Room draw is right around the corner, and if you are anything like me, you are already thinking about housing options for next year. Getting off campus at Gustavus as an underclassman is a lot like spotting a blue unicorn, and some dorms leave a lot to be desired. However, there is an alternative.
Gustavus owns five houses on South Seventh Street that students are allowed to live in. These are called intentional learning and service houses, or ILS houses for short. In order to live in one of these houses, you and 3-5 roommates need to come up with a service project to give back to the Gustavus and/or St. Peter community each month. In return for hosting these nine events throughout the school year, you are provided with some pretty great ILS house perks. Below are my top ten favorite things about living in an ILS house.
1. You are in a house off campus.
2. There is a full kitchen in each house, which means you can make your own food, and save big on meal plans.
3. ILS houses come with their own unique form of privacy. While you still have an area coordinator, you don’t have a CF.
4. NO SHOWER SHOES NECESSARY. Each ILS house has 1-2 full bathrooms, and some even have bathtubs.
5. You get to plan awesome events that people (sometimes) come to.
6. There is a strong possibility you will have your own bedroom.
7. There is driveway parking for four of the five houses, and street parking is only $15 for the entire year. This means GUARANTEED PARKING in front of your house every night.
8. THERE ARE NO QUIET HOURS.
9. Every single ILS house comes with its own washer and dryer, significantly decreasing laundry room wait times.
10. You get to spend the entire year living a project you love.
Applications are live and can be found on the Gustavus website. Your project plan is due March 8th. If you have any questions, I am sure any ILS house would be willing to help you out or give a short tour. This is a great housing opportunity to consider as room draw approaches, no matter what year you are.