Dorm life is often times the first time students get the experience of living away from home, as Texas State requires all freshmen under 20-years-old with fewer than 30 credit hours to live on campus.
For students like Jordan Hunter, an incoming business administration freshman, it is an exciting time.
“I’m feeling good, you know? I’m looking forward to meeting new people,” Hunter said.
Housing applications are arranged in groups between one and five based on the date of completion for housing contracts. Housing applications are closed for all groups except group five, which is still accepting applications.
“Room selection began in early May, and has continued utilizing the published room selection process located on our website. At this time, students have been able to select their rooms, and the next two groups [four and five] will be assigned to available spaces within the housing system,” Bill Mattera, the executive director of Housing and Residential Life, said.
Groups one through three have already completed their room selection, whereas the students making up groups four and five will be assigned rooms by Housing and Residential Life staff.
“[Room selection] honestly is really easy … I just went in on my time that I was selected for and I just like went and looked at all the ones. Unfortunately my first choice was taken, but it was really easy to find another one that was suitable to me,” Avery Franklin, an incoming criminal justice freshman, said.
According to the Housing Department’s website, students in group four will be assigned rooms between June 13-30 and group five will have rooms assigned between July 1-Aug. 1. This means that as rooms fill up, it will be students in group four and five who are more likely to experience difficulties, such as increased room capacity or hotel living.
“I should know when I will [get my room], but I don’t. I should find out late this summer,” Hunter, a member of group five, said.
Due to the first come first serve nature of housing, groups one through three were able to go through roommate selection, whereas groups four and five will, once again, be filled in where available.
“I didn’t make the deadline, unfortunately, to pick my roommate but the one that I was assigned the one that chose the other room in my apartment,” Franklin said. “It’s really easy to get in contact with her, she just sent me a message and then I got her Instagram and it’s really simple.”
For some students last year, the housing experience was soured by a shortage of rooms. In 2022, the university accepted a record breaking 7,573 incoming freshmen, which led to enrollment levels of around 38,000 students. The huge number of students needing housing led to a shortage of dorms, forcing some students to live in hotel rooms rented by the university. Uncertainty remains around whether or not such methods will be needed again this school year.
“Our permanent occupancy on campus is 6,853 students. As in past years, we will utilize flexible housing spaces to accommodate students as needed,” Mattera said.
To help prevent the same housing shortage, and to improve the experiences of students, the university had to turn to extreme measures. The university announced that they will no longer offer on-campus housing to upperclassmen, instead focusing on only freshmen. 
“We closely monitor and track our occupancy in the summer as students participate in New Student Orientation, determinations about additional housing options will be made as needed throughout the summer,” Mattera said.
For returning students, the changes by the university led to frustration and concerns about affordability and accessibility. To combat this, the Department of Housing and Residential Life offers off-campus living assistance for students.
“The Off-Campus Living unit within our department is a great resource for students who are looking for assistance in finding housing.  We host an off-campus housing marketplace where students can shop complexes and utilize a budget calculator to make good decisions for themselves financially,” Mattera said.
The fall 2023 move-in dates for new students is Aug. 13-14.