The Daily Campus obtained documents through a freedom of information request which discussed statistics on who was waitlisted for housing and information about how the University of Connecticut prioritized housing.
UConn ended guaranteed on-campus housing for sophomores, juniors and seniors on Dec. 17, 2024. Many students who applied for housing on campus were placed on a housing waitlist.
Statistics on who got housing
Assistant Vice President for Student Life Cynthia Costanzo emailed administrators to share housing data, stating that it was information that UConn was not sharing publicly. According to the April 2 email, 1,270 students were on the Fall 2025 waitlist, with 451, or 36%, applying before the housing deadline.
Costanzo’s email said that housing demand increased 11.25% from Fall 2024 to Fall 2025 due to high enrollment in Fall 2024. At a September 2024 Board of Trustees meeting, UConn’s Chief Financial Officer Jeffrey Geoghegan stated that UConn was at 103% demand for housing, according to The Daily Campus.
This problem does not appear to be solely because of a larger freshman class this year. Costanzo stated that 444 more continuing undergraduates applied for housing in 2025 than in 2024. She also stated that an additional 200 commuter students applied for housing in 2024 than in 2025.
Costanzo called the 175 upper division students who applied on time on the waitlist as it stood on April 2 the “priority #1 group” to receive housing and stated that they could begin receiving housing offers in late April. The 198 students who were commuters at the time the email was sent were described as “unlikely” to get housing in Fall 2025.
The emails stated that the 44 students who had lived on campus for eight or more semesters were a group that “historically [does] not receive housing” and it said that those students were “unlikely” to receive housing for Fall 2025.
Senior Director of Government Relations Joann Lombardo emailed state Rep. Gregg Haddad May 6 in response to questions he asked about UConn’s housing situation. Lombardo said that there were about 1,500 students on the waitlist and that UConn was still receiving housing applications over 50 days after the deadline.
“We also recognize that the waitlist is inflated, as some students who are currently on the waitlist have not yet changed their status in our portal accordingly,” Lombardo said. “Residential Life does not remove students from the waitlist until they confirm that they no longer wish to seek on-campus housing or are offered housing.”
Lombardo said that housing demand increased by 1,172 applications from Fall 2024-2025.
“We anticipate that all rising sophomores, juniors, and seniors identified in the category of
‘continuing undergraduate’ residential students who applied for housing before the deadline will secure on-campus housing prior to the start of the Fall 2025 semester,” Lombardo said.
Her email said that 680 rising juniors and seniors had initially been placed on a waitlist. All rising sophomores who remained on the waitlist were housed, according to Lombardo.
University Spokesperson Stephanie Reitz commented on UConn’s housing situation.
“UConn had no waiting list for on-campus housing by the first few days of the semester; all students [who] were applied and were eligible had received offers,” Reitz said.
Reitz did not say if this was because students on the waitlist found housing off-campus and withdrew from the waitlist or if they were granted on-campus housing.
How housing was decided
Lombardo’s email stated that students who applied after the deadline, UConn Hartford students, previous commuters and students who had lived on campus for eight semesters were automatically placed on a waitlist. Students with an active SHAW hold were also waitlisted for public health reasons. The email said that applications were approved until the preset capacity was reached, and that applications received after capacity was reached were waitlisted.
Freshmen at the Storrs campus are required to live on campus for two semesters and are guaranteed housing if they apply before the deadline. Freshmen who enroll in Spring 2026 are only required to live on campus for one semester, according to UConn’s 2025-26 housing contract.
UConn President Radenka Maric emailed Republican state Sen. Stephen Harding and Republican Leader Pro Tempore of the Senate Henri Martin on March 24 in response to questions regarding housing. Maric said that in Fall 2025, UConn expected to house 13,900 students at Storrs.
“UConn guarantees housing for transfer and campus change students (those moving from a regional campus to Storrs for the first time) if the application deadline is met,” Maric said.
Reitz commented on UConn’s off-campus housing options.
“UConn is housing a record number of almost 13,400 students at Storrs, including in units leased this year at The Oaks,” Reitz said. “The housing, which is at full capacity, includes some areas where lounges were converted into living spaces to help meet demand. The opening of The Standard at Four Corners also helped ease demand as some students chose to rent there for the new academic year.”
Maric’s email said that housing offers for waitlisted students would depend on availability during the spring and summer. She said that students on the waitlist were encouraged to access UConn’s Office for Off-Campus and Commuter Student Resources.
“Last year, the University was able to offer housing to those on the wait list as other students’ plans changed and beds became available,” said Maric. “We anticipate the same trend this year, given the off-campus options and the regular “melt,” or reduction of students, that occurs at the start of a new semester.” Maric said.
Maric said that she thought that the change was made in a transparent fashion and that students and parents were notified Dec. 17 and Dec. 18.
“Factors that would prioritize students for housing were additionally outlined in the communication,” Maric said. “Lastly, students were encouraged to apply early.”
The housing change was recommended by Student Life and Enrollment leaders and approved by Maric in consultation with her cabinet, according to Maric. Maric said that on Dec. 14, 2024, updates were made to the housing contract regarding priority and guaranteed housing.
On Dec. 17, 2024, students received an email stating that UConn would no longer guarantee on campus housing for sophomores, juniors and seniors.
“Although all students may apply for housing, eligibility to live in residential housing is not guaranteed and is based on multiple factors including space availability, primary campus designation, academic standing, and academic status,” the Dec. 17 email said.
The email said that housing availability could be limited due to high demand. The email also said that all Hartford and Avery Point students would be automatically waitlisted for housing and would not be approved until all Storrs campus applications were resolved.
“If the demand for housing is high, students who apply closer to the deadline date may be placed on a waiting list,” the email said.
Students were not notified of the possibility of this change prior to it being made. UConn sent an email the previous year stating that they were ending guaranteed on-campus housing for sophomores, juniors and seniors, but retracted it later the same day.
Martin and Harding asked Maric for her reaction to criticism that UConn was accepting too many students without considering the impact this could have on current students.
“The University is being encouraged to grow enrollment in order to meet workforce demands and grow revenues,” Maric said. “There are challenges to growth including on campus housing supply. However, as UConn currently houses 65% of the student community, UConn is serving more students by percentage than any large institution in the country. UConn has responsibly worked to support off campus development and expand support services that will connect students and families to secure off campus alternatives.”
UConn’s housing contract provides a list of criteria that can get a person automatically placed on the waitlist after applying for housing including: commuter students, Hartford and Avery Point students, students who apply after the deadline or apply after all available spaces are filled, graduate students, non-degree students and students who declined housing when they first attended the Storrs campus.
The contract states that housing is available at the Hartford and Stamford campuses, but housing there is limited.
“Students who are on the waiting list for any of the criteria mentioned above, but have approved accommodations through the Center for Students with Disabilities for on campus housing will be considered first priority on the waiting list,” the housing contract says. “Every effort will be made to meet accommodations of students who are being offered housing in collaboration with appropriate offices and based on space availability.”