They say three's a crowd, and some Texas Tech students will have to live with it.

Tech is packing three students into what used to be two-person rooms in the Horn, Knapp and Sneed residence halls and on the first floor of Bledsoe Hall for the fall semester.

Sean Duggan, managing director of university student housing, said Tech adopted the new policy because of the university's growing enrollment. Tech is projecting record enrollment for the fall.

"We know that it's a surprise to people. We know that it's not what they had imagined at first," Duggan said. "We're doing something right, and Texas Tech is really booming.

"This really is a great problem to have," he added.

Some disagree.

Caitlin Ferris, an incoming freshman, dropped her room reservation in Horn Hall after she learned she'd be sharing the room with two other women.

"At first, I thought about not switching, but then I just thought about three girls trying to share two closets and everything," she said.

Ferris had already contacted her future roommate and made plans for a double room when she received an email from Tech notifying her of the change. She is now slated to live in the Wall/Gates Complex with a different roommate.

"I was actually kind of mad because I was super excited to be in (Horn)," she said. "I got a random roommate, but I had already gotten to know her and all that, and I was excited to room with her."

In September, Tech announced it had broken enrollment records for the fifth straight year, with 33,111 students. At a May meeting of the university's Board of Regents, Tech President Duane Nellis said enrollment for the fall is expected to reach record levels again.

Duggan said the number of students living on campus has grown about 16 percent in the last year.

The high volume of students puts pressure on the residence halls to free up space for incoming students. Duggan said the three-to-a-room policy will add an extra 500 beds to campus housing, bringing the total to about 7,900.

Tech sent out an email in early June informing students reserving rooms in the affected halls they would have a third roommate. The cost of a three-person dorm is $3,515, $1,000 cheaper than that of a double room, the email stated.

"We've had people call and request these spaces because it's so much more affordable," Duggan said.

In the email, Tech housing staffers said they expect many students to request a room change, and they have set up online forms to speed the process along. Ferris said she is the only one of her friends living in Horn to have switched rooms so far.

The three-person rooms, about 262 square feet, will feature two bunk beds and one loft bed. Each student in a triple room will have a desk and dresser, although the rooms are equipped with only two closets.

blake.ursch@lubbockonline.com

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