Over 50% of current N.U.in students will be housed in hotels upon their return to Boston for the spring 2023 semester, according to an October 26th webinar hosted by Northeastern University Housing, which current N.U.in students attended.

Due to Northeastern’s housing shortage, N.U.in students were first housed in hotels in spring 2018. At the time, just 60 students returning from the N.U.in program moved into the Midtown Hotel on Huntington Avenue. From then on, the university has placed increasing numbers of N.U.in students in additional hotels such as the Westin Copley Place and Sheraton Hotel, located on Huntington Avenue and Belvidere Street respectively.

Due to rumors that students would no longer be housed in hotels in upcoming semesters, current N.U.in students are still adjusting to this change, but told The News that they are unsurprised by the recent news.

“I was on Reddit right after I got accepted into N.U.in so I knew [living in a hotel] could be a possibility,” said Daniel Youssef, a first-year business administration and psychology combined major currently in the N.U.in Greece program. “I wasn’t very happy about it, though.”

Over the past four years, there have been many discussions among Northeastern community members surrounding the effects of large amounts of first-year students living in hotels instead of on-campus dorms.

“I already knew the Northeastern experience was not the traditional college experience, but being housed in hotels only exacerbates that,” said first-year business administration major Dylan Hakim, who is currently in the N.U.in London program.

Some students have expressed several concerns with the idea of living in hotels, two of which include the longer distances of the hotels from campus and the limited ability to socialize with other Northeastern students.

Hakim also expressed concern that being in hotels would “keep the N.U.in students isolated amongst themselves,” as they will likely live with the students they spent the semester abroad with. This furthers the issue of some N.U.in students struggling to integrate with the community upon return to the Boston campus.

In addition to the news of potentially living in hotels next semester, the current N.U.in students were also informed by the university that housing priority will be assigned in order of when students placed their enrollment deposit to Northeastern. This system is unlike most universities, many of which do a random lottery.

“I can see why they’re doing it that way, but it makes me feel bad for anyone that [submitted their deposit] later,” Youssef said. “When you’re accepted into that program it’s a hard decision to study abroad, so I can see why a lot of people wouldn’t like [this system] because it kind of feels like you’re being penalized for taking more time to make such important decisions.”

Financial status also plays a significant role in the decision making process of enrolling in the N.U.in program, according to first-year business administration major Zachary Chin, who is currently in the N.U.in Spain program.

“It says something about how Northeastern doesn’t prioritize kids who don’t have as much money,” said Chin. “Obviously if you’re early decision you’re completely fine with paying the expensive tuition at Northeastern, but then the other kids who were not as fortunate and needed to keep their options open kind of get the last pick.”

In a statement to The News, Northeastern spokesperson Marirose Sartoretto wrote that the university never promised to stop housing people in hotels, but their statement did not include recordings of their meetings or an explanation of why housing priority will be assigned in the manner described.

“It has to do with the fact that they want people to commit earlier,” said Chin. “Maybe they hope word will spread that if you commit early you get certain privileges.”