I'm an incoming student at the University of Washington, and am in a class with far more freshmen than the college can provide housing for. I applied for housing on the first day the application opened up, but due to the lottery system, I still haven't received a dorm assignment. Instead, I have received an email telling me there's a possibility I'll be placed in temporary housing until a permanent dorm room opens up. Furthermore, because I signed the housing contract, I am expected to pay the $500 cancellation fee. As a student who is trying to get through school with as minimal debt as possible, dropping $500 on something like this feels very unreasonable to me.

There are also quite a few problems with the temporary housing accommodations. It's quite a fire hazard, with beds being placed in the attic of an old building. Additionally, students have a single locker to store their possessions in until they move into their permanent dorm. Here's a link to UW's description and images of temporary housing: https://www.hfs.washington.edu/housing/rh/temporary.aspx#gsc.tab=0

I could wait even longer to cancel my housing application in hopes I'll be assigned an actual room, but starting September 1st, the cancellation fee increases by $15 every day. I'd like to start the school year on a positive note, not surrounded by chaos and uncertainty. I've started looking at apartments near the college, because that's an option I'll actually be able to depend upon. 

I completely understand the university's reasoning behind having cancellation fees. It protects their housing department from needing to deal with a flood of last minute dorm room cancellations. However, when the lack of acceptable housing stems from their end, I believe they should be more sympathetic towards a college student's reality. 

Though I understand I am liable to pay the $500 cancellation fee, I think the university should seriously reconsider this rule. College in America is already so expensive, why tack on hefty fees like this?