Graduate students hold many obligations, such as assistantships, final papers and theses, but the Oxford housing market adds one more worry to the pile: finding a place to live.
Housing insecurity in Oxford is common among students across academic years, but master’s and doctoral students face unique difficulties.
Rana Paige Davis, a first-year master’s student from Winona, Miss., studying integrated marketing communications, noted that the cost of rent was the primary issue in trying to find housing.
“Oxford is so expensive; it’s insane,” Davis said. “I would say financials were the biggest issue. We didn’t really struggle with location or anything like that. I feel like all the housing is close (to campus).”
The rent for the entirety of Davis’ house is currently $2,100, and each resident pays around $700 a month with utilities. The rent will be increased to $2,400 next year.
In Davis’ case, her fourth roommate left the house they shared during the fall the previous year, but the three remaining roommates still kept the four bedroom house due to lack of options.
“We had a fourth roommate,” Davis said. “They dropped out on us, and I believe it was like November, December-time, and it was so late, and the market is so terrible, that the three of us had to stick with this four-bedroom because there was no other option — even that far in advance.”
Astrid Knox-McConnell, a second-year master’s student in Southern studies from Bradford, England, agreed that cost was an issue when trying to find housing.
“I did my undergrad in London, and I was shocked to find that the prices of some of the apartments around here were as expensive as living in London,” Knox-McConnell said. “(That) was just crazy to me, because everyone talked about how expensive London is … and the fact that Oxford, a small town, had similar prices … I mean, granted, you’re getting more space for what you’re paying, but still, the fact that the places are going for over $1,000 a month … shocked me.”
By opting for an apartment with cheaper rent that is farther from campus, she had to purchase a car, adding to
her daily living expenses.
In addition to cost, Knox-McConnell also noted how living in an SEC town came with its own unique issues.
“The (one) place that I was looking at, she said that one of the stipulations was that I would have to move out every game day because she rented out the place for game days,” Knox-McConnell said. “And so that was one of the reasons why I didn’t choose that place, because it would have been a pain.”
Knox-McConnell also noted specific challenges that international graduate students face in finding housing in Oxford.
“It can be quite difficult to lock in a place because … you kind of need to get the visa before you apply for housing, but you need the housing to apply for the visa,” Knox-McConnell said. “So you’re kind of in a catch-22 situation.”
Elizabeth Van Keuren, a second-year master’s student studying integrated marketing communications from Jupiter, Fla., serves as the University of Mississippi Graduate Student Council Director of Housing.
Van Keuren explained that another common barrier for graduate students is finding a space to live that is not shared with undergraduate students.
“(Graduate students) don’t want to live with a bunch of undergrad students because … it’s very demanding for them. They don’t want to have to worry about people constantly coming in and out of their house if they are living with someone who is younger than them,” Van Keuren said. “We have a bunch of students who are okay with that, but when they’re so focused on their studies … that’s really a massive piece.”
Knox-McConnell utilized her connections with a former international student to find housing that worked for her. Knox-McConnell is at UM through a partnership with the Center for the Study of Southern Culture and the British Association for American Studies.
“I got in touch with the previous British student who was doing Southern studies, and he helped me find a place to stay,” Knox-McConnell said. “His best friend was moving out of the room that I’m now living in … which was helpful, and I was able to vet the people that I’d be living with, so it wasn’t random people.”
Van Keuren encouraged all graduate students who are struggling with housing to reach out to the Graduate Student Council.
“There is always someone there who they can come talk to. They’re never alone in a fight, or a battle with housing, or engagement or finding friends,” Van Keuren said. “And we just want them to know that we are here to foster connections and make sure (the) years they’re going to spend in Oxford are truly their most enjoyable years.”
