For some time now, housing rental prices in big cities have been making residents hiccup, so young people who have come to study in other cities often choose to live in their university dormitories. Yes, much cheaper.
And how are the higher schools themselves and their dormitories preparing for the influx of freshmen? Will there be enough rooms for everyone? Will prices change? News portal lrytas.lt universities and colleges asked what to expect from prospective students looking for housing.
Vilnius University will not raise prices
As the representatives of Vilnius University (VU) indicated, the dormitories of this higher education institution can accommodate a total of 5,500 students. Over the past year, 95 percent of first-year students who submitted applications received places in VU dormitories.
The university does not intend to increase the price of rooms from autumn.
“The prices will not change or rise from autumn, they will remain 55-240 euros per month, depending on the location of the dormitory, the number of rooms (single, double, triple) and the number of residents”, – to the portal lrytas.lt VU stated in the provided answer.
If the number of first-year students wishing to live in the dormitories exceeds the number of available places, priority is given in the specified order, evaluating each case individually. Preference is given to the following persons:
1. For those who have lost both parents (copies of death certificates, a court decision on the granting of custody/care, a certificate from the Population Register Service, etc. must be submitted);
2. Those from families whose monthly income per family member does not exceed the amount of supported income determined by the state (a certificate from the social support center about receiving social allowance or compensation for hot/cold water, solid fuel and gas must be submitted);
3. For those who do not have one of their parents (a copy of the death certificate, a certificate of family composition from the Population Register Service, the precinct or municipality must be submitted);
4. For those from a large family, if there are 3 or more children in the family who have not yet reached the age of 25 and are studying in full-time sections of general education schools or in permanent studies (a certificate of family composition from the Population Registry Office, ward or municipality must be submitted);
5. For students with 55% or lower working capacity (a copy of the disability certificate must be submitted);
6. For students who have currently declared a place of residence that is further away from the Vilnius city municipality.
If it does not fit, they will try to transfer students elsewhere
About 800 full-time students (about 450-500 from Lithuania and 300 from foreign countries) are going to be admitted to VILNIUS TECH (Vilnius Gediminas University of Technology) from September. In total, the dormitories of this university accommodate 2422 people.
“In 2023 we planned to accommodate about 500 first-year students in the dormitories, but we received about 450 applications, so we did not face the problem of lack of places.
We carried out the second stage of applications, during which the remaining free places in the dormitories were filled”, explained Inga Renertienė, chief specialist of the Service Department of VILNIUS TECH.
According to her, if there were not enough places in the dormitories this year for all those who wanted to, places would be sought for students in the dormitories of other higher education institutions.
“Those who were not given a place in the dormitory at the beginning of the academic year would be put on a waiting list. When places become available in VILNIUS TECH dormitories, waiting students could move to the university dormitories.
Orphans and students with social support, the furthest away or those living with guardians have the right of priority to get a place in the dormitory. The first-year students of the first cycle also have priority to get a place in the dormitory over other students of the first and second cycle,” said the specialist.
It is true that those who want to live in the VILNIUS TECH dormitories will have to shake their wallets a little harder this year – the room prices, although slightly, have risen.
“But no more than 10 percent.” The university dormitories have single, double and triple rooms. Currently, the price of a dormitory room ranges from 80 to 250 EUR.
It is important to mention that the rental price of dormitory rooms includes not only the rental fee, but also the fee for other expenses.
The main factor that led to the price change this year is the increased cost of dormitory administration and utility services. Dormitories are fully supported by funds collected for accommodation. The rental prices will not change from the autumn”, assured I. Renertienė.
Repairs are already underway
Vilnius College currently has 10 dormitories located in different parts of Vilnius – Didlaukis, P. Vileišios, Giedraičiau and other streets. According to Andriejaus Sadauskis, deputy director of the college for economy and development, the number of students living in dormitories is constantly changing.
“About 60% of first-year students want to live in dormitories. of those enrolled. We allocate the dormitory to all students who wish”, explained A. Sadauskis.
Prices in Vilnius College dormitories depend on the type of dormitories, the room and the number of students living in the room. The amount ranges from 75 to 260 euros (when one person lives in a double room with better conditions).
Since July of this year, room prices have increased by 7-12 percent on average. According to the deputy director of the college, this was due to the constantly increasing minimum wages for employees, as well as the desire to invest in the infrastructure of the dormitories and to modernize them.
“We are not planning to change prices in the near future. We are currently renovating the infrastructure of three dormitories – Studentų st. is being renovated. Dormitory 47, where the electrical connections, sanitary facilities, windows will be replaced, the exterior of the building will be insulated and repaired. We plan to update the rooms and furniture in the future.
