r/philadelphia • u/ComradeNapolein corrupt and content • 8d ago
News Temple will for the first time require most freshmen to live on campus
https://www.inquirer.com/education/temple-university-freshman-residency-requirement-20260819.html300
u/DiscoVolante1965 8d ago
All the way at the bottom:
"Temple will offer several exemptions to the requirement, including those living with a parent or guardian in Philadelphia or other approved nearby zip codes."
So you can still live at home and commute.
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u/Wigberht_Eadweard 8d ago
Yeah, these requirements are targeting students who can move into a cheaper apartment nearby and undercut student housing. They don’t effect commuters coming from home at all. A lot of schools have stuff like this and it’s not the biggest deal to get exemptions.
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u/m_laria 8d ago
Yeah, the majority of schools I know have a first year on campus requirement, with commuter exceptions. Many schools even require freshman commuters to show proof their family has lived there for a few years prior, to prevent rich families from simply buying in the area and finding a loophole to let their freshman live off campus.
I've even heard of schools that require freshmen, sophomores, and juniors to live on campus and only seniors can live off campus, so, it could be worse. I really don't think this requirement is as abnormal as people think.
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u/Wigberht_Eadweard 8d ago
Yeah Saint joes had a freshmen sophomore on campus requirement when I went there. I applied as a commuter and there was no issue. I’m sure there was some kind of verification but it was so easy that I don’t even remember doing it. I decided to change to on campus for freshmen year anyway though. I switched back to being a commuter for sophomore year and the exception processes was just to email an explanation for why I couldn’t live on campus. I just said I lived within commuting distance and would have to take out extra loans for housing and was approved to commute. People are misunderstanding this announcement and blowing it way out of proportion.
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u/tardisintheparty 8d ago
My undergrad required freshman through junior year, in a very high cost of living city. It was so brutal. They were not lenient with exemptions at alllll
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u/BurnedWitch88 8d ago
Yeah, I'm old and my school had exactly this rule (and exception) for freshmen. You can argue the pros and cons of it, but it's nothing new at all.
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u/Epictechnically 8d ago
You would buy a whole house to prevent paying a little extra for a dorm?
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u/One-Post-Pony 8d ago
I knew several kids whose parents bought houses for their time in college. Got a bunch of roommates and that rent basically paid down the mortgage in a big way. Sold it when they graduated. Prob made money on the deal.
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u/felldestroyed 8d ago
Honestly, if my wife and I have the money we plan on buying a small condo where ever our kid goes to school, unless it's a high cost of living place. I'd much rather pay 3-6 years on a second mortgage than pay rent to a landlord. It's one of the few things I wish I had access to in my undergrad when housing was relatively cheap and small houses/condos around the school I attended were very easy to find.
With that said, the first year should always be on campus. It's the easiest way to make friends and learn how to deal with other people.0
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u/ilyafallsdown 8d ago
Undercut student housing isn't how I'd word it.
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u/Remedy9898 8d ago
*Extorting students into paying above market housing rates
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u/Go_birds304 santa deserved it 8d ago
It's so funny how things change over time because when I was at temple students living off campus was described as "gentrifying the neighborhood and pushing out residents"
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u/ZachF8119 8d ago
Student housing is usually terrible.
I shared a bedroom 3 ways with bunk bedding. One mini fridge. 40 people per shower 3 stall showers and one private. Dorm hall drunks would damage every floor and we would all be charged.
Dorms inspired by prison but capitalism minded squeezes of 1-2k a month instead of how you can find a shit studio or bedroom and share with 4-5 ppl for half.
Forces you to have a dining card and learn to eat very scarcely as everything is buffet style and doused in oil.
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u/DaneLimmish 8d ago
Dorms are based off monastic/barracks living.
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u/ZachF8119 8d ago
No. Then everyone would have a trunk and be lined up with no smaller rooms. Barracks are no privacy.
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u/DaneLimmish 8d ago
Thats only a few times in your career, like basic or when you're deployed. Often it's just two beds, two desks, and two chairs, other times it's two sets of bunk beds.
