Housing anticipates that the application process for the 2012-2013 academic year will begin this week, likely by Friday, Dec. 7, according to Bryan Dunphy-Culp, assistant director of Housing.
The housing application is free and only takes a few minutes to complete, Dunphy-Culp said.
In the past, the application process usually began after winter break, lasted one week and featured a $100 deposit. This year’s will extend from early December through January because the Housing department wants students to begin considering the option of living on-campus.
“This will hopefully allow students to talk it over with their families or whoever else helps them make that decision and then apply leisurely over break or as they come back,” said Ryan Farnkopf, director of Housing.
The announcement of time slots and the room selection process are likely to remain close to their usual time of mid-February or March before spring break, Dunphy-Culp said.
Cromwell Hall will reopen for 2012-2013 after undergoing renovations this year, according to Dunphy-Culp, which will create 300 on-campus beds. This allows more beds for upperclassmen, because freshmen and sophomores have guaranteed housing.
“The rationale of the decision to put Cromwell into the sophomore cohort, rather than returning it to a first-year building, was really primarily because we know that rising sophomores tend to be interested in suite-style living,” Farnkopf said. “It also works better with our FSP program. It allows us to keep them much neater together.”
The bulk of the Cromwell renovations were interior, including redoing the plumbing system and replacing fixtures in the bathrooms — showers, toilets, sinks, floor tiles and paint. It will also have wireless Internet, Farnkopf said.
“It’ll still be the same basic building, but newer and cleaner,” Farnkopf said. “The architect is putting some effort into sprucing up the common spaces and making them a little bit more student-focused. There’s going to be some pocket lounges that are designed out of old closets.”
Freshmen will likely be living in Travers, Wolfe, Norsworthy, Allen, Ely and Brewster Halls. Sophomores are expected to live in Cromwell, Decker, New Residence and Centennial Halls, along with parts of Eickhoff Hall. Upperclassmen are expected to live in all townhouses, the apartments and the remainder of Eickhoff.
Farnkopf said this may change depending on how many students apply for housing.
The hotels will not be used for the 2013-14 school year. It was “a way to mitigate the unmet demand from closing Cromwell,” which is not the case this year.