Didlauki st. In the dormitory located at 61, rooms on several floors are being renovated, and the elevator is being replaced with a new one. The dormitory, located on Giedraičių st., is also being partially renovated. 81. The exterior of the building is being renovated here, the dormitory is being heated, and part of the living rooms are being renovated,” A. Sadauskis taught.
The prices will also rise slightly for those who want to live in Klaipėda University (KU) dormitories. As pointed out by KU Infrastructure and Development Vice-Rector dr. Benediktas Petrauskas, for permanent students, the prices for living in dormitories will increase by 5% from autumn.
“Prices will rise after assessing the general price level, the increased prices of services. If students currently pay between 63 and 93 euros per month in an old dormitory, and between 99 and 170 euros in a newly built dormitory, you can calculate how much they will pay after 5 percent. increase.
Usually, students live in rooms in groups of 2, but there is also the possibility of living alone in a room. There are rooms where 3 people live, but there are few of them”, explained B.Petrauskas.
Last academic year, the university accommodated all those who wanted to live in dormitories, so it is expected that this situation will be the same this year.
“We have planned a certain number of places in the dormitories of other educational institutions – if necessary. So we will take care of everyone,” the KU representative promised.
Some may be left without a room, others are not threatened with problems
And the representatives of Vytautas the Great University (VDU) predict that there may be a shortage of places in the university dormitories for everyone who wants to in September.
However, it is expected that the situation will stabilize in the first few weeks of September.
“It is likely that there will be a shortage of places in the beginning, because there will be a large influx of people who want to get them.” Currently, VMU is renovating several floors of dormitories to improve student conditions, which means that the number of rooms has decreased slightly. However, we hope that it will be possible to move into them at the beginning of September.
In general, we believe that the situation will stabilize, as it does every year, by the beginning of October,” said Mantas Simanavičius, director of the Department of Student Affairs at VMU.
The prices of VDU dormitory rooms this year remain the same as last year.
Also, Kaunas University of Technology (KTU), which is located in the temporary capital, for its part, does not see such a problem – according to the portal lrytas.lt the representative of the university, Mantas Lapinskas, stated that KTU dormitories should not face a shortage of places.
The university will also not change the prices of dormitory rooms, even though their maintenance costs are increasing.
“The main aspect that does not increase the prices is taking care of the student, providing him with comfortable learning and living conditions. Since KTU constantly invests in dormitories and their infrastructure, we are probably the only university in Lithuania that does not face a shortage of places year after year.
in 2023 at the beginning of the year, KTU fully opened a modernized one of the 12th-floor dormitories, which was renovated by reorganizing the interior spaces – the modernization project was carried out taking into account the needs of the modern student, when study, work and rest areas are individual, and leisure spaces are intended for two or three residents.
We are currently carrying out the modernization process of another dormitory, and we have also prepared a modernization project for the third dormitory, but we certainly do not plan to stop, so the final goal is the modernization of all KTU dormitories,” reads the comment sent by KTU.
Based on the five-year average number of students and the number of places in KTU dormitories, the university can accommodate about 31 percent. of accepted students – currently slightly more than 2.5 thousand are recorded. places.
“Normally, the requests of many people who want to live in dormitories are granted. These trends will continue this September. The university has an information system for the reservation of dormitories, where students who have signed a study contract with the university can reserve their desired place from the list of available places.
Anyone can reserve a place in the dormitory, regardless of their social, financial, place of residence, etc. situation. It’s only natural that better quality seats are reserved first and fastest,” said M. Lapinskas.
The cheapest place in the KTU dormitory costs 72 euros, while the most expensive places are in the modernized dormitory and amount to 248 euros.
“The latest price is much lower than the rental price of an apartment of similar quality in Kaunas. Prices in dormitories depend on the type of room (single, double), type of building.
When modernizing the dormitories, KTU focuses on western-style dormitories, where double rooms dominate, where student couples can live, but we also have other types of rooms,” said a KTU representative.
Mantas Gutauskas, a specialist in the Student Affairs and Career Department of Kaunas College, stated that the prices in the Kaunas College dormitories, depending on the condition of the dormitories and rooms and the number of people living in the room, range from 75 euros per month to 150 euros per month.
“Students who live in three rooms and use common facilities located on the floor of the room (kitchen, toilet, shower) pay the cheapest.
Students who live in two rooms pay the most, when there are three rooms in one block and shared kitchen and bathroom facilities. This year, we raised prices by up to 10 percent,” informed M. Gutauskas.
2024-08-08 09:21:36