Housing numbers released Wednesday by the Department of Residence indicate 33.14 percent of Iowa State’s 26,856 total students are living on campus. This number is up .44 percent, or 359 contracts, from last year’s figure.

The 8,901 students living in residence halls and university-owned apartments make up the largest percentage in the past five years.

Pete Englin, director of the department of residence, said occupancy tends to follow the size of the freshman class. Therefore, he wasn’t shocked that the number of students living in residence halls and apartments was more than 8,800.

“More students are attending and more students are choosing to live with us,” he said.

While the official number of residents living on-campus has increased, Englin said there were more contracts signed than there are residents.

“In early August we had over 9,000 active contracts but knew we would see some melt, primarily due to students having accepted admission to more than one university and making their decision late in the process,” Englin said.

He said 87 more contracts were canceled after Aug. 16 this year than last year.

“I think students are shopping more for the academic experience and fit. In actuality, that’s a good thing,” he said. “You want them to be at the right place in the beginning. The overall trend is all about growth and it’s a fantastic dynamic.”

This year’s numbers from the department of residence indicate an increase of 237 on-campus housing contracts from new students directly from high school.

Kyle Engelhoven, freshman in aerospace engineering, chose to live on campus — in Helser Hall.

“It seemed like the easiest thing to do,” Engelhoven said. “Everything’s close and it was promoted the most.”

He said he knew other housing options were available, but for him that meant more paperwork and more worries with bills.

While enrollment records from the office of the registrar show the largest class of transfer students in six years, housing records indicate a decrease of 80 contracts from transfers.

“That’s an area for opportunity because we think we do create a great experience for transfer students,” Englin said. “We need to get the message out about what we have to offer.”

Melissa McCarthy, junior in pre-business and a transfer student, said she chose to live in Buchanan Hall because of prior experiences.

“I didn’t want to worry about commuting or parking,” McCarthy said. “It was just one payment — no bills to worry about and I had a good experience living in dorms before.”

McCarthy also named some benefits of living on campus.

“It saves gas, there are more opportunities to be involved in if you live on campus and also more opportunities to meet people,” she said.

Stefanie Madsen, junior in sociology, lives off-campus in Wessex Apartments in Ames.

“I lived in dorms for two years and wanted to experience apartment-style living,” she said.

Madsen said the housing choice has its pros and cons.

“It’s harder to meet people other than in classes,” she said. “But I’m less tempted to get distracted.”

Contracts from returning students increased by 201, Englin said.

“I’m excited for this kind of occupancy and pleased that students are choosing to live with us,” he said. “This is within the parameters that we had expected to see.”

A record of students living in residence halls compared to those living in university-owned apartments was not immediately available at the time of publishing.

Total number of students living in university-owned housing

2008-8,901; 33.14%

2007-8,542; 32.70%

Off-campus — including soroities, fraternities and others

2008-17,956; 66.86%

2007-17,618; 67.40%

— information compiled from the Iowa State factbook and the department of residence