The dorm rooms await their students. What university accommodation looks like and how much it costs

There are only 10 days left until the start of the new academic year – most faculties open their doors on September 30 – and student dormitories are already being taken by storm. “Demand is high, but our offer is also commensurate”the administrative director of the University of Bucharest told us. The students don’t complain either: it has a fish pond. As for the costs, they start from 180 lei and go up to 600 lei.

The University of Bucharest offers approximately 4,500 accommodation places in 15 dormitories to students. This number covers almost 80% of the required places, we learn from the institution’s website. Dormitories are located in 9 student campuses: Grozăvești Complex, Gaudeamus Dormitory, Mihail Kogălniceanu Complex, Poligrafie Dormitory, Theodor Pallady Complex, Stoian Militaru, Fundeni Dormitory, Măgurele Complex and C-Leu Dormitory.

The Grozăvești complex, one of the most famous in Bucharest, consists of 5 dormitories with two and three beds, furniture (wardrobe, table, bedside table, chairs) and a sink in the room. There are two sanitary groups on each landing. All dormitories have specially designed laundry facilities. “We don’t know, for now, if all the places have been taken, if there are still free places because we are in the middle of the allocation process“, stated for Adevărul Ștefan Lacataș, secretary general of the Student Association of the University of Bucharest. “There were years when all places were filled quickly, but also years when we also had eight stages of accommodation, which stretched throughout the whole year. Two years ago, for example, there were a lot of vacant rooms. Students, most likely, go to private dormitories, rented apartments, but there are also students who take a place but do not occupy it. And I keep him stuck for a while“, said the student representative. The students from the University of Bucharest will actually move into the dormitories on September 25.

How much does it cost instead of accommodation on the campuses of the University of Bucharest

At the moment, a place to stay in one of the dormitories of the University of Bucharest costs between 180-200 lei, Ștefan Lacataș, the student representative, told us. “This money includes the actual room, the laundry room, we will also have refrigerators. However, the fee differs depending on the room. In the Grozăvești complex, for example, there are dormitories that have rooms with two, three and four beds. Many dorms were renovated some last year, some this summer like dorms C and D“. The dormitories in Grozăvești, says Ștefan Lacataș, await the new tenants clean, well-kept and many of them renovated. “There will be no more problems, I hope, with bed bugs, because the monthly disinsection is done. The problems have been solved. Dormitories are generally renovated during summer vacation when there are very few students. But not all are renovated. There are students who come and find rooms that have not been tampered with. We are waiting, for example, for dormitory A to be renovated only next year”also said the representative of the students from the University of Bucharest.

Politehnica Bucharest, luxurious conditions for students with money

“At Politehnica Bucharest we have around 10,000 accommodation places available in the Regie and Leu campuses”explained Mihai Corocăescu, the administrative director of the Polytechnic University. “And the demand is equal to the supply, all students will be accommodated. First year at least..all students who have applied will receive accommodation”, it continues.

But the fight is on for the good seats. “It’s about the renovated dormitories, which have a different comfort. We have 26 hostels in Regie and three in Leu. They will be 100% occupied”, the administrative director also said.

As for the fee, it can reach up to 600 lei. “There are students who receive free accommodation: the children of teachers, those who come from single-parent families, orphans of both parents, children who come from foster care centers, those who are children of the descendants of the heroes of the Revolution. Then..the fee is according to convenience. With us, a place in a room with two or three beds starts from 330 lei. And we have another category – two dormitories where we have luxury conditions: TV, washing machine, refrigerator, new furniture, everything renovated… there, the tax reaches about 600 lei. We are talking about rooms with two beds as well”, explained Mihai Corocăescu, the administrative director of the Politehnica University.

In Regie, the Polytechnic student dormitories have two, three and four beds. “Those with four beds have their own bathroom. The others with shared bathroom. In Leu we have rooms with two and three beds with private bathroom”, continued the administrator.

