Amanda Dearing’s home away from home at USF St. Pete is the new Osprey Suites. A sophomore finance major, this is her second year living on campus and she says she loves it.

“Now that I’m here, I never leave my dorm without seeing somebody I know,” she said. “It’s so nice. It’s like a nice community here.”

She is among the record number of 900 students living on campus this semester at USF St. Pete. She says she can tell the difference.

“In our dining hall, The Nest, there’s like a huge influx of people in there,” she said. “Like normal rush hour eating times, lunch 12:30, breakfast around 8:30 - 9:00, there’s so many people in there compared to when it would be a little more barren before.”

About 6,500 students are moving into residence halls at USF this year. For more than a decade, university officials have been focusing on adding more residential housing on both the St. Pete and Tampa campuses. They say more on campus housing is beneficial to students.

“Studies show that students who live on campus are better academically,” said University Assistant Vice President for Housing and Education Ana Hernandez. “That they graduate in a shorter period of time and they are more engaged with the campus culture. Those are all the benefits that we offer here at USF.”

Other students also see some social benefits to more students on campus as well.

“Now that we have a lot more students back on campus. I’m really looking forward to being able to connect with a lot of them,” Political Science Sophomore Laura Shaw told Spectrum News. “A bigger student population on campus means that more students will be represented by the Student Government.”

As for Amanda, she’s just ready to make this year the best year so far on campus.

“I’ve got my little planner. I’ve also got my little journal. My planner, I write my little due dates,” she said. “In my journal, I write what I’m going to do every day, just staying organized. Maintaining my relationships with my friends. It’s really exciting.”