Housing and Residence Life changed the price of living in 300 Swift apartments twice in January, and some students are frustrated with the raised costs.
In a Jan. 17 email to students, HRL announced that shared bedroom apartments would now cost $6,053 per semester and $12,106 per academic year, while single bedroom apartments would cost $9,164 per semester and $18,328 per academic year.
However, HRL sent another email Jan. 24 to modify that initial change, stating that “further review” had prompted the office to readjust. Now, a single bedroom apartment will cost $7,524.00 per semester and $15,048 per academic year at Swift.
Joe Gonzalez, assistant vice president of student affairs and dean for residential life, said that several students reached out to him with concerns after the initial price change announcement.
“After those conversations, we looked at the rates again and recognized that a more appropriate increase would mirror the difference between a single and a double on West,” Gonzalez said.
Selective living groups Pi Beta Phi, Pi Kappa Phi, the Multicultural Greek Council, JAM!, Delta Kappa Epsilon, Sigma Nu and Delta Gamma currently have their sections at 300 Swift, as well as independent house Sierra.
Despite the newly raised prices, these organizations will not have the opportunity to change their section assignments “unless an opportunity presents itself,” Gonzalez explained, which usually only happens when two selective living groups trade houses with each other.
Some students in these groups are frustrated because the raised prices are excluding certain members from living in section with their organization.
For instance, Swift pricing was a significant factor for first-year Mary Monti not living with her sorority next year.
“I’m already paying a lot of extra money every year to be a part of the group and can’t afford to also pay more for rent than I’d planned to,” Monti said.
First-year Parker Davis wrote in a message to The Chronicle that members of his fraternity, Pi Kappa Phi, are “talking about trying to get the price down or asking to move section” because “nobody wants to be forced to live there if it’s more expensive.”
Despite student backlash, Gonzalez believes that demand for 300 Swift apartments will remain high.
“I think the apartment setting appeals particularly to juniors and seniors, and I don’t think that will change,” he said.
A Swift shared bedroom currently costs the same per semester as a single room on West. Gonzalez said that this was done in large part so that students receiving financial aid could live in those apartments without additional cost.
He explained that for the past two years, Swift apartments costs have matched West Campus single and double rates because they were housing “displaced populations.”
“Now that that phase was done, it was time to implement the more true rate,” Gonzalez said.
The initial housing update email also announced that first-year students will now be automatically linked with their first-year dorm communities on their housing applications, and that the SPIRE and Wright Living Learning Communities will be added in the upcoming years.
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Anna Zolotor is a Trinity senior and recruitment chair for The Chronicle's 118th volume. She was previously news editor for Volume 117.