Why do first-year students rush to sign their leases?

For sophomores, the time to find off-campus housing for next semester is quickly running out. The majority of my sophomore friends already have their housing situation figured out for the next two years, at reasonable prices. Several of them signed before their first semester at Miami was even over. Imagine signing a lease for housing you won’t live in for another two years, with people you met at most four months ago.

Agreeing to live with people you’ve just met is not the best idea. What if the friendships do not last? What if your roommates drop out or transfer? Either way, signing during your first year is not a good idea because there are so many unknown factors. You have no idea who you’ll be in two years; your lifestyle could completely change by your junior year.

I made the mistake of waiting until my sophomore year to find off-campus housing for next year. Thankfully, my friend had an open room at her apartment, but without her, I would probably have to live in the residence halls again next year. With everyone leasing their junior and senior year housing so far in advance, it makes it much more difficult for everyone else to find housing. Not everyone can afford to sign and pay security deposits on top of paying their first semester of college and being on their own for the first time.

According to Miami’s website, on-campus housing in a standard double-occupancy room for the 2025-26 cohort costs $4,759 plus a $538 residential fee. These costs do not even cover the full year; they are charged per semester for both in-state and out-of-state students.

While on-campus housing still costs too much, off-campus housing should be more affordable than the rates we pay as residential underclassmen at Miami. A different apartment I was looking at moving into with a friend would still have cost me $4,600 per semester, not including security deposits or utilities.

While Miami seems to be a university filled with people from more privileged backgrounds, I find that we tend to forget that there are people here who have to put all their effort and energy into being able to continue their education and struggle to afford the costs of living in this area. Personally, my parents are not going to help me pay my rent or my bills, yet I still have to pay the same rates as the students who are lucky enough to have parents help them financially.

How are the students working so hard on their own to continue their education at Miami supposed to afford everything? Are they supposed to just give up and transfer, or continue taking out loans and paying to live in the dorms all four years? Miami and the city of Oxford need to help these students and work to create sustainable solutions that allow for reasonably-priced housing and necessities.

gowansj@miamioh.edu

Jamie Gowans is a sophomore in the Farmer School of Business. She is a marketing major with a history minor. She has been a writer for The Miami Student since her first year.