Starting in the 2025-26 academic year, Grinnell College will restrict off-campus housing applications to only fourth-year students, with exceptions for those who are married, have children, are over 24 or live with family in the local area.
The additional space available in Renfrow Hall and Loose Hall played a key role in the decision, said Ben Newhouse, associate vice president for student affairs and dean of students.
“Residence Life felt it was important to manage student expectations, knowing that we would be releasing about 100 fewer students from the residency requirement, and looking at historical numbers, that the number of students needing to be released would be comprised of fourth-year students,” Newhouse said.
In an email sent on September 24, Residence Life informed students that only current or rising fourth years would be eligible to submit an off-campus housing request for the upcoming academic year.
Ellen de Graffenreid, vice president of communications and marketing, in an email to The S&B, highlighted the importance of living on campus.
“Grinnell is a residential liberal arts college, which means that the experience of living on campus is part of the overall educational experience,” de Graffenreid wrote.
While the administration emphasizes the educational value of on-campus living, some students said they feel concerned over reduced housing choices.
“I do understand the idea of encouraging students to live close together, to encourage community. However, by students’ third years, most of them have already begun to form a quite close-knit community, and I think that students should have the option to choose where they live,” Alexander Jordan `26 said.
Nina Vo `25, who began living off campus during her third year, expressed financial concerns for upcoming third-year students. “I’m a QuestBridge student here, so all the money that would have been going to room and board was going directly to pay for my rent, and also for groceries,” Vo said.
“Because rent is obviously a lot cheaper than staying in the dorms, anything extra I was able to use for going on trips with friends for fall break, or Thanksgiving break — breaks that I usually spend here working.”
Karolina Calleros `26, who learned about the change during an interview with The S&B, was frustrated. “Because there’s extra beds, you’re telling me I can’t move out. I can’t make my own choices. That’s insane. Actually, that’s crazy,” she said.
Other students questioned the college’s priorities. “It feels like they’re not prioritizing the happiness of the students, and they’re just more focused on their finances,” said Khairy Barnes `26, a third year living off campus.
Ohana Sarvotham `25 raised a concern about the economic impact on the local community if more students were to live off campus. “I know rent from my house has been going up pretty steadily since last year. Between last year’s tenants and next year’s tenants, there’s like a $100 increase per person, which is pretty significant,” Sarvotham said. “Why wouldn’t they [landlords] want to give it to whoever’s going to pay the high price, and not someone in town who actually needs that housing?”
When it comes to concerns over financial aid, Brad Lindberg, associate vice president of institutional initiatives & enrollment, said, “Whether you live on or off campus, we use the same budget because our survey results show us, on average, it costs approximately the same to live on campus or off campus, depending upon where you are.”
“This year for the 2024-25 academic year, the year we’re currently in, every student has a budget of $7,876,” Lindberg added.
For students concerned about this amount, “Every three years we [financial aid office] send out a survey. We call it the cost of attendance survey. It’s out and live now, and we ask students to report back to us what they’re spending on things like off-campus housing, utilities, transportation, books and supplies,” Lindberg said. According to him, this survey directly informs the formulation process for financial aid budgets.
Now, some students, like Bella Kalb Bourke `27, who had planned to live off campus next year, are left reconsidering their plans. “I need to figure out what I’m going to do about that because I don’t know what I want to do about my living situation,” Kalb Bourke said.
Students concerned about accessibility also have options, according to de Graffenreid. “There are also accommodations available for students who need to live off campus for reasons of disability,” she wrote in her email.
Newhouse said that if Residence Life does not receive the expected number of requests from fourth-year students, third-year students may be allowed to live off campus next year. Currently, second and third years make up 27 percent of students living off campus.
“But at this time, we don’t anticipate that being a need,” Newhouse said.
