Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Senior Housing Certainty

Although Georgetown has long boasted that it meets 100 percent of students’ demonstrated financial need, this aid still came into question for some seniors.

Because housing eligibility is not guaranteed for seniors, some students have gone months without knowing where they are going to live, or if their financial aid will cover their living costs.

However, the university announced this month that those in the highest-need categories will be guaranteed on-campus housing for all four years of their undergraduate studies. This is a necessary step to ensure the university’s commitment to meeting financial need holds through from freshman convocation to graduation.

Previously, seniors whose room and board had been covered by financial aid were, paradoxically, not guaranteed university housing at all. They were consequently left with the choice between hoping a fickle university housing lottery finished in their favor or leasing a room miles away from campus to avoid the high rent in West Georgetown or Burleith.

Beginning this academic year, students whose financial aid includes the cost of room and board will be assured the opportunity to make use of their coverage throughout their entire time at Georgetown. Seniors who have had their housing covered for the previous three years, of course, should not have their financial security left to chance.

In this instance, the university’s work on one issue — town-gown relations — will work symbiotically alongside another — socioeconomic diversity on campus. As the university has worked to house more students on campus, it is encouraging to see that these efforts can be used to improve another aspect of university life as well.

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