Overview:
Students at Cal Poly are experiencing rent increases at the university's Poly Canyon Village (PCV), with the price of a single bedroom increasing by 82% since 2017. The two-year housing program was designed to eventually require all second-year students to live on campus, but the transition is ongoing. The university's Housing Grant Program gives students with the highest financial need a $1,000 grant, and financial aid partially covers living costs for some students. However, students may be exempt from living on campus if they meet certain requirements, such as having a disability or proving a financial hardship.
Molly Mejia didn’t learn she could apply for a financial exemption from Cal Poly’s two-year housing program until it was too late. The deadline had already passed, so Mejia, a business administration junior, was required to live on campus her second year because of her status as a Cal Poly Scholar, a program designed to help low-income students succeed via scholarships and resources.
If given the choice, Mejia said she would have lived off-campus to avoid the high rental pricing. Instead, she was stuck paying $1,500 a month to live at Poly Canyon Village (PCV).
Mejia and many other students who live in PCV have experienced rent increases year after year.
The price of a single bedroom has increased 82%, going from $8,944 in 2017 to $16,314 heading into the 2025-2026 academic year, according to archived versions of the continuing student fees webpage.
PCV currently houses second-year students and transfer students but will be opening up one of its nine apartment buildings to first-year students next year, according to Koberl. Some second-year students live at the on-campus apartment complex Cerro Vista, which is also raising its prices by more than 8% to $15,108 annually for a single bedroom next school year, according to the University Housing website.
The two-year housing program was designed to eventually require all second-year students to live on campus, but the transition is ongoing.
Currently, students from three of the six academic colleges are required to live on campus during their second year. Student-athletes and members of the Cal Poly Scholars and TRIO Achievers programs are also housed on campus. Both the Scholars and TRIO programs are intended to aid students from low-income backgrounds.
“Pricing and operations costs are reviewed on an annual basis to determine a rate that allows for support of resident and operational needs,” University Spokesperson Keegan Koberl told Mustang News in an email. “Off-campus rates and rates at comparable institutions are also considered.”
All rate changes require approval from university senior leadership and are subject to Cal State Board of Trustees approval, according to Koberl.
On-campus housing leases begin in mid-September and end midway through the following June, excluding three weeks of winter break, which would cost $1,155 extra. Overall, leases span less than nine months.
PCV offers single bedrooms, double bedrooms and, starting next year, double suites. The double bedrooms will cost $14,559 for the year after undergoing a 9% increase identical to that of the singles, according to the University Housing website.
The double suites, a more affordable option, will run at $13,641. Double suites are being added due to an increased demand for campus housing from first-year students and continuing students who are not mandated to but want to live on campus, according to Koberl. About 20% of the existing rooms at PCV will be configured as double suites, specifically in the Buena Vista and Corralitos buildings, Koberl wrote.
“Affordability is a key priority when setting rates,” Koberl wrote. “With higher occupancy, Housing is able to offer more competitive pricing, benefiting all students, especially those with the highest financial need.”
The university’s Housing Grant Program gives students with the highest financial need a $1,000 grant, based on their estimated family contribution, according to Koberl.
Additionally, financial aid partially covers living costs for some Scholars, such as Mejia. But she discovered new financial freedom after moving away from campus.
“Living off campus this year, my refund from financial aid is much greater now,” Mejia said. “I’m able to use it in other ways.”
“It’s vastly cheaper to live off campus,” said Johnny Jue, a mechanical engineering junior and Cal Poly Scholar who lived at PCV last year. “If I knew everyone was getting exemptions, I would have applied for exemption.”
Ahead of the 2024-25 academic year, University Housing approved 99% of exemption requests among students required to live on campus in their sophomore year, according to data provided by Koberl. Of the 852 requests, only 11 were denied.
To become exempt from living on campus sophomore year, students must prove to University Housing that their status meets certain requirements. Students may be granted exemption if they are a military veteran, married, older than 21, studying abroad, have independent status, live locally with a guardian, have a disability or if they demonstrate a financial hardship, according to the University Housing website.
Though it was opposed by the ASI student board in 2015, the administration continued to go through with the two-year housing program, citing statistics of increased graduation rates when students live on campus, according to a 2021 ASI resolution.
“When new construction is complete, University Housing will be able to accommodate all second-year students on campus, connecting them to the community at large, including co-curricular resources and services to better support their retention and academic success,” Cal Poly President Jeffrey Armstrong said in a press release in July 2024.
Both Mejia and Jue believe students should at least have the option of living off campus. When Jue found out next year’s cost — a $2,000 jump from what he paid just last school year — he couldn’t believe it.