Students say housing plays role in study abroad decisions

Juniors who study abroad find that not having to worry about off-campus housing is one of the many benefits of leaving Tufts to take classes in another country.

Each year, approximately 40 percent of the junior class studies abroad, either through one of the ten university-sponsored programs or a program offered by another university. But anecdotal evidence suggests that some of those students' decisions to study abroad are influenced by the housing situation.

Senior Tyson Lynch said that his decision to study abroad in Madrid last year was prompted largely by concern that he would not be able to find housing on campus.

"The housing situation did play a significant role in my decision to apply to study abroad," he said. "During my sophomore year lottery numbers were not provided early as they are now, so my housing situation was very uncertain. Applying for study abroad gave me an alternative."

Of the 1,200 students in last year's junior class, only 70 of them were provided with campus housing.

Study Abroad Program and Marketing Coordinator Julie Warner said that she is unaware of specific instances of students choosing to study abroad because of housing concerns, and that the administration has always supported students studying abroad for academic reasons. "It's always been focused on the intellectual experience," she said.

"The administration is dedicated to having students open up the world."

Though there is no official administrative link between studying abroad and housing, there is an understanding that studying abroad and housing are related. The administration has stressed that students who study abroad in the fall semester have better chances for housing in the spring semester because more students study abroad in the spring than in the fall.

Last November, Dean of Students Bruce Reitman told the Daily: "It's going to be easier to find campus housing in the spring than it is in the fall, so it would be probably to be everyone's advantage to study abroad in the fall."

A letter sent to sophomores this summer by class dean Chris Nwabeke and an e-mail sent to juniors by the Office of Programs Abroad last month also suggested that students who study abroad in the fall would likely be better off in terms of housing.

Many of Tufts' programs allow students to participate for the fall semester only, but it can be difficult in some countries, even through a non-Tufts program. While there are some fall semester programs in France, for instance, most programs are only available for the whole year or the spring semester because the first semester at French universities ends in January, after spring semester classes have begun at Tufts.

To alleviate housing problems, the University has started releasing lottery numbers earlier in the year. Last year's numbers were released in early December, which gave students more time to decide whether to look for housing, attempt to live on campus, or study abroad.

Though receiving a low lottery number could possibly push a student who is deciding whether to study abroad toward leaving campus, most students interviewed by the Daily said their studied abroad decision was unrelated to housing.

Senior Patricia Wong said that the study abroad program she attended in Japan offered her the ability to learn Japanese quickly and easily. "I went because I wanted to learn Japanese and because this was an opportunity that I needed to take advantage of."

The university is planning on alleviating the housing problem by constructing a new 150-bed dormitory, Sophia Gordon Hall, between Talbot Ave. and Professors Row. However, construction was postponed indefinitely after Somerville blocked the demolition of the former music building because of its historic interest. The University and the city are still negotiating.