Housing rates for the 2025-2026 academic year will increase by 5% across all units, according to Boston University Spokesperson Colin Riley.
Housing rates for the more than 140 student residences on campus have steadily climbed over the past four years, with yearly increases of $400, $580 and $610 respectively between the 2022-2026 academic years.
“The University works very hard to keep the increases in dining and housing at a minimum,” Riley said.
Junior Gwyneth Moe has a single bedroom in an eight-person suite in Student Village II. Next year, she will move into an apartment in the same building — the most expensive living bracket for BU housing.
Moe’s financial aid package covers the majority of her tuition, but she has to pay for her housing and dining expenses, she said.
“I definitely am very aware of how expensive everything is, and BU is a very expensive school,” she said.
Moe lived in a double room at 610 Beacon St. for three semesters. She said the room she was in for the third semester, fall of her junior year, was much smaller than the first two, despite paying the same amount.
“I think that was the most jarring for me,” Moe said. “It was smaller than my freshman dorm in Claflin Hall, so that was really frustrating for me to have to pay the rate that you have to pay in [610 Beacon St.] for a double that was way worse.”
Moe said while she has enjoyed transitioning to her StuVi II suite this semester, she is uncertain if the accommodations are worthwhile given the price. She said students with certain financial aid packages can’t afford “nicer” housing without “breaking the bank.”
Senior Wellington Oliveira also has a single in an eight-person suite in StuVi II. He said he is unsure if the price increases correlate to tangible improvements in student life.
“I feel like there needs to be an increase in some sort of benefit towards a student,” Oliveira said. “I haven’t heard anything explicit about this.”
Senior Rebecca Perkins lived in Warren Towers for three years — which she said is attributed to the rising costs of housing both on and off campus — before moving to StuVi I. She said rising costs make housing less affordable for students who need to be on campus.
“I think that increasing certain housing rates would be okay, so long as you have people that are willing to pay that,” Perkins said. “I think it’s also important to note that there are people that can’t afford it, so there needs to be accessible options.”
Freshman Grace Cassalia, who currently lives in a double room in Warren Towers, said she will be moving off campus next fall. She said housing rate increases coupled with dorm displacements from ongoing renovations contributed to her decision to leave on-campus housing.
“I was going to hold off until junior year,” Cassalia said. “Just because this was all happening, I was just like, ‘I might as well just go off earlier.’”
Sophomore Phillip Omohundro, another resident of StuVi II, said his housing cost is what stands out the most on his student bill.
“[Living in StuVi II is] worth it, but it’s just teetering on the line,” he said. “It’s nice to be in the nice dorms, but it really hits the pocket.”
