Scripps College is anticipating housing shortages next year after receiving record numbers of study abroad applications for the fall semester, leaving many Scripps students concerned about spring semester dorm availability.
Scripps’ office of Study Abroad and Global Education (SAGE) sent a notice on Feb. 24 to students planning to go abroad in the fall, encouraging them to consider going abroad in the spring due to potential issues.
“A substantial imbalance between fall and spring numbers can lead to challenges on campus, including access to classes, housing placement, and more overcrowding in the dining hall during peak periods, among other issues,” the email said.
SAGE listed several reasons for students to consider changing semesters, citing uncertainty about major declarations, limitations on international travel during visa processing and health and wellness concerns along with worries about housing placement.
Though SAGE said they will not require students to change semesters, they strongly encouraged students to reconsider.
“Students have options — they can choose to be flexible about their housing when they return, or switch to spring if they are not willing to consider the options that are available when they return,” director of SAGE Neva Barker said in an email to TSL.
Simone Pradhan SC ’28 is studying abroad next fall and said she is concerned about securing on-campus housing when she returns in the spring.
“All my friends are going in the fall, and I don’t want to not see any of them for a year,” she said. “That’s the biggest reason I am not changing [to the spring, even though] SAGE keeps asking everyone to change.”
Maia Gutmann SC ’27 returned from studying abroad this semester and echoed Pradhan’s comment that aligning study abroad plans with friends may contribute to the imbalance of students going abroad in one semester.
Gutmann also said that studying abroad in the spring and returning to campus for their senior year can feel like an abrupt transition for students, noting that this may contribute to the rising trend of fall applicants. She said this shift may contribute to a more stressful spring housing selection for students and a higher likelihood of being placed in off-campus housing at the Claremont Collegiate Apartments (CCA).
“I think housing is just inherently stressful, and there seems to be less and less housing on campus, aka more and more students who need housing, and obviously the amount of room isn’t increasing,” she said. “[This] is causing a lot of people to end up at CCA, which I think is stressful.”
Pradhan said she had initially planned to live in a suite her junior year; however, she now feels living on campus may be unlikely.
“It feels really ambitious right now to even hope for a suite,” she said. “I just really want to be on campus. I don’t want to be in CCA.”
Gutmann noted that many of her friends faced housing troubles upon return.
“It was definitely tricky. I think the Scrippsies who went abroad in the spring had a great time with housing selection and could essentially live wherever they wanted,” she said. “And then coming back, I know a lot of people either got put at CCA or have been forced to have random roommates.”
Eliza Cole SC ’28, who also plans to study abroad next fall, said she is worried about housing, course registration and how busy campus spaces could be.
“If there are that many more people, it’s going to be so hard to get the classes that I need for my major,” she said. “But also just day to day, like in the dining halls, things [could] just feel very crowded.”
Pradhan, like other students, hopes for more communication about a potential housing shortage before leaving for her semester abroad.
“I don’t want to be in the dark regarding housing,” she said. “I kind of want to figure it out before I go abroad because I don’t want to have to be thinking about that and stressed about that while I’m in a different country.”
Cole said she thinks more transparency from SAGE could also help offset the semester-to-semester imbalance.
“I think if they were more transparent about the actual number of people that they have trying to go in the fall compared to spring, then that would be helpful in maybe convincing people,” Cole said.
While Harvey Mudd College and Pitzer College said they do not anticipate similar housing issues, Pomona College and Claremont McKenna College may face their own housing challenges.
At Claremont McKenna, Director of Global Education Kristen Mallory said the college expects an influx of students studying abroad in the fall, as has been the case for the past 20 years. She said this is largely due to athletes who must be on campus in the spring, those with major requirements that are only offered in the spring and students who are planning to attend graduation commencement.
“To manage this expected imbalance, we tend to keep empty rooms in [the] fall semester and notify students returning for spring that, while we make every effort to meet their requests for housing, their preferred room or building may not be available,” Mallory said. “Singles may not be available, and the ability to select a preferred roommate for a double may not be available.
Similarly, Pomona may face housing issues impacted by the demolition of the Oldenborg Center for Modern Languages, where students studying foreign languages are housed.
Despite this, Director of Campus Life Operations Josh Scacco said that once Pomona has confirmed numbers of spring and fall attendees, they will be able to better gauge the impact on housing.
“Study away does directly impact housing occupancy, regardless of the institution,” Scacco said.
Scripps College guarantees housing for full-time students for up to eight semesters. Carmen Brown, assistant dean and director of campus life, said they do not anticipate a change to the housing guarantee at this time.
Brown advises students to pay attention to deadlines to ensure their housing next year.
“Students who wish to live in College housing should participate in the housing selection process and complete all required steps by the published deadlines,” she said.
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