Juniors, seniors begin house hunt
Tuesday, August 17, 2010 at 6:49PM By Jonathan McFadden
dorm closing (Kathleen Brown)Rising juniors and seniors who did not find on-campus rooms during last week’s sign-up process have the option of joining a Residence Life waiting list.
Leading up to the room selection days, many students were in limbo, unsure of their fate as an on-campus student.
Candice Priloeau was worried. Two days before rising juniors and seniors chose their rooms using the Eaglesnest Room Selection Process, Priloeau knew she wouldn’t be able to afford any off-campus housing if she couldn’t find a place on campus.
She didn’t have a car or a stable job.
Due to speculation circulating since last year about the closure of Phelps, Priloeau, a rising second-semester junior criminology major, said she knew it was going to happen. “Usually they try to push juniors and seniors off campus, but usually they push you toward the Courtyard,” Priloeau said.
This year was different.
After reading the university’s January e-mail detailing how housing would be divided, Priloeau said she became upset.
She noticed rising juniors and seniors were placed at the bottom of the list and told they may have to find off-campus housing.
“I don’t have the money to afford an off-campus apartment,” she said. “What if I can’t find roommates? What if I can’t find a stable job to pay for everything? What am I going to do?”
Without a car to provide transportation to and from campus and enough money to afford rent, Priloeau said she foresaw her only option as moving to University Place at Vista Apartments.
Still, she wasn’t sure she’d be able to afford that either.
Jason Reaves, an employee at University Place, said a four-bedroom, two-bath apartment costs $369 a month, which is a $30 decrease from a deal offered last month that included the same room for $399 a month.
Priloeau said she saw living on campus during the semester as the easiest option. It wouldn’t force students to worry about coming up with rent each month. Planning to use the Eaglesnest Room Selection Process, Priloeau hoped she’d get a decent place on campus. If not, she said she’d just have to go to University Place because she can’t afford off-campus housing.
That was Tuesday.
Forty-eight hours later, the day came and Priloeau was secure.
Priloeau was among those who were able to find a room on campus for the fall.
“I did find a room in Wofford,” she said. “There were a few in Lee Wicker, but those were gone right away, and I got in there at like 11 a.m.”
While choosing, Priloeau was able to pull in one of her friends as a roommate, but not all of her friends decided to use Eaglesnest. Instead, Priloeau said they wanted to avoid the hassle of searching for a
room and continue to look for off-campus apartments.
Though she has a room and said she’s satisfied, Priloeau still has strong feelings about the situation.
“It’s just too much, and it’s a little ridiculous; I have a definite place to stay, but I still think about the other people who don’t have a definite place to stay,” she said.
