There are still 109 students living in overflow housing as of Aug. 17, IU spokesman Chuck Carney said.
This number is down from Tuesday's count of 153 students living in residence hall lounges instead of a permanent room assignment. Foster, Forest and Teter Quads and Eigenmann Hall are currently housing overflow students.
Carney said another 48 students are also assigned to overflow housing but have yet to show up for move-in. That puts the total number of students signed up for housing without a permanent assignment at 157.
As students begin to cancel their housing contracts, this number is expected to drop below 100 by the end of the first week of classes.
"As those things shake out, we'll know more about what rooms will be open," Carney said Friday.
Ideally, every student will be living in a dorm room by the end of the fall semester, Carney said. For now, the lounge spaces in dorms are housing up to six students each.
“They’re secure, they’re private and they have all the amenities of regular rooms,” Carney said. “They’re just temporary.”
Each year, IU plans for about 8,000 incoming students who will be living in dorms. But as class sizes continue to grow, Residential Programs and Services struggles to keep up with accommodations.
“I don’t think this is an unusually high number considering the class size,” Carney said.
Michael Nichols, a freshman living in Forest Quad, said the lounges seem pretty accommodating for his floormates without permanent housing.
“They’re lucky because they get the coolest rooms,” he said. “But they’re also kind of not, because they don’t know where they’re going to end up.”
Students living in temporary housing were notified weeks in advance and are paying 80 percent of their normal rent, Carney said.
“It’s not ideal, but we don’t think it’s a terrible solution,” Carney said.
Students waiting for housing assignments will be notified via email as vacancies open up.
