Kiera McGuire
Editor-in-Chief
On Wednesday, Oct. 28, the Office of Residence Life sent an email to students regarding housing selection for the 2027-2028 academic year. The housing selection application opened on Sunday, Nov. 1, and will close on Jan. 29. Applications for senior specialized housing, denoted in the ResLife email, will be open until Nov. 30.
Winter break housing, a separate application from the housing selection, opened on Monday, Nov. 2, and will close on Dec. 4.
The housing selection application is used for service houses, special-interest housing and senior specialized housing. Students also have the opportunity to live in communal dorms. Some of the service houses anticipated to be in operation next academic year include Johnson House, Pearl House, Lewis House and Shearer House. An anticipated total of seven service houses will be used for agencies including ASPIRE, Boys & Girls Club, Goodwill, People to People Ministries and Wooster Preschool. Gable and Kate Houses will be used by Common Grounds and Jewish Student Organization, respectively.
“Some community agencies are accepting fewer students than in previous years, and with two houses coming offline, we are consolidating four of our smaller agency partnerships into two larger residential spaces,” shared John Reynolds, director of residence life. “This allows us to continue supporting these partnerships while making more efficient use of our available housing.”
Housing for first-year students looks a bit different this upcoming year. Compton Hall and Andrews Hall will be open for first-year students only, while Bornheutter Hall (Born) will be split between first-year and returning students.
“With Compton Hall providing approximately 146 beds for first-year students, Born Hall offering 184 beds, and Andrews Hall providing another 82 beds, we determined that we had more first-year housing capacity than we anticipated needing,” Reynolds said. “Those rooms are air-conditioned, and we believe they provide a good housing alternative for students who otherwise may have been assigned to Kenarden [which does not have air conditioning].” Returning students assigned to Born Hall will be placed in the wing facing Beall Ave. There are around 80 beds in this wing.
Wagner Hall will open for first-year students if more space is needed.
Returning students will have the option to choose from ten residence halls, including the 80 available beds in Born. Douglass Hall, currently designated as a first-year and continuing-student living space, will be designated as continuing-students-only for the upcoming academic year.
“By reallocating approximately 67 beds in Douglass from first-year housing to continuing students, we are creating additional opportunities for returning students to live in spaces that better meet their expectations and preferences,” shared Reynolds.
The other dorm options available to returning students include Armington, Babcock, Bissman, Brush, Gault Manor, Gault Schoolhouse, Luce and Stevenson. Bissman will continue housing Greek Life and single rooms, Luce will host the Language Suites and Stevenson will be an all-gender housing option.
Holden Hall and Wager Hall will remain offline next year, along with Kenarden Lodge. Reynolds noted several reasons for this change, including the projected first-year enrollment, the building’s physical condition and its utilization this year.
Initial dorm changes included taking Bissman offline, but after communicating with the College’s Inter-Greek Council, Reynolds said ResLife “… advocated for preserving that [Greek Life] experience rather than relocating those students.”
The email also mentioned Iceman House and Reed House will be offline for the upcoming year.
For questions about housing selection, please email RESLIFE@wooster.edu