Demand for USF housing grew. Here’s how it’s affecting students.

*Students who were unable to secure housing for the next school year can join a Housing & Residential Education waitlist. ORACLE GRAPHIC/DEEYA PATEL*

USF says a plan to increase on-campus housing rates resulted in a rise in demand by allowing the university to invest in its housing facilities.

But with more people applying to live on campus than usual, some students were left without a place to live the next school year.

Alexis Edminster, a junior studio art major, was unable to secure a dorm on campus and is moving back to her hometown in Chicago.

“A lot of out-of-state students can’t afford to live off campus, so we really rely on on-campus housing to be able to come to school here,” Edminster said. “Now we have to, in a sense, put our lives on pause because we can’t live on campus.”

The demand for on-campus housing for all USF campuses has grown since 2022, according to a Feb. 24 Board of Trustees Finance Committee meeting agenda.

In three years, the Tampa campus housing occupancy grew from 97% to 99%, while the St. Pete campus grew from 96% to 105%.

USF said it accommodated the extra demand on the St. Pete campus by converting “double occupancy to triple occupancy,” according to the meeting.

USF Sarasota-Manatee’s first residence hall opened last year at 83% capacity. That number includes the 74 New College students housed in the building.

The university attributed the increase in demand to its five-year plan, which was approved in 2023, to increase housing rates. Under the plan, dorm costs will go up by 4.5% each academic year until 2028 to keep up with inflation and invest money back into student housing.

This spring, traditional double dorms in Beta Hall and Betty Castor Hall are priced at $6,416 per academic year. Village double suites cost $10,376 annually, while single dorms in Holly Apartments are $10,760 per year.

For fall 2025, traditional double dorms in Beta Hall and Betty Castor Hall will be priced at $6,500 per academic year. Village double suites will cost $10,896 annually, while single dorms in Holly Apartments will cost $11,120 per year.

Izabella Rubin, a freshman geography and geographic information systems major, said she was hoping to live on campus all four years of college — but that isn’t going to happen now.

Rubin said she planned on getting an apartment-style dorm where she would live with her three friends. While her friends were able to secure the dorm, she wasn’t.

“I am forced to live off campus now in some random apartment,” Rubin said.

Rubin is unsure where she will be living this upcoming year.

While some students look for answers, USF is looking for more space.

USF spokesperson Ryan Hughes said the school is exploring options to “enhance the residential experience.”

Hughes said the USF community can expect some housing updates soon with the Fletcher Parcel Project.

“In the coming months, the university will work with the selected partners to finalize plans for the project and will provide additional updates as the process moves forward,” Hughes said.

The project envisions a “multi-use space that could include housing options,” he said.

Hughes said USF is still considering the Argos Redevelopment Proposal, a plan to replace USF’s oldest dorms with new residence halls. The project was paused earlier this year in favor of redeveloping the area of USF’s former golf course.

However, he said the project is “only a proposal” and has never been presented to the USF BOT for approval. The plan was presented to the BOT’s finance committee.

The buildings set to be demolished if the plan moves forward are Kosove Apartments, Beta Hall and Betty Castor Hall, some of the oldest buildings on campus.

Forty-nine percent of all residential buildings on the Tampa campus are between 22 and 63 years old, according to the Board of Trustees Finance Committee meeting agenda.

Hughes said while the oldest buildings are still “popular” with students, demands on infrastructure and student expectations have evolved over time.

The newest USF residential spaces are The Village at the Tampa campus, which opened in 2017, Osprey Suites, which opened at the St. Pete campus in 2020 and Atala Hall, which opened at the Sarasota-Manatee campus last year.

While the plan to add new residence halls is on hold, USF will continue to offer housing over the next four months as space becomes available, Hughes said.

Students can join Housing & Residential Education’s standby list, and the department will then reach out if a space becomes available.

But Hughes encouraged students to consider housing options on all three campuses.

He said students may want to consider commuting for the first few weeks of the fall semester, as space on campus may become available after move-in day.

Originally from Fort Lauderdale, Rubin said she is dealing with “annoying” extra expenses now that she couldn’t secure a spot on campus.

“I have to bring my car up from home and pay for my own groceries instead of having a meal plan,” Rubin said. “I don’t have a job, so I’ll probably have to get one.”

Coming to school in Florida was always Edminster’s “dream,” but now she is “disheartened” to go back to Chicago.

“Having to put that on pause because I can’t find a place to live is very disappointing,” Edminster said. “There’s obviously a lot of emotions I’ve been going through, and it’s very hard to process all of it.”