- Nearly 500 students began the semester as extra roommates in transitional housing.
- The University says they're working to get those students into available rooms.
- Video shows the perspective of students with transitional roommates, as well as the perspective of the University.
(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story)
Still searching for housing.
I'm your neighborhood reporter Colin Jankowski outside Akers Hall—one of a few spots on campus where students some students continue to live in transitional housing.
Students I talked to say they're trying to make the best out of a tough situation.
"It was, at first, very frustrating," Anthony Juncaj said.
Anthony Juncaj is living in so-called transitional housing at MSU.
"It's me and three of my good friends, and we have a fifth guy that was completely random," Juncaj said.
MSU says there are nearly 500 students like him right now, living with more people in a room than normal.
"Every year we admit a certain number of students to come to Michigan State University," Kat Cooper said.
Kat Cooper is a spokesperson for Student Life and Engagement at MSU.
"And every year, during the summer and through the orientation and welcome process, a certain number of them choose not to attend the university," Cooper said.
She says this year was different from their normal process.
"This year, with the delay in FAFSA processing by the federal government, that made students' decisions harder," she said. "Because they didn't have all the financial information they needed upfront to make a decision about what school they were attending or if they were going to pursue higher education."
And those later decisions impacted MSU's ability to fill those empty spots in dorms with students before the start of the year.
"As people arrive, we are making sure we know who is here, and moving students in those transitional situations into empty spaces," Cooper said. "Because those empty spaces do exist."
Cooper tells me while there is not a certain time frame to expect everyone to be placed, the university is working to get them moved as quickly as possible.
Back at Akers Hall, Anthony says while his situation was frustrating, he and his extra roommate have made the most of their time together.
"I feel like we got the best of a bad situation," Juncaj said. "We got a cool guy that we enjoy hanging out with and spending time with, but also it would be nice to have our own room back."
A wish he, and many others on campus, hopes comes soon.
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