For many first-year students, college life is now the norm. Everyone is adjusted to their class schedules, their study habits and their living situations. College no longer feels like a two-month vacation from life at home; it has become a new place to call home.
First-year students are beginning to find their place on campus and find new people to befriend. While all this settling and growth is just beginning, it is odd that Carolina Housing requires first-years to submit housing applications for the 2019-2020 school year by Nov. 26.
The application should be moved to sometime later in the year. First-years moved in on Aug. 17 or 18, and the application for housing for the upcoming year opened on Oct. 24. This gave first-year students just over two months to decide where they plan to live and with whom they plan to live. This is all happening as students are just beginning to find friends, environments and organizations at Carolina.
There are issues with having students decide where they want to live so early in the year. Students could rush into living with someone they do not know yet and have not had time to explore all the living options at UNC.
First, many students are still in the process of finding their “group” on campus. Some students may rush into living with students they do not fully know and may have potential problems with later on. It takes time to find people you are comfortable living and sharing spaces with. The current housing application timeline does not give students the opportunity to find those people.
Second, first-year students are still searching and discovering for their places on campus. The organizations and events students partake in should inform their housing selection process. As first-year students settle into life at Carolina, the clubs, organizations and other extracurricular activities will come, too. Students should be given time to find their space at Carolina before having to select where they plan on living.
Carolina Housing has to compete for students who may want to live off campus. Students at Carolina begin searching for off-campus residences as early as September. So it makes sense that Carolina Housing sends out the application so early. Still, students are being pushed into housing decisions just as life begins to settle at Carolina.
The housing application should be moved to at least the spring semester for first year students. This will afford first-years the opportunity to learn more about their interests and to find people to live with. This will ensure that students are not pushed into living agreements or just “going random” because they have not found their people.
Carolina Housing should give students time to develop relationships and interests before making living decisions for the upcoming year. College is a time to make lifelong friends and discover one’s passions. These both take time. Give first-year students that time to make more informed decisions about housing.
