HAMDEN, Conn. – With only about three months left, first, second and third-year students at Quinnipiac University are nearing the end of their living situations this school year. Many questions will appear in the coming months, but the most important one on everyone’s mind seems to be centered around differing living experiences.
Many Quinnipiac students trek off-campus for housing in their collegiate career. Quinnipiac offers several housing options, and two for their second-year students located on the Mount Carmel and York Hill campuses.
“Then there’s a bunch of them [student houses] in the neighborhood which could bring up some negativity with families,” local property manager Ari Gorfain said. “The Washington Avenue, School Street, and Whitney Avenue areas are [student] populated, and those are the better places for them.”
Students that choose to remain on campus are entered into a lottery system hosted by the school. This lottery system randomly assigns a number that leads to priority choosing when housing is made available. Students who receive a higher lottery number may be added to another student’s room who holds a lower one.
Quinnipiac recently sent out housing contracts that need to be completed by March 6, 2020. The Quinnipiac lottery for housing opens March 27, 2020, which although an early date, doesn’t deter landlords from acting sooner than the school.
Gorfain was able to touch upon his process of filling up off-campus houses.
“Most of the time it’s friends of friends, and if friends have been at the house and like it, they reach out the sooner the better,” Gorfain said. “It starts all the way from day one of school.”
Some students are reached out to well before the second semester even begins. First year student Matteo Naclerio remembers when he was first approached about off-campus housing.
“I remember seeing a group chat notification about housing,” Naclerio said. “An upperclassmen I met in early September was reaching out to fill houses in the beginning of October. It put me in a weird spot because I was just taking my first exams and didn’t know anything about housing at that point.”
Current third-year Student Justin Arrichiello was extremely opposed to living on main campus. His situation differed from most, as he transferred to Quinnipiac University in the Spring semester of his first year. Arrichiello took shelter at Aspen Glen Apartments with some friends who were renting.
“When housing selections came, they came pretty quick, and that was before I made a bunch of connections with people that lived on my floor,” Arrichiello said. “I would much rather take living with people that I know over having a good housing situation.
A look at the “Hill” living option on Quinnipiac’s Mount Carmel Campus | Photo by John Morgan
“I slept on his couch instead of sleeping in my dorm room. I brought all of my clothes to Aspen, parked my car at Aspen, kept my toothbrush in his bathroom. I did everything there.”
Gorfain had this to say regarding the benefits of off-campus housing, “I feel like they like their independence more. Kids are growing up a lot faster when they hit their sophomore or junior years, and they want to be in a house with their friends.”
Students that live off campus seem to share similar concerns about transportation. Cars seem to be the main concern, and students seem to rarely be in favor of testing the shuttle system. Third-year students Michael Trezza and Stephen Brisman had several comments regarding the convenience.
“We really wanted to be on our time with driving to campus. We didn’t want to have to wait for shuttles,” Michael Trezza said.
A look at the “Village” living option on Quinnipiac’s Mount Carmel Campus | Photo by John Morgan
“I had five of us on York, and thirty of us on the main campus. We just didn’t want to take the shuttles,” Stephen Brisman said. “I didn’t want to hike to the garage [to get my car], when I can just get an apartment and park right next to my door.”
Many off campus houses run through a funnel of students. Those who graduate in the upcoming year and/or are moving on from their residence work with their landlords to find possible replacement tenants.
The previous students living in that house attempt to build a level of trust with their landlord, and their landlord a level of trust with those who follow.
Many students are pulled from social media groups, athletic teams, and on campus organizations. The commonality of these demographics revolves around numbers. Landlords have the opportunity to take common interests and put them under one roof.
Whether regarding early activity, random roommates, or transportation and convenience issues, some Quinnipiac students are pushing to get off campus. To them, this appears to be the safest bet when it comes to playing the lottery.