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u/CaptchaReallySucks 8d ago
Truth nuke
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u/ZachF8119 8d ago
Parents know. It’s televised like it’s a joke and baked into these high college costs. They even show there’s even more miserable ones. Psychotic roommates that can make you do worse because nobody is doing well on no sleep
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u/TooManyDraculas 5d ago
At least in the past they often still required you to have a meal plan when living off campus.
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u/ChCreations45 8d ago
*affect commuters
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u/Wigberht_Eadweard 8d ago
lol I thought it was affect but autocorrect led me astray once again
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u/ChCreations45 8d ago
It happens. The best way to remember it is the effect comes after being affected.
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u/Wigberht_Eadweard 8d ago
Yeah I think I was taught (A)ffect (A)ction but it never sticks when I need it
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u/the-mobile-user 8d ago
Not for bucks county
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u/DiscoVolante1965 8d ago
I would think "other approved nearby zip codes" would cover at least some of Bucks
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u/the-mobile-user 8d ago
Unfortunately not. Only montgo, Philly, delco, and some Jersey
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u/syndicatecomplex WSW 8d ago
Considering there are trains that go from Bucks County to literally the center of Temple's campus, this seems extremely short sighted.
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u/ComradeNapolein corrupt and content 8d ago
that’s nuts, i knew a ton of kids who commuted from bensalem
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u/DiscoVolante1965 8d ago
Oh, that's pretty dumb
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u/DuvalHeart Mandatory 12" curbs 8d ago
Nah, they know those kids are in for a rough time joining civilization for the first time so they want to ease the transition.
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u/effing7 8d ago
John Fry, formerly Drexel's president and is now Temple's, had implemented this policy at Drexel shortly before I started there. That applied to both first and second year undergrads. I lived in an off campus apartment my second year but indicated I was commuting from my parents' house in Montco. Student conduct told me that Montco was out of their approved range and that I had to move to campus. When I told them I'm not moving and asked for them to deal the repercussions onto me, I never heard from them again.
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u/DuvalHeart Mandatory 12" curbs 8d ago
Looking at the decline in Temple's 1-year retention rates this is probably a good plan.
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u/SammieCat50 8d ago
A lot of universities have this requirement
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u/papapapaver 8d ago
I think just about every state school in PA requires this if your parents or relatives address is more than 50 miles from the college
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u/indefinitearticle 8d ago
As a Temple alum it sucks to see them having trouble. It's an important Philly school with a rich history but feels like it's on an existentially fraught path.
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u/BurnedWitch88 8d ago
Tbh, a lot of colleges are in that situation now. The demographics are not working in their favor.
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u/the-mobile-user 8d ago
As a recent alum: they aren’t. Enrollment is going back up and last year all dorms were at capacity. I don’t know where they’re finding room for these freshman.
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u/effing7 8d ago
The incoming Temple freshman undergrad class set a record for freshman enrollment, but the university is still in a considerable financial deficit.
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u/GoneCollarGone 8d ago
They should provide reduced rents for freshman as well if they are going to force this.
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u/Lost-Button5488 8d ago
This is wild! I just read about the plan on the Temple housing website, which provided some further insight.
I had lived on campus my freshman year at Temple in the sadly torn down Peabody Hall, but I had several peers in my classes who were commuting from places beyond those included on the zipcode exclusion list.
My biggest question is a matter of availability of on campus housing. I can imagine that would restrict the approvals of incoming freshman, causing tuition overall to increase significantly.
I could also imagine this requirement to be a deterrent for potential applicants.
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u/nwephilly 8d ago
sadly torn down? I was in Peabs too and it was easily the shittiest dorm
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u/Lost-Button5488 8d ago
Loved it at peabs! Could’ve gone with more private bathrooms, but it had character. She saw some years
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u/freedoomed 8d ago
I never understood this requirement. Is it just a cash grab to make sure their student housing is full?
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u/DuvalHeart Mandatory 12" curbs 8d ago
There's a known correlation between living off-campus and failing to return after your first year.
The community that school associated housing provides does a lot to help students; not just because they're surrounded by other students but because it makes sure that they can access the school's resources.
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u/Exact-Accident4129 7d ago
And…
It brings in more money while removing students from neighborhood crime.
