The sophomore living experience is about to get much more complex. While most sophomores currently live on the South 40, the increase in the size of this year’s freshman class—and of future freshman classes—threatens to change the housing balance.

The growth in class size will result in many more sophomore students living in the Village—between 200 and 250 next year, according to estimates from University administrators—which will in turn force more upperclassman into expensive off-campus options like the Lofts of Washington University. With the University already stretching to cover its housing needs with the increased class sizes and the long-awaited renovation of Rubelmann House, it is unclear what will be done to ease the housing and financial needs of sophomores and upperclassmen.

Freshman and sophomore housing experiences can be very different. Freshmen are equipped with Washington University Student Advisors, active residential advisers and many community-centered events while sophomores, willingly or not, live mostly suite to suite. Residential Life is doing some work to alleviate the potential problems related to increased sophomore housing in the Village. There have been efforts discussed to make the Village into more of a South-40-type environment, with additional large, community-based activities.

There are plenty of sophomores who would claim that these community-based solutions are not needed. Sophomores and upperclassmen tend to have well-established social circles and are in less need of social support from ResLife. Sophomores who move from their freshman floors as large groups have strong floor communities while others stick to smaller strong suite communities. Student turnout at events concerning the “sophomore experience” is often low.

While this may be the case for a number of students, it ignores the fact that others slip through the cracks. They end up with weak freshman community experiences, suites where they are uncomfortable and few options for housing in the future. The recent shifts in housing options for sophomores will only exacerbate these problems.

In this respect, ResLife’s efforts to create a more cohesive Village community could be quite beneficial, although they don’t go far enough to address students’ more pressing financial needs. By moving more students to the Village or off-campus housing such as the Lofts, overall housing costs will increase. Inexpensive options will be a challenge to secure, leaving economically strapped students to foot the bill.

For instance, a traditional double on the South 40—traditionally the destination for students living in the less expensive traditional freshman dorms—will cost $9,482 next year while a Village House residence will carry a 25-percent higher price, at $11,880. For upperclassmen being forced out of the Village due to the increased sophomore presence, few off-campus options are affordable, with the University constructing a number of new options this year that carry price tags upwards of $12,000.

Given the University’s recent pledge to increase socioeconomic diversity, the plan to shift sophomores to the Village and Lofts seems like a backwards plan. How can the University attract a greater array of students while simultaneously increasing the costs beyond what can be covered by tuition aid? It is still unclear whether increased housing prices will lead to much-needed increases in associated student aid packages.

On the way to becoming a more socioeconomically diverse school with a larger student body, housing needs must be adequately met at fair costs.