Last fall, Oakland University housing was forced to turn away 60 students, who were left without an on-campus room. Half of those students agreed to commute while the remaning 30 were placed in a nearby Homestead Studio Suites Hotel.

Though some were eventually placed on campus, a portion of those 30 students were not able to move into actual campus housing until Dec. 9, the last day of the 2011 fall semester.

Director of University Housing Jim Zentmeyer said last year was the highest request rate — ever.

Oakland may face the same problem this year, as there are currently not enough beds to accommodate the amount of students who wish to live on campus.

“We have already crossed the 2,300 application threshold for 2,100 beds,” Zentmeyer said.

Although housing is currently overbooked by 200 students, Zentmeyer said the number of applicants is expected to significantly drop before August, calling it “a university universal.”

“Between now and the end of the summer, we usually see some level of attrition in applications,” he said. “That 200 count is about what we average as far as normal attrition goes.”

Despite hopefulness that applications will decline, Zentmeyer said OU still has a block of rooms in Homestead Studio Suites on reserve for a potential housing overflow. He believes an overbooking situation is still likely.

Owen O’Connor, resident assistant for students at Homestead Studio Suites last fall, said the opportunity to work in Homestead for a second year has been brought up to him by housing staff.

According to Zentmeyer, the main reason students choose to live in campus housing is to receive the college experience, something that hotels cannot provide.

“It was difficult for some people as freshmen to get involved, which is one of the reasons they sent me over there,” O’Connor said.

Overbooked housing also costs OU the extra expense of placing students in a hotel. Students living in Homestead Studio Suites were paying campus housing rates for more expensive lodging, Zentmeyer said, leaving OU to make up for the cost.

According to Zentmeyer, the OU Board of Trustees agreed that more housing space is needed, and discussion on how this will happen is now taking place.

“It is still pending board approval, but the majority of the university seems to be in favor of it,” he said.

If new housing is approved, it would take at least two years for new facilities to be up and running.

“We really do need to have more housing on campus,” he said.

According to Zentmeyer, it seems likely that some students will be forced to live in Homestead Suites for the upcoming semester, and students currently applying for housing are being informed that dorms are nearly full and to have an alternate plan in mind.

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Contact Staff Reporter Jennifer Holychuk via email [email protected] at or follow her on Twitter @jholychuk