For many Georgetown University students, studying abroad is a rite of passage, an opportunity to see new places, learn new languages and immerse themselves into new cultures. While this process naturally brings logistical hurdles from passports to visas to new enrollments, the university has added a new challenge for many students: a confusing and uncertain housing process.
On March 1, the university notified students intending to study abroad during the Fall 2025 semester about the status of their applications, kicking off a 10-day sprint to make arrangements for housing before the first phase of housing applications opened March 10. According to Georgetown’s Office of Residential Living, students going abroad in the fall can apply for a “hold” on their housing, which would allow them to be assigned to their selected housing when they return in the spring semester. However, since applications are randomly sorted and only a very limited number of students actually obtain this approval, many students planning to study abroad are left to navigate the housing process on their own, desperately searching for students who intend to go in the spring and can “swap out” for them.
The channels through which students can coordinate with their peers remain relatively unorganized and chaotic — and as there are only 10 days for students to find housing partners, students face stressful time constraints. The process leaves students scrambling to find potential roommates and housing options, forcing them to accept any remaining option — however inconvenient it may be.
The Editorial Board calls on Residential Living to provide students with a streamlined system that clarifies and eases the housing process for those studying abroad in the fall. Residential Living should establish an official mechanism for students leaving for the fall to connect with students planning to study abroad in the spring — or increase the number of available study abroad holds.
Diya Gundlapalli (CAS ’27), who plans to study abroad in Fall 2025, said the complicated housing process is counterintuitive to the university’s requirements.
“It’s very frustrating that Georgetown requires us to live on campus but does not help students at all in navigating the housing situation for study abroad,” Gundlapalli told The Hoya. “My friends and I have been thinking about this for months and are still unclear about many parts of the process.”
The only current option for students coordinating with each other to find a potential “swap” — aside from word-of-mouth — are GroupMe chats with names like “2025-26 On-Campus Housing.” However, these group chats are often disorganized, ultimately doing very little to support students.
Residential Living should step in where students alone cannot, establishing a new, centralized system to connect students who are going abroad for the fall with those who intend to go abroad in the following spring. They could create a new version of the existing “CHARMS” system, which matches first-years to roommates, simplifying students’ process rather than forcing them to rush to ask each other individually before the first phase of housing begins.
At the very least, Residential Living simply needs to provide students studying abroad with more information on their housing options, whether by holding information sessions, hosting drop-in advising appointments or just sending out emails.
A university spokesperson emphasized that students should familiarize themselves with the housing policies.
“Students abroad should regularly check the Residential Living website for information about the selection process,” the spokesperson wrote to The Hoya. “We strongly encourage students with concerns to contact Residential Living early in the process to ensure their ability to meet the required deadlines.”
Yet the information Residential Living currently provides is not only limited but contradictory. Although it has since been changed, up until March 12, the “Selection Handbook” tab stated that the application for study abroad holds is open March 14-15. However, the same site includes a “Selection Calendar” tab that states the deadline was Feb. 26-27 — two weeks ago. Residential Living lacks resources for students to navigate housing, and students further cannot rely on them for accurate information on an already complicated process.
Optimizing the means by which students can select their preferred roommates will further reduce the chaos and frustration many students experienced on returning to the Hilltop this spring. The housing policy as it stands placed many students who returned from abroad into random housing assignments, some of which were not even meant to accommodate an additional third person.
Mia Streitberger (CAS ’26) shared her housing group’s frustrating experience upon their return this spring.
Full disclosure: Mia Streitberger is an assistant copy editor at The Hoya.
“We all ended up getting placed in any open spots they had on campus with random roommates, which none of us expected coming back as juniors in the spring,” Streitberger wrote to The Hoya. “My friends and I called housing multiple times to exactly understand what our options were and at one point got told totally different information.”
Streitberger’s experience makes even clearer the need for more clarity and more resources for students going abroad in the housing process. The Editorial Board calls on Residential Living to establish an official communication system between students studying abroad in the fall and those planning to go abroad in the subsequent spring semester.
The Hoya’s Editorial Board is composed of six students and is chaired by the opinion editors. Editorials reflect only the beliefs of a majority of the board and are not representative of The Hoya or any individual member of the board.