Reality

The housing lottery will occur during the first week of February. Students will be notified about whether or not they will be receiving an offer for on-campus housing. In the past several years, 85 to 100 percent of returning students who participated in HAP received a contract offer. For the fall 2012 semester, Housing and Residence Life was able to accommodate all returning students as Ambler Johnston Hall was brought back online after a year of renovation. For the upcoming 2013-2014 academic year, the expectation is that we may have to turn away some students as we proceed with the upper quad renovation project. We expect to take approximately 300 beds offline during the next HAP, so our offer rate should be around 90-95% of those who want on-campus housing; however, the actual offer rate will be dependent on the number of students who apply for housing in the upcoming housing lottery.

Later in February, if space permits, we may make a second round of contract offers using the HAP applicant pool. If students do not receive a contract offer by the end of February, we encourage them to seek off-campus accommodations. Students who did not enter the application process may place their names on a waiting list. We seldom make offers to students on this list, and only after we have exhausted offers to HAP participants.

Reality

The housing market in Blacksburg follows the "college town" academic year cycle. Many off campus leases run from August to August to maximize occupancy in the off-campus market. Unlike the on-campus academic year only leases, most off-campus facilities require a 12-month lease. Some off campus students will decide to stay in Blacksburg over the summer while others will attempt to find a sublease, if allowed, for their apartment. Co-op and study abroad students especially like on-campus leases because the lease is suspended during their absence, while off-campus subleasing is not necessarily.

For example, several apartment complexes have opened with vacancies for the current academic year, and leasing agents are scrambling both for early lease renewals and new commitments. While premium locations, based on amenities or proximity to campus, do fill earlier than others, off-campus student housing has traditionally continued to be available in Blacksburg into the spring and summer months.

Reality

It is true that some students choose to live off-campus after their freshman year. For many students, this is an expected and healthy transition. For others, the convenience on-campus housing provides with location, utilities, simplified billing, resident advisor support, and other on-campus amenities have them choosing to live on-campus past their freshmen year. In addition, many students enjoy the ease of an academic year lease versus an August to August lease.

Students who decide to move off-campus are still eligible to purchase a dining plan. More than 9,500 off-campus students choose to purchase a dining plan for their meals each semester.

Reality

Although special offers can seem more attractive, we encourage parents and students to compare costs from several local apartment communities with our on-campus housing costs and compare not only the rent, but utilities and the convenience of on-campus housing and dining options. We think on-campus housing proves to be an economical choice.