With students returning to the banks of snow outside their residence halls, overcrowded dorms now could be the least of their campus worries.
Last semester, 744 rooms were overcrowded, but housing issues have been resolved and three students to a room is nonexistent this spring.
Students are now moving from hall to hall and within dorms, said Angela Brown, director of University Housing.
"We have space and we're accepting applications," Brown said.
"Students are always in constant motion throughout the semester."
Brown said 500 additional students have been assigned to university residence halls after finishing study abroad programs, and incoming transfer students have also been assigned dorm rooms.
In the fall semester of last year, MSU had a residence hall population of 14,676 students. This number continues to fluctuate as a result of issues such as students moving off campus and returning from overseas.
Spring semester is the time where students switch dorms to be near friends or classes, move away from their roommates or even move for cafeteria preferences, housing officials said.
Hubbard Hall might be considered the most diverse and largest housing dormitory on campus because it stands 12 stories high with an occupancy of 963.
But Holmes Hall, which houses 1,250 - 287 more than Hubbard - is the most populated dorm on campus.
Housing officials say many students hope to move into Shaw Hall second semester because of its central location on campus.
Shaw housed 915 students in the fall.
University apartments are the most popular spots on campus, as 1,350 moved into Spartan Village in the fall.
Even with thousands of spots on campus, some students are still opting to move off.
"Very few students move off campus second semester," said Fred Kayne, associate director of University Housing. "However, there is a contract release procedure for special circumstances."
Students wanting to break the housing contract must meet a particular criteria that consists of the loss of financial benefits or a family crisis. Some situations are decided case by case.
But some students say the contract isn't difficult to break.
"It wasn't that hard to get out of the contract," said psychology sophomore Lauren Tolin, who moved out of Hubbard at the closing of the fall 2004 semester.
She will move into Deerpath Apartments this semester.
Polin said housing officials - hall managers or directors - seemed to have done minimum reviewing of the required paperwork because it was relatively easy to get out of the contract.
"I know there is a lot of people on the waiting list for Hubbard, so it wasn't hard (to be released from the contract) at all," Polin said.
The Department of University Housing has a campaign that encourages students to continue living on university grounds.
"Students actually do better when they stay on campus," said Nancy Lange, assistant director of Residence Life. "But there are a lot of students that do well off campus."
"The residence halls is a unique lifestyle," she said. "Students need to realize they will never live in a place like this again."
"That's what's so cool about college," Lange said.