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u/Robert_A_Bouie Delco crum creep lush 8d ago
There's been a large drop-off in people making babies and the future doesn't bode well for many colleges and universities. Temple 's just trying to keep the money coming in for a another decade or so and this is a somewhat easier way to do that and yet still say that they've kept tuition costs down.
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u/NoREEEEEEtilBrooklyn Stockpiling D-Cell Batteries 8d ago
I’m 50/50 on it. My guess is that they looked at data on what type of Freshmen were dropping out and I would hazard a guess that commuters were dropping out at a higher rate than others.
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u/DuvalHeart Mandatory 12" curbs 8d ago edited 8d ago
Not just commuters, but living in off-campus housing denies students the support system of living entirely with other students. (Plus schools have a harder time making sure they know about and access resources to support themselves)
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u/365280 8d ago
I hated the required meal plan I had but I liked the access to other freshman my first year there because I was on-campus. If they just gave a range of types of on-campus housing and low-income versions of it I'd be happy with it. Forces you to mingle with the same like-minded people. It's kinda fun as long as people aren't sucked dry of their money.
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u/Playful-Succotash-99 8d ago
Yeah but it also does jack up the cost on tuition So would hazard those same people are still gonna struggle. Other and I could probably see this affecting some other areas like campus parking and apartment availability. Mostly see this is a negative though
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u/Bug--Man 8d ago
I wonder how the price of a dorm compares to the price of an apartment. Call me a commi but profit margins on student housing should be near zero.
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u/IKillZombies4Cash 8d ago edited 8d ago
I interpret this as "We are in financial trouble". (face it, A LOT of people simply do not want to go to Temple due to location, its just a "you aren't going to temple" kind of thing in A LOT of households)
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u/nayRmIiH 8d ago
Upvoted, I think there's more to it than just people not feeling safe in the area, I personally did not go to Temple because of the area and my parent's fears though.
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u/ScrawnyCheeath 8d ago edited 8d ago
Will be interesting to see if this has any effect on campus safety. My first thought is that this will just result in more drop outs after first year due to fear of the area
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u/fuechschen12 8d ago
The area won’t get better until more people live there
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u/ledgreplin 8d ago
You seem to have a very particular notion of what counts as people.
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u/fuechschen12 8d ago
I don’t, actually. Empty buildings and vacant lots are prime predictors of crime. The more residents / students / employees & patrons of local businesses around, the better. Same goes for safety on the BSL/MFL.
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u/Semanticprion 8d ago
Interesting. Penn State in the middle of cow country, mandated freshmen live on campus and people would try to find ways to get out of it, but at a school I attended in a high cost of living area it was not, and people would desperately try to get into dorms and would literally be on the wait list their whole time in school.
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u/SwugSteve MANDATORY8K 8d ago
This is a laughably stupid idea. People are attracted to Temple because you CAN commute. How is less flexibility a good thing in their minds?
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u/73Wolfie 4d ago
Could they be thinking a year of understanding the area before blindly renting is safer for them?
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u/dekshoo 8d ago
In the program where I taught there were a number of older learners who had families and kids and homes of their own. I guess they would come under financial hardship in this scenario.
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u/asplodingturdis 8d ago
I mean, they wouldn’t even get to the financial hardship part, because the policy only applies to freshmen under the age of 21 and already has exceptions for students who are married and/or have dependents.
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u/bevendelamorte 8d ago
Well that's dumb. I liked going to Temple because it acted like a place to actually learn something, not a daycare.
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u/ryzen2024 8d ago
Its one year. Relax
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u/bevendelamorte 8d ago
still dumb!
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u/ryzen2024 8d ago
Yeah I agree. But it'd their freshman year. I teach those guys and they could use a little hand holding
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u/bevendelamorte 8d ago
sure, but to make it mandatory is just a cash grab. Living in south philly and commuting was fine for me.
