Goshen College’s Residence Life team hosted this year’s Housing Information Night for the 2024-25 school year this past Monday evening in the Church-Chapel fellowship hall. 

Led by Chandler Buchfeller, director of residence life and housing, the meeting covered housing and meal plan options available for the upcoming school year, timelines for housing selection, and application processes for all on-campus spaces.

The first notable change for next year is that housing deposits for the Intentional Living Communities and the Octavio Romero Student Apartments are $75, compared to $200 in previous years. This change is partly due to “Homies 4 Housing,” a student advocacy group. 

Annika Alderfer Fisher, a senior and a member of “Homies 4 Housing, said the group was pleased with the lower deposit. The other issue that they raised was a housing shortage in the apartments, which is no longer a pressing concern due to the current student population. 

Alderfer Fisher said, “I still believe there should be enough space in the apartments and ILCs to house all on-campus upperclassmen, or GC should allow students to live off campus.”

Another change this year is that on-campus housing is now available to fifth-year students in the MBA 4+1 program. They will have the choice to opt out of a meal plan while living alongside undergraduate students. A new 90-block meal plan will also be offered next year to all those eligible to live in Kulp Hall, ILCs and the apartments. 

Yoder and Kratz Hall remain available to all students, along with gender-inclusive housing on the first floor of Kulp. The second and third floors of Kulp, the apartments, and ILCs are only available to upperclassmen. Available ILCs include East Hall, Kenwood House and Howell House.

The unlimited “carte blanche” meal plan continues to be required for residents of Kratz and Yoder, but it is available to everyone. Residential students who are eligible for the Romero Apartments, ILCs and Kulp now have the option to get the 90-block, 65-block or unlimited meal plan. A 30-meal plan is also an option for commuter students and bridge discount holders. 

Housing Selection Night for Kratz, Yoder and Kulp is currently planned for March 27 at 9 p.m. The selection process will be held lottery-style, with each class getting a separate lottery — rising seniors first, then juniors, then sophomores. Before signing up for one of these halls, a $50 deposit is required. Deposits can be made at the accounting office or online. 

Applications for ILCs are due by Feb. 28, including the $75 deposit from each member of the group who is applying. Each group must meet the minimum capacity of their ILC in both semesters. 

Romero Apartment applications begin on March 4 at noon for seniors, and the following Wednesday at midnight for all other students. Priority placement is given to groups that consist only of seniors on those first three days. Once the application opens to all groups, processing will occur based on the order in which they are submitted. Applicants will list their top three options, all of which a group must meet the capacity requirements for. The deposit is the same as the ILCs, at $75. 

The submission form for all housing deposits, ILC and Romero applications and all other housing information is on the college website under the “Housing” page. The Housing Information Night slide deck can be found in the Campus Communicator from Feb. 13.