COVID Makes Students Give Up Dorm Living

As NYC is hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, out of state students start to question the value of dorming at their private institutions.

Aisha Sanwal, a sophomore at the Lincoln Center campus of Fordham University, was attending in-person classes and living in the college’s upperclassmen residence hall this semester when a family emergency sent her home to Nevada for a weekend earlier this fall. When she returned, she was shocked by the response of Fordham’s Residential Life staff. Despite two negative COVID tests, before and after her trip, she wasn’t allowed to return to campus and ended up spending more than $1,000 for a hotel. Sanwal says that the administration’s lack of support and understanding spurred her decision to move out of the dorms. “I felt alienated by the school and targeted by their actions as I’d seen many other students go out of state and still be allowed to quarantine in the dorms,” she said. “Currently, I pay $356 less per month in an apartment than I would have if I lived on campus, so it’s a win-win for me.”

This is a time like no other in history, and colleges have been forced to scramble to keep students safe as cases have increased on campuses across the country. Most institutions that are meeting in person and providing on campus dorming options have created very strict COVID guidelines for the 2020-2021 academic year. Although the policies were put in place to protect students, faculty and staff from contracting the virus, like Sanwal, many have questioned if the cost of a dorm is worth it with all the restrictions.

At the same time, as COVID rates are on the rise, large numbers of affluent people have opted to move out of Manhattan to less populated areas, leaving a hole in the City’s rental market. The CEO of the real estate company Zillow calls this trend the “great re-shuffling” of the market. Rentals have increased, and their prices have dropped, which leaves college students who would normally live on campus with more options.

Similar to Sanwal, another Fordham University student, Joe Kotte, also thought twice about living in the dorms. Once Kotte, who prefers they/them pronouns, weighed their options, and saw that New York City prices had dropped due to the housing crisis, they were able to find an affordable apartment. “I chose to live off campus because it was cheaper,” said Kotte. “And when another wave of cases hit, I would not be forced to move out with last minute notice like I was in the spring 2020 semester.”

This fall, NYU chose to reconvene classes in person for those members of the community who preferred to be in New York. Ava Marshall, an NYU student from Texas, decided she’d be less productive at home so returned to the city. This meant she needed someplace to live. Marshall is now happy she decided on an apartment rather than the dorms. Like others, she did not see the appeal of spending about the same amount for less freedom; in fact, she ended up paying less for her apartment. Marshall also points to another benefit of staying in an apartment rather than a dorm: “Staying in a residence hall seemed quite isolating, so I wasn’t really down for it.”