Yeshiva University Adds Housing Options on Beren as Enrollment Grows and Space Shrinks

Yeshiva University opened two new housing units for undergraduate students on Beren Campus this semester as rising enrollment has left less space on campus.

The ten fully-furnished apartments, located in apartment buildings on Third Ave. near Beren Campus, were rented by YU to house many of the over 90 new students who moved in.

Beren Campus’s new class of students is among its largest ever for the Spring semester, with many ranks swelling due to students returning from Shana Bet and transfer students from other campuses. While Yeshiva University declined to inform The Commentator the full breakdown, Director of Admissions Marc Zharnest told The Commentator in mid-November that admissions for the Spring were up over 65% across the undergraduate schools, likely as a result of rising antisemitism across college campuses.

Even before Hamas’ attack on Israel, admission had been rising among the undergraduate schools, and Stern College for Women had its largest incoming freshman class this year, slightly outperforming 2022 numbers, according to data released by YU’s Office of Institutional Research and Assessment. With rising enrollment, space on campus, including in the dormitories, has decreased.

The Office of Residence Life looked into multiple housing options before choosing the two apartment buildings on Third Ave. based on proximity to the rest of campus, the ability to house students near each other and YU’s ability to work with the buildings’ management, according to Director of Residence Life Avi Feder.

Each of the ten apartments houses three to five students, is fully furnished, and contains a full kitchen that was kashered under the supervision of Dining Services and mashigichim working for the Orthodox Union. The buildings have a graduate assistant (GA), are protected by YU security and have YU wifi, whose final installation is being completed this weekend. 

“We’re excited to be able to create a comfortable and enriching residence life experience for each of our students across all of our buildings,” Feder told The Commentator, “and we look forward to a great Spring 2024 semester!”

Unlike Wilf Campus, which only has three dormitories in close proximity to one another and academic buildings, Beren housing, located in six buildings in addition to the two new ones, are more spread out across the span of several blocks in Midtown.

Most new students on Wilf Campus are being housed in Muss Hall. While the incoming class on Wilf is larger than in past years, the numbers are lower than on Beren, owing to a larger number of male students who complete Shana Bet and the Post Pesach program aimed at male students.

The Commentator has excluded the exact locations of the apartments out of concern for the well-being of students in the buildings.

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Photo caption: Students moving into Brookdale Hall on Beren Campus in 2016 

Photo Credit: Yeshiva University