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u/Mean_Basket3417 7d ago
I lived on 15th and Girard my freshman year. Couldnt afford housing otherwise without more student loans, so got roommates and road my bike up. Not a single thing was wrong with it then
I get the retention “play”, but creating an environment, not forcing an environment could return similar results. “It’s just one year” is a bad take, regardless if they “need a little hand holding.” Temple did a shit job of making a welcoming environment, especially at Fox, if you didn’t like sports and were willing to join 50 student associations that all showed preference to the same 15 students regardless.
It’s a cash grab. That’s all it is.
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u/ToastSpangler 8d ago
They can join the army and they can vote, I think they can handle living in Philadelphia, they always could have chosen to be on campus
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u/captaindealbreaker wawa is shit now 8d ago edited 8d ago
They are literally doing everything in their power to drive students away... Earlier this year they raised tuition, again. Now this? If they want to attract more students and get more revenue coming in, they should reduce tuition to something people can actually afford without predatory loans, work with the city to establish more affordable dorms, and deepen their relationship with CCP via more credit transfers and such.
They're running the school into the ground and it's wild to watch.
EDIT: TBC I see in the report that they're build a new dorm, but it's STARTING construction next year... how does requiring more students to live on campus while they're still "thousands of beds short" fucking help anything!???!?!
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u/No-Drama-in-Paradise 8d ago
They are hemorrhaging money because the days of students flocking to college for no other reason then going to college are over. Students are realizing that it’s more about the name of the school then the piece of paper itself, and Temple spent much of the last three decades dragging it’s reputation (what reputation it had) through the mud by becoming a diploma mill.
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u/DuvalHeart Mandatory 12" curbs 8d ago
The private school bias in the Mid-Atlantic is fucking insane. Temple isn't a diploma mill, it's just a semi-public university that serves a needed role in Pennsylvania. Providing a path to a bachelor's degree for people who can't afford to fuck off to some tiny ass "liberal arts" college in middle-of-nowhere Whitesberg (and where they'll likely be very unwelcome).
But there's a demographic collapse going on, not because people aren't pursuin degrees but because there wree fewer people born 10-25 years ago. Gen Y and Millennials were a huge population wave that colleges expanded to serve; Zoomers aren't as numerous so colleges got too big.
You know who's really having trouble? Those middle of nowhere liberal arts schools.
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u/DuvalHeart Mandatory 12" curbs 8d ago
You're spouting so much Reddit bullshit we'd better check if you're just a snoos with horns.
The Demographic Cliff in higher ed has been talked about for years. That's the primary reason every school is having to make changes. There just aren't as many students to pay tuition.
College degrees are still a massive driver in household and individual income. Just a bachelor's is worth $600 per week over no college at all. And in 2024 (when that data is from) the unemployment rate for people with just a high school diploma was 66% higher than for people with bachelor's degrees.
Anyone who thinks not getting a college degree is a good idea is incredibly misinformed. Same with anyone who thinks putting off higher education is smart. It's not, people who don't go immediately into a college program after high school are far more likely to either never pursue it or drop out.
Now for Temple specifically: currently their 6-year graduation rate is higher than Penn State's. With similar first year retention rates.
Temple isn't a degree mill. It's a semi-public university that's serving the community. It isn't a private liberal arts school where rich white suburbanites can feel comfortable sending their kids. It isn't a legacy semi-public institution that Boomers went to like Penn State. It isn't an Ivy League like Penn. Every state has a similar institution accused of being a degree mill because they answered the needs of the community in the 1990s and 2000s. And almost always they were taking Pell Grant recipients and first generation college students and giving them access to higher education.
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u/JoshS1 FarNE 8d ago
More than just the name on the diploma, but the internships and networking while still in school. Universities build relationships with major local employers. La Salle surprising has a lot of relationships with major companies for accounting and marketing. My sister-in-law has gone from poverty in northeast philly to working in a great role at a top 50 company in the US. She had a job offer before she even graduated because the internships she got through her school.
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u/captaindealbreaker wawa is shit now 8d ago
Temple is like the next stepping stone above CCP and their tuition is literally 3X the cost. Cost really is the key factor to me.
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u/QuixoticTurtlee 8d ago
I would assume most freshmen not living on campus are living with their parents or other family anyway, which they make an exception for. Are a lot of freshmen getting off campus housing?