NORMAL, Ala. (WHNT) — While students prepare for the Fall 2023 semester at Alabama A&M University (AAMU), some students fear they won’t have a place to live. 

News 19 has gotten multiple questions from students, worried they’ll be on their own when it comes to housing support.

“We start school in a couple of days, people have to get their stuff together, and we don’t have no update on anything. We’re just left in the blind,” said an AAMU sophomore, who wants to remain anonymous.

This Alabama A&M student says her sophomore year is off to a rough start. She applied for housing and submitted the required payment back in July, but says she has yet to get a room assignment from the university.

“Alabama A&M accepted a lot of freshmen. Because of that, I had to wait to apply for my housing application because they constantly closed the housing process. Once I applied for my housing application, I had to get on the waitlist,” the student stated.

According to an article posted Wednesday on A&M’s website, AAMU Director of Residential Life & Housing Karla Miller said they currently have 321 students on the waitlist for Fall 2023 housing assignments. University officials say demand continues to outpace supply in terms of on-campus housing, but ongoing expansion efforts have increased their capacity to 3,741.  

Since 2022, A&M has added 534 additional housing spaces. This Fall, 126 additional beds will be added at Foster Complex. The university has also entered into a new agreement with the Lofts at Dallas Mill Apartments to secure 308 beds for students, less than 3.5 miles from campus.

However, for this student and others who have reached out to News 19, that doesn’t change the fact that they do not have an assignment right now.

“I reside in Alabama, but there are people who don’t reside in Alabama. There are people who stay in Chicago, St. Louis, Florida…and being that we only have a few days left until we go back to school, people have to get their plane tickets and things in order. I just wish housing would do stuff in a timely manner and be considerate of other people’s time and money,” added the student. 

A&M Officials say requests are being processed, and housing will work to assign as many students as possible on a first-come, first-served basis.