Permission to live off campus has become less and less frequent for EU undergraduates in recent years, and next year, the trend will continue.
Starting next year, the Village will be reserved for three groups of students: those over age 23, main campus graduate students, and Palmer Seminary students. This change has primarily been made to accommodate the students of Palmer Seminary, given that their school is moving to the St. Davids campus. Undergraduate students who want to live in The Village can still place bids, but must have a plan for housing on-campus as well.
Off-campus apartments will also be more difficult to get. Christina Best, the housing coordinator, says, “We have a standard for students living on-campus, and the only time we make an alteration…is when we were are so full to capacity that we cannot physically host each student on-campus.” This has not been the case for at least the past two years, and it will not be the case next year, now.
“We as a campus have a residential requirement because it is a part of our Student Development Mission,” says Best, “and we believe it is best to live on-campus [since] it aids the community and younger students who are looking for upperclassmen to live in the residence halls with them.” Living on-campus provides close proximity to friends, classes, and the dining hall, as well as safe and open environments where students can flourish.
However, students will still be allowed to live off-campus if they are married, active in the military, over the age of 23, or living at a family member’s residence less than 45 miles from campus. “We do value parents and families,” says Best. “We will talk through any case with any student at any time.”
Approval for off-campus housing seems difficult for undergraduates, yet Best believes “there is consistency in the [off-campus housing] process, but sometimes you don’t see the whole picture when comparing your situation to someone else.”