. Space is offered according to a priority schedule, which is determined by the date a student’s contract and deposit are received.
The facts that DU’s housing is limited and students’ first choices cannot always be honored have become apparent for some DU undergraduates who recently received their on-campus assignments for next year.
“Although it was not a stressful event for me, I have friends who were disappointed with their assignments or were surprised to wind up in rooms with people they don’t know,” said first-year student Corinne Lohss.
“Obviously, HRE cannot accommodate everyone, but no one is ever truly left without options,” said Bidstrup. “The housing available to them may not be ideal, but there are always places to live in the DU area.”
In addition to co-hosting the first off-campus housing fair, off-campus housing through DU is making some changes this year, including upgrading their Web site with photos and listings that are easier to navigate.
For students currently living on-campus, the housing application process is new for 2006, and is done through MyWeb to eliminate the need for a paper signature page.
“My best advice regarding housing is not to panic. There will always be great places to live, any time of year. Research several options, ask lots of questions, and be flexible. Please read instructions carefully,” said Bidstrup.
Each student who attends the fair will receive an off campus housing kit and will have a chance to win prizes. For more information on off-campus housing at DU, visit http://www.du.edu/och or call Bidstrup at ext. 1-2247 or Ingarfield at ext. 1-3853 for assistance on individual needs. To view detailed residence requirements, visit http://slife.du.edu/housing/info/require.html.
