All single, double, and triple rooms are now the same price, no matter the building, starting this 2024-2025 school year.
For the full academic year, single rooms are now $23,000, doubles are $19,800, and triples are $17,000, according to the 2024-2025 On-Campus Housing Room Rates. Thomas Whalen, vice president of safety and facilities at The New School, claims that these rates have been reduced by 14% from last year’s prices.
“We wanted to correct our rates in accordance with what the market rate was out there. We felt that we were a little bit too high compared to what some of the other universities were charging, or what other institutions in a similar demographic were charging,” Whalen said. “We felt that by unifying the rates and making them a standard rate across campus, it really made everything a lot cleaner, a lot simpler, and much more affordable for all the students.”
With the University’s decision to sell the 20th Street building last spring, the residences now offered to students include Kerrey Hall, 301 Residence Hall, Loeb Hall, and the newly-renovated Stuyvesant Park. Additionally, all first-year students are now required to dorm on campus.
Students have expressed varying views on the unified prices of the residences. Some residents of Stuyvesant Park have expressed they thoroughly enjoy the renovated building.
Nina Wilhelmy, a second-year transfer student in the BA/BFA program, recalled her time living on campus at Emerson College last year, comparing their dorms to a similar “confined” living situation as Kerrey. Wilhelmy is now living in Stuyvesant Park.
“Having to be off campus and actually walk to my classes and have the actual commute is so essential for me because living on campus in my dorm last year felt so suffocating,” said Wilhemly.
Other students have expressed that they enjoy the community at Stuyvesant Park, but believe the facilities are not up to par. “Our practice rooms are really not that great. You can hear everything that’s going on or [the doors] don’t close,” said Macks Pettit, a first-year at the College of Performing Arts studying Vocal Jazz.
A resident advisor, who asked to be anonymous for legal reasons, has lived in all four buildings. He said he enjoyed living at Kerrey the most because of its proximity to school buildings and easy access to the University Center. “If I wanted to go to the cafeteria real quick to grab something, I could do that. Or if I wanted to go down to the library, if I didn’t want to study inside my dorm, I could also do that.”
He also argued that Kerrey Hall has the best gym of all the residences, specifically in comparison to the amenities at Loeb.
“I think [Loeb is] the oldest building out of all the dorm buildings. I think a lot of the amenities —as far as I know from the last time I was there —are kind of just outdated…They could definitely either renovate it or lower the price of the space.”
Emma Griffith, a second-year at CoPA studying Dramatic Arts, lives at Loeb. She believes it’s the best residence location-wise. “I feel like the walk is definitely a lot better because just like going through Union Square is a whole thing in itself, ” Griffith said, comparing her commute from her previous dorm experience at 301 last year.
When comparing 301 to Loeb, Griffith said she enjoys the layout of Loeb because it feels more like a traditional dorm style. “…And the utilities in our rooms, I like them a lot more —like the ovens and a bit more counter space is nice. And a real gas stove,” Griffith said.
Although standard costs are applied to every dorm, financial accessibility continues to be a concern for students. About 13% of beds within the residence halls belong to a triple room. Triples are the cheapest option for dorming, and with first-year students now being required to dorm, many low-income students are dependent on this option.
Sofia Corradetti, a first-year at CoPA studying Jazz and Contemporary Music, said Stuyvesant Park was her first choice. “I [knew] that they had the triple option, and I don’t think that the other residence halls have that.”
Brennan Sodano, a first-year at CoPA studying Jazz Performance, is also in a triple room in Stuyvesant Park. He is not concerned with the dorms themselves being the same prices, but overall believes that the cost of dorming should be lowered.
“Compared to the price of an average place in New York, this is quite a lot. And I think the school does a lot of work to make stuff seem sort of sheeny so that they can jack up the price, which I do have a problem with because that’s a lot of money,” Sodano said.
At 301, Khushi Bhargava and Oishiki Ganguly, graduate students at Parsons School of Design, said the residence is “adequate.” Ganguly criticized the space of the suites, stating that the kitchen doesn’t meet the standards for students who cook regularly.
Both Bhargava and Ganguly said they didn’t get the choice of a specific dorm and were just assigned to 301.
Limited options for upperclassmen to dorm is partially because of the new university-wide regulation that requires all first-year students to dorm. Kerrey Hall, Stuyvesant Park, and most of 301 are residences specifically allocated for first-year students.
“This is the first year of what we’ve termed the ‘freshman, the first-year experience,’ that involves a first-year housing requirement for all first-year students,” Whalen said. “The idea is that we put together some programming aspects and some residential life aspects to really focus on what the student goes through as a first-year student at the university.”