This fall, as a result of the advocacy of previous Gateway students, a new housing process has been introduced for current gateway and transfer students. These students will be able to request another transfer as their roommate and rank their top three hall preferences, prioritizing whether matching their roommate or hall is more important to them.
Previously, neither Gateway students nor transfer students had the same choice in the housing process afforded to undergraduate sophomores at Notre Dame. Transfers were not guaranteed on-campus housing, while Gateway students, who spend one year at Holy Cross College before transitioning to Notre Dame as sophomores, went through the same randomized housing process as Notre Dame freshmen.
“This [change] comes as Residential Life opens two new residence halls on campus this fall – Coyle Hall and Grojean Hall–allowing the University to fulfill a commitment to provide all transfer students with on-campus [housing] next year. In previous years, transfer students were not guaranteed on-campus housing and were assigned to any remaining space available after current and new first year students were assigned,” Dan Rohmiller, director of residential life housing and operations, wrote in a statement.
The changes announced to students in the Gateway program last week were met with excitement. “We found out last week that we actually would have an opportunity to choose. [Since] we were expecting it would be just like last year, where it would be completely random, when the housing administration announced to all of us in a meeting that they’re making changes [so] we could kind of pick our own dorm and roommate, everyone was very excited,” freshman Mia Polichio said.
While the random roommate process is something Notre Dame prides itself on, many Gateway students felt that they had already experienced some semblance of this culture. “I feel like it already felt a little bit random this year, just because we hadn’t met anyone beforehand and we had such a limited number to pick from. So in the sense that we were already in such a unique situation, I don’t think that we needed random roommates to kind of feel the culture,” freshman Agnes Vedra said.
Kathryn Wilkinson, another freshman in the Gateway program, believes the new agency in the housing process will make the transition to living on Notre Dame’s campus smoother and help Gateway students expand on the relationships they have already developed. “I think it will be much easier, because then you’re either rooming with someone you already know, and you’re really comfortable with that, and then you’re just in a dorm where they could find a spot, or you’re in a dorm that you have maybe friends and peers that you already kind of know that community, and then you can just build it on [that] further,” Wilkinson said.
Vedra expanded upon this idea, explaining how the previous housing process tended to treat Gateway students like freshmen rather than growing members of the community. “We’re excited, because it feels more like we’re a part of the culture right away rather than starting over freshman year … We had our classes here, we’ve established our friends, joined clubs, and the changes [reflect how] it just feels a little bit more like sophomore year and not freshman year again,” she said.
These changes are most directly a result of the advocacy of previous Gateway students. “Over the years, Residential Life has heard from transfer students – including Gateway transfer students – about the importance of living on-campus, having a roommate who understands their experience, and having some agency in where they start their time at Notre Dame. Our hope is that these changes will take a step toward responding to that feedback and improving the experience of transfer students,” Rohmiller said.
Wilkinson further highlighted the positive impact of previous students’ advocacy for her cohort. “I think it's really great that they’re actually listening to the Gateway students, because I know I’ve talked to a lot of them last year, and there’s just a lot of differences that have been made for our year, which has been awesome. Like, we got to be in the class photo. Yes, we’re the first Gateway year to be in the class photo … We couldn't be in our position now without the past ones actually giving feedback, trying to grow this program and make it better,” Wilkinson said.
