The Office of Residence Life hosted a housing fair on St. Joe’s Hawk Hill campus on Oct. 18 and another on Oct. 20 on the University City campus. Rising juniors and seniors were invited to the fairs to offer information about off-campus housing options for the next year.
At each event, non-university housing vendors set up information tables in the Doyle North Banquet Hall of the Campion Student Center and the atrium at the McNeil Science and Technology Center. Students were able to ask the representatives about the off-campus housing they were offering.
As reported in the Sept. 28 issue of The Hawk, on-campus housing options next year for upperclass students are impacted by the university’s decision to offer the Morris Quad Townhouses to sophomores instead of juniors and seniors and to not renew its lease with Pennbrook Apartments, which currently houses sophomores.
While the Morris Quad Townhouses will be offered to sophomores, the Office of Residence Life will be offering 75 remaining slots in the Townhouses to junior and seniors through an early action housing lottery, Kelly Bersett, associate director of housing operations, wrote in response to written questions from The Hawk.
“Although we never guarantee housing for all four years, we have historically been able to offer housing to all students who are interested in junior/senior housing,” Bersett wrote. “Based on our projected occupancy for first- and second-year students who are required to live on-campus, we have fewer spaces available for rising junior and senior students for the upcoming year.”
Jolie Kamal ’25, who attended the UCity housing fair, said she already planned to live off-campus after her sophomore year at the UCity campus.
“I already knew coming into the program that I would only live on campus for two years,” said Kamal, who is a student in the doctor of physical therapy program. “In our program, we’re here, fall, spring and summer until we graduate. So we’re trying to find a place so we don’t have to move out every year.”
Alexandria Marro ’25 who is at the Hawk Hill campus said she will not enter the lottery because on-campus housing is too expensive for her.
“It makes me more stressed about having to commute,” Marro said. “I really didn’t want to have to commute and I think [St. Joe’s] should have thought it out better.”
Students interested in learning more about St. Joe’s on-campus housing options visit the residence life website for more information. Students interested in learning more about St. Joe’s off-campus housing options can visit offcampushousing.sju.edu.
Natalie Brislin ’23 and P.J. O’Hara ’24 contributed to this story.
