More than 2,500 students returning to residence halls next year
Nearly half of the students living in residence halls this semester will live on campus again next semester.
Ann Ellis, coordinator of Administrative Services, said 5,724 students live on campus this semester. A total of 2,548 students will be returning to the residence halls next year.
Of that 2,548, 1,420 students will be switching residence halls, 455 students will return to the same room, 293 will return to the same floor but not the same room and 380 will return to the same hall but not the same room or hall.
“They either come back because they are required to, for scholarships, or because it’s convenient due to the fact that everything is included, like cable and meal plans,” Ellis said. “(Students may also return) because of the good community or the fact that they like the room set-up and location.”
Students who were awarded a CMU Merit or Talent scholarship of more than $2,500 are required to live on campus for at least two years.
Rockford senior and Resident Assistant Jon Veitengruber lives on the sixth floor of Carey Hall and will return to live in the same room in the fall.
Veitengruber said coming back to the same place fosters a sense of community between himself and other returning residents. The sixth floor has the greatest number of freshmen returning in all of the Towers residence halls.
“We’ve all established such strong relationships and it’s sad to see anyone go,” Veitengruber said. “However, I think we have the most returners because we together as a floor put a high emphasis on creating a community. We invest a lot of time into each other and we make sure everyone feels included, like a part of the floor and like they belong here. I think it’s a pretty cool thing.”
Veitengruber also thinks his residents want to come back to get the experience as a sophomore and to be with friends again. Next year will be his last year at CMU.
Freshman Olivia Braun lives on the third floor of Carey Hall. Next year she will be moving upstairs to the sixth floor to join Veitengruber.
“My roommates and I all have to stay in the dorms next year for our scholarships and we like the dynamic and familiarity of Carey Hall,” Braun said. “We decided to move to sixth floor because we know the RA and he knows us. We figured that would be easier than getting a new RA we are unfamiliar with.”
Room scheduling for students on campus began Nov. 3 and will continue until May 1. At 3 p.m. on May 17, incoming students are able to chose their rooms.
