By Samantha Smith
For most college students, getting the experience of college includes living on campus. At Youngstown State University, there are multiple on-campus living options for students.
The current housing options include the Cafaro, Lyden, Kilcawley and Wick houses. While the Housing and Residence Life department also manages the Weller house, it is not available for students and serves as isolation housing during the pandemic.
Stephanie Reed, associate director of Housing and Residence Life, explained the costs of living on campus.
“They vary per student based on the Penguin Tuition Promise Cohort,” she said. “Most students are in a Penguin Tuition Promise Cohort that is set by the university — it’s not set by our department — so students are locked into that rate for all four years. If a student started last year living on campus with us, the rate that they paid last year will continue [for] those four years.”
There is a payment plan option for students who are not able to pay their housing in full at the beginning of the semester. Reed said the plan goes through the bursar’s office and costs $50 to enroll. It will divide the bill into four equal payments throughout the semester.
Olivia Cupp, director of Housing and Residence Life, explained what would happen if a student could no longer live on campus and needs to be let out of the contract.
“We do have provisions that we understand that there’s always exceptions and that there’s always situations that pop up that are unplanned and that are beyond students’ control,” she said. “For the first four weeks of each semester, we have a refund schedule. So for any student that applies to be released from their contractual obligation with housing, if they’re approved, there is a refund schedule.”
The schedule is a four-week process where the percentage of the refund decreases by 20% until week four. The first four weeks of each semester is the time frame for eligible refunds.
Exceptions for being released from the housing contract include medical reasons or a significant change in a student’s situation.
For more information on housing options and services go to ysu.edu/housing-and-residence-life