The student housing shortage hits upperclassmen on financial aid hardest
Students cite limited on-campus availability and a misaligned lease-signing timeline as the cause of their struggle to obtain affordable housing.
Kathleen McCarthy Honors Residential College, which houses undergraduate students in the USC village. (Photo by Michael Chow)
By Samantha Lee
November 18, 2024 at 5:57PM PST, read on site.
Nicholas Park is a junior environmental science and health major, but this semester, he’s home in New Jersey on a leave of absence.
In mid-July, USC informed him that his financial aid would be cut in half, citing a change in his father’s 2023 tax returns. Park said those numbers did not accurately speak to his family’s financial situation, but after three rejected appeals to USC’s aid office, he was left scrambling.
As an incoming junior, his application for on-campus housing had already been rejected. By then, it was too late to sign an affordable lease off-campus.
“We kept calling, and they were like, ‘just wait, just wait, just wait,’” he said. “By the time the appeal got denied, it was already early August. I didn’t have a flight, I didn’t have housing. Everything was too up in the air to commit to come back for the fall.”
Now, Park works three jobs — up to 90 hours a week — to save for the spring semester.
“If I got on-campus housing, it would have significantly increased the chance that I came back in the fall, because with on-campus housing, even if I don’t have the money up front, there’s campus resources that can help me still live and go to school,” he said.
At USC, only freshmen and sophomores are guaranteed a bed on campus, according to USC Housing. The rest are required to compete, come February, in a lottery for the remaining spots. Spaces are limited, demand is high and beds are allocated on a first-come, first-serve basis — not based on need. Most upperclassmen don’t beat the odds.
USC had a total reported student body of 47,000 in the 2023 to 2024 academic year, comprised of both undergraduate and graduate students. However, according to the USC Department of Housing, the university only has 7,900 beds for undergraduate students and 1,300 beds for graduate students throughout University Park. With these numbers, USC cannot possibly house every student for their entire academic journey, nor can they simply choose to expand into surrounding communities to build more student housing.
USC’s footprint has been — and continues to be — a point of contention for the surrounding community residents. Most recently, the university faced accusations of gentrification by local activist groups in response to the construction of a new building at the Health Sciences Campus, as reported by Annenberg Media. The appeal specified increased student housing needs as a primary ramification of the construction.
To secure well-located, affordable housing off-campus for the following fall semester, some USC students sign leases up to a year in advance. However, the on-campus housing lottery only opens in early spring. As a result, upperclassmen need to actively search for alternative housing while their application is pending with USC. This misaligned timeline leaves students with months of housing uncertainty and no option but to wait it out with crossed fingers.
USC’s financial aid policy promises to cover rent regardless of where students live in the form of a monthly stipend. In a statement to Annenberg Media, USC Housing said they “do not deny housing to those in need,” but many upperclassmen still struggle, as receiving money for off-campus housing complicates an already tedious process. While on-campus housing costs are included in a total expense bill forwarded by the university, living off-campus requires students to seek reimbursements, which can result in delays and unpredictability.
In her junior year, current senior N.K., who requested to remain anonymous for fear of intervention by Campus Support, lodged at her boyfriend’s apartment for the fall semester. Following this period, she moved to an off-campus apartment. N.K. said she applied for on-campus housing that semester and was rejected.
“It can be really hard to find an affordable place near campus, and to be honest, the appeal process for financial aid is less than perfect,” she said. “You really have to be advocating for yourself 100%, calling regularly, emailing regularly and sometimes even showing up to the financial aid building.”
That year, USC withheld her aid package until December. This meant she was paying rent out of pocket.
“Them withholding aid for that amount of time definitely put a strain on me,” she said, adding that if on-campus housing were available to her that semester, her experience would have been much easier.
For students like N.K., a loophole to guaranteeing on-campus housing is applying to become a resident assistant (RA).
Nuha Lukhani, a junior computer science and business major who works as an RA at Irani Residential College in the USC Village, said most students who apply for the position are low-income students on financial aid.
“I know housing is a big point of contention for people in that community,” she said. “It’s just easier with your aid.”
Still, the university does not inform applicants that they have been accepted as an RA until February.
“They need to fix that timeline. They need to provide more security for upperclassmen because, what is the point of providing housing security for freshmen and sophomores if you’re not providing any support for junior and senior year?,” N.K. said. She served as an RA at New North Residential College her sophomore year. “People might have to drop out because they can’t find housing. It can have a drastic impact on people.”
This housing deficit brings forward a long-term, larger issue: A lack of housing for even one semester can significantly disrupt a student’s academic trajectory, affecting hiring cycles and internship opportunities.
The financial burden of college rent limits students’ job options. With three summers to gain adequate work experience for post-grad, some students struggling with their finances sacrifice internships and professional positions for better-paying jobs with longer working hours. These are typically unrelated to their career aspirations.
“If I knew that my aid was gonna be this low, I wouldn’t have worked a professional job this summer, because they pay less than if I were to work two or three part-time jobs like the ones I’m working right now,” Park said.
Park said this setback means he will graduate a semester late in December 2026, costing him months of job-searching.
“A lot of the corporate positions I’m looking for only hire in the summer. So, I’ll be wasting five months doing nothing,” Park said. “I’m not high enough income where I could travel and do all the things I wanted to do. I’m just gonna end up working at a restaurant or bartending or something like that.”