By Liv Barry
Lifestyle Editor
On Feb. 7, Residential Life announced the housing information for summer 2023 in a campus-wide email.
Summer housing will run from May 14 through Aug. 26. Students have the choice to room in one of three dorm buildings: Caroline Hall, Cecil House, and Dorchester House, with the former hosting students in double rooms and the latter two hosting students in single rooms. The weekly rates are $248 per week for a double and $285 per week for a single.
Students were quick to notice how much higher this year’s summer housing cost in comparison to the summer 2022 rates. Since last year, housing prices jumped up by almost 152%. The weekly rate for a double room in Caroline Hall in summer 2022 was $98.47 per week.
According to Director of Residential Life Amy Sine, this increase changed to match the rate students pay for housing during the academic year.
“The finance office just took the amount that would be paid during the school year and divided it to come up with a weekly rate,” Sine said.
Because the updated rates mirror what is paid during the semester, the facilities in the summer housing, including kitchen spaces, bathrooms, heating and cooling, and laundry units, will
remain unchanged.
However, students who lived in summer housing feel as if the facilities in last year’s dormitories were insufficient. Junior Niko Chen, who spent their summer working on Gibson Crew, was troubled by the living conditions in Caroline.
“My air conditioner unit was broken, and the window unit they installed would kick up dust and let bugs into my room, so it was never worth it to turn it on, which made everything really hot all the time,” Chen said. “I also had a consistent bug problem; I remember I would have to find and take house centipedes out of my room about once a week on average, as well as a notable incident with a cockroach hiding in the broken air con unit for three days before I could get it out.”
While Chen’s housing was paid with a stipend through their job, they said that if Gibson Crew could not fully cover housing costs, they “would likely not be able to live and work over the summer.”
Besides housing costs, students taking summer classes on-campus are required to buy a meal plan. For those on campus for work, students have the option to prepare meals in their dormitories or buy meals from the dining hall with a debit or credit card.
According to a campus-wide email sent last year by Residential Life regarding summer housing, Caroline has a renovated kitchen, but it is still “highly recommended” that summer residents buy a dining plan. Cecil and Dorchester Houses only have “limited kitchenette facilities” according to Washington College’s website.
To cover the cost of living, Sine suggests students look towards financial aid and private grants, as well as emergency fund grants if a student’s living situation has changed since they last applied for aid.
Additionally, Sine still encourages students to make the most of their summer housing experiences.
“Chestertown is great in the summer… Students who choose to stay over the summer will find tons of things happening in local Kent County,” Sine said.
Elm Archive Photo
Photo Caption: The quad dorms are among those in which students might reside during the summer.