Today is move in day at USF and nearly 1,000 students will be moving into brand new dorms.

  • Today is move in day for USF students
  • Nearly 1,000 students will move into new dorms
  • New dorms a part of "The Village"
  • "The Village" to offer residence halls, dining halls, fitness center

School officials said “The Village” is another tool that makes USF even more competitive when attracting students.

It’s not often that you hear students describing their dorm room as “incredible,” but freshman Sara McKevitt said hers really is.

“Everything is brand new, it looks like a brand new hotel. Everything is perfect. On each floor we have a really nice common area, huge TV’s, kitchen, everything,” McKevitt said.

McKevitt is one of the first students to call Beacon Hall home. It’s one of two brand new residential buildings on the campus at USF in Tampa.

Ana Hernandez, the Assistant Vice President of Housing and Residential Education, said the new buildings are part of “The Village.”

“What we’re having open in the first phase are two residential buildings, Beacon Hall, which has 378 residence, and Summit Hall, which has 499 residence. A brand new dining facility called the Hub and in October we’ll have the Fit, which is a brand new campus recreation wellness facility," Hernandez said.

“The Village” is the largest student housing complex ever approved by the Florida Board of Governors, and next school year, three more residence halls will open, bringing the total number of students living in The Village to nearly 2000.

Hernandez said creating that robust on-campus life is a top priority for the school.

“We know that students who live on campus are more successful academically, they stay and persist at the university at a higher rate and they graduate at a higher rate, so supporting student success all the way,” Hernandez said.

More than 3,000 students will be moving into the 36 residence halls across the campus at USF today.

The rest of the week is known as “WOW” – Week of Welcome – and the university has all sorts of activities planned for students to get to know each other and the campus.

Right now, the University of South Florida has about 42,000 students at its Tampa campus and about 5,500 beds.

Once The Village is complete, it will increase the student housing capacity to about 6,500 beds.