Off-campus housing so close, yet so far

With 110 of 152 applicants approved to live off campus next year, the other 42 juniors have had to rethink next year’s living arrangements. Many juniors have been caught up in the rush to find a house and sign leases, even though Residence Life urges students not to sign a lease until they are approved to live off campus.

Nnamdi Okolue (‘11) found himself in a difficult situation when he and four others signed a lease before finding out whether they had been approved.

“Our group didn’t get off-campus, but I did,” Okolue said.

Although they knew they were taking a risk by signing a lease early, the hunt for housing starts early.

“In order to get the house you want, you have to sign as soon as possible,” Okolue said.

Kathleen Korndoefer (‘11) also experienced the pressure to sign a lease early.

“There’s so little to choose from in Decorah that people start sneaking around and signing leases early,” Korndoefer said.

Director of Residence Life Kris Franzen was empathetic toward students who sign leases early.

“If everyone just waited to sign the leases, there wouldn’t be that pressure,” Franzen said.

Franzen also said that Residence Life sends e-mails to landlords asking them not to pressure students into signing leases early, but for now, the competitive air in the application process is still very much alive.

If students sign a lease but are not accepted to live off-campus, they face paying both the lease and Luther’s room and board fees their senior year. Okolue’s friends will face this issue next year.

“The guys will live [in the house] next year and pay school board and the lease, which is like paying double,” Okolue said.

Franzen also cautions against making decisions based on what happened in previous years.

“The number of students who apply varies so much, which is why we put out this information so students don’t put themselves in a bind with a lease,” Franzen said.

Each year Residence Life selects roughly 100 students to live off-campus, taking many different factors into account, such as the size of the class, how many student teachers there will be, how many non-traditional students there are and how many commute, among other things.

“It’s not as easy as looking at class size and how many rooms are available,” Franzen said.

Students who apply must have senior status by their senior fall semester. Residence Life then chooses students based on how many credits they have. Students can apply either individually or in groups.

Although Decorah has a city ordinance making it unlawful for four unrelated people to rent a house together, some Luther students live with groups of five or more.

“It’s kind of ridiculous,” Okolue said of the ordinance. “There are plenty of houses around here that can accommodate more than five people.”

Korndoefer was accepted for housing, but three of her hopeful housemates are on the waiting list.

“It’s been frustrating,” she said. “We all just went for an individual application, because we all thought we’d be okay.”

Korndoefer also found the competition over credits frustrating.

“We all had a lot of credits,” Korndoefer said. “We weren’t expecting so many people to come in with credits from high school.”

Franzen says that the process has been based on credit hours for a long time.

“There has been no change in the approval process for several years,” she said.

Franzen also mentioned that living on campus can have benefits.

“Research shows that students who live on campus are more likely to graduate in four years, have higher GPAs and are more involved with the college community,” she said.

Still, some students have qualms with Luther’s policy that full-time students are expected to live on campus for all four years.

“I love so many things about Luther, but I just don’t understand why they limit so many seniors from living off-campus,” Korndoefer said. “I think it would be a really great growing experience.”

Ultimately, the choice of where to live remains up to the student, although it is important to be aware that some years will be more competitive than others.