BY BRANDAN BLOM // April 4, 2013 //

It is that time of year again. The snow is melting, the flowers are in bloom, and many Curry students are stressing about where they’ll live next year.

According to Stephanie Alliette, assistant director of Residence Life at Curry, one of the most common problems students run into is not getting their housing deposit in on time. The deadline was March 25.

South Campus Residence Hall (SCRH) is one of 17 residence halls on Curry’s campus.

But a number of students said the greatest challenge wasn’t time. Rather, it was money. Students must have a zero balance on their financial account to receive a housing lottery number. Christina Broderick, director of student financial services, said students who make monthly payments did not need to have the entire semester paid off by the 25^th, but that was still of little consolation for students on a tight budget.

“If you don’t get your housing deposit in on time, you don’t get to choose housing, and that isn’t fair because some people can’t come up with that much money,” said Tim Lathrop, a freshman management major. The housing deposit is $300.

Lathrop would rather see a system with a lower deposit amount, and whereby lottery numbers are allocated based on students’ grades and how involved they are in the Curry community. Those with better grades and who are actively engaged on campus would get top picks of housing.

Jimmy Hill, a freshman criminal justice major, concurred that the worst thing about housing was coming up with the deposit.

“I don’t understand why it has to be so expensive,” he said.

According to Alliette, the deposit is a “spot saver,” and the money is applied to students’ housing costs. “The deposit tells us that you are planning on living on campus next year,” she said.

Room and board for the 2013-14 academic year is $13,130, a $370 increase from this year. This year’s room and board increased around $530 from 2011-12.

Tuition and fees for next year are also increasing, by $950, to $34,415. It is one of the smallest annual increases in recent years at Curry.

Housing selection begins next week.