Academy of Economic Studies

The Academy of Economic Studies offers students seven university campuses: Moxa Complex, New Belvedere Complex, Tei C1, Old Belvedere Complex, Agronomy Complex, Caminul Occidentului and Caminul Vitan. The Moxa complex consists of many dormitories. Moxa D is dedicated to students. The building is classified as the first degree of comfort and shares the courtyard with the canteen, the medical and dental offices. It is a mixed dormitory, the rooms have their own toilet and are for four people.

The accommodation calendar for the academic year 2024-2025 at ASE

Students who wanted a place to stay in the ASE dormitories filled out an accommodation request in the spring, starting in March. In April, the applications were processed and analyzed, and then the list of allocated places was displayed. Also in April, appeals were submitted and analyzed. A month later, in May, the residence permits were issued and the contracts were signed. In August, the students submitted their medical and social files. In September, the student accommodation service displayed the list of student assignments from all education cycles on the cazare-ase.ro website. Between September 28 and 30, students will move into the dormitories. But the allocation is not over, because in October applications will be submitted for the remaining unoccupied places. The list will be displayed on the 11th and the dormitory IDs will be issued in the middle of the month.

What the dormitory rooms at SNSPA look like

And the National School of Political and Administrative Studies (SNSPA) is waiting for its students with renovated dorm rooms.

This is what a four-bed room in the B1 dormitory looks like. The bathroom and kitchen are shared, in the hallway. In dormitory B2, the rooms are a little smaller, also for four people but with a small hall and private bathroom. There is also a refrigerator in the room.

“Bring the rest of what you need. Also here on the ground floor is a small reading room, as we say, where you can study and work, but here there is only one outlet, so you may have to carry an extension cord”. students announce each other on social networks.

“Washing machines..that run a maximum of two at the same time. The difference between B1 and B2 is up to 50 lei. B2 is more expensive. It has its own bathroom, but you compromise on space if you choose it.” says the message.

How much does it cost to stay in a student dormitory in Cluj?

“The Cluj campus is one of the few campuses in the country where the dormitories have rooms with individual sanitary facilities”, Sergiu Covaci, the president of the National Alliance of Student Organizations from Romania, also told us.

“The Technical University has two campuses. One of the campuses has dormitories with rooms for two or four people, equipped with individual sanitary facilities. There are also the dormitories in Mărăști, there are actually duplexes here. They are big, with big bathrooms,” he continued.

This year, the offer covers the demand, Sergiu Covaci also stated. “However, there are many rumors among students that they will not find places. That’s why many turn to rentals. Others, who are not really ok with the environments, don’t even apply anymore. We are often left with empty seats. And it is surprising, because the rents in Cluj are very high, three, four times higher than the dormitory fee”, says the student.

The tax in Cluj is between 250 and 350 lei. “The price for a place starts from 250 lei for a room with four beds and reaches 350 lei per month for a room with two beds. The rooms have their own sanitary facilities”, Sergiu Covaci also told us,

How to get a place in the dormitory

The procedure for obtaining a place in the dormitory begins by filling in an application accompanied by two photographs. The accommodation file must also contain copies of the bulletin and, as the case may be, xeroxes of the documents that prove the special social situation. The file then goes before an accommodation committee, made up of teachers and student representatives. The commission will analyze the file and distribute the places, within the limits of those available. The criteria taken into account are the year of study, continuity in the dormitory, serious social situations, children of teaching staff, etc. Scholars and high scorers also have a better chance of getting a good place in the dorm.

“The tie-breaking criterion is the academic one. Some faculties adopt average-level grading for first-year students, and others use credit points for other students in older years.” stated Sergiu Covaci, the president of the National Alliance of Student Organizations from Romania. “Each faculty allocates 15-20% of the places received for social and medical cases: students from single-parent families or orphans are given priority. As for averages, we are talking about those with which the graduates of the 12th grades finish the Baccalaureate, but also the averages from the entrance exam. Many faculties organize entrance exams such as Law, Mathematics and Computer Science, etc.said Sergiu, who is in the first year of his master’s degree in Bucharest.