Living in Supplemental Housing

Housing assignments are out, and I am sure you all are excited/ anxious to know where and with whom you will be living with for the next year. Adjusting and adapting to a roommate can be difficult. Adjusting and adapting to SEVEN roommates seems like the impossible!

My freshman year I was assigned to supplemental housing, where I lived with SEVEN other girls! Supplemental housing is where groups of four to eight students live together in a converted lounge due to the combination of the lack of housing available on campus and the vast amount of students who opt for on campus housing. Students are usually assigned this type of housing if they accept their offer of admissions late. For example, I accepted my offer two days before decision day, whereas some of my roommates accepted their offer a month prior to decision day.

If you are assigned to supplemental housing, there is no need to freak out—ok I did a little, but it all turned out ok! If you are absolutely opposed to the idea of living in supplemental, there are ways to try to get out of it, but no guarantees. Here are a few ways to get out of supplemental housing:

       1.      Use the Room Exchange Board:

You will be notified when the room exchange board opens. The exchange board is accessed through Elion. Here, you can request to switch rooms with other people who have also put their room on the exchange board. The person who is currently assigned to the room you have requested must accept your exchange request in order for you to make the switch. Unfortunately, no one wanted to switch into a room that had eight people assigned to it, so I was unsuccessful with the Room Exchange Board.

       2.      Supplemental Housing is Panned to be Temporary:

 The University will send out emails with the opportunity to move into a different dorm when rooms become available, I received this email at the end of the first semester. I was given the opportunity to move out of supplemental housing. However, I decided to stay in it the rest of the year because I became so comfortable with my room and I did not want to go through the hassle of readjusting halfway through my freshman year. Two of my roommates did move out, so there were only six girls in my room for the second semester.

On the surface, supplemental housing seems terrible and scary, but it’s not. Although it was a difficult adjustment, I found it to be a great experience. Living with so many people made me open to others’ ideas. Here are some tips if you do end up living in supplemental:

       1.      Make a Room Contract: Establish this from the beginning. Items that can be on the contract include the lights out time, cleaning regiment, visitor rules, etc.

       2.      Talk it Out: If you have any discrepancies, have a room meeting to inform your roommates about what bothers you. If the problem cannot be solved amongst yourselves, reach out to your RA.

       3.      Do Not Study in Your Room: Everyone has their own study habits, and when there are eight people in the room, it can get kind of distracting. Loud music, TV playing, roommates talking. These are all not good if you want to be an efficient and effective studier. I always studied in the Commons, the HUB, the Pollock Computer Lab, and Kunkle Lounge. Then, when I came back to my room, I was able to relax.

       4.      Be Outgoing: Whether it’s with your roommates or complete strangers, don’t be afraid to put yourself out there. Everyone is very welcoming and can’t wait to meet a new face!

Below are some pictures of my supplemental room, which was in Pollock Halls. Even though there were eight sets of furniture in the room, I was still able to make my own space, as seen below. My room even had a locker room where our wardrobes and mini fridges were located.

Every supplemental room is different. So if you are in supplemental, your room may not look exactly like mine did. Some have lofted beds while others do not; it all depends on the number of students living in the room and the size of the room.

Here is some more information Penn State gives about supplemental housing:

http://www.housing.psu.edu/housing/housing/supplemental-housing.cfm

Alyssa Mangano is a sophomore in Architectural Engineering, and she is a Rover for WEPO ’14!