[Sciencewoman]

The current norm seems to be signing in the fall...dorms are trying to fill their beds, sororities are trying to fill, apartments are trying to fill. Part of the reason recruitment numbers are declining is due to fewer graduating HS students and fewer potential members/residents. On my campus, the dorms and apartments start offering bonuses to students as early as September...and we have no choice but to have our housing contracts ready to go on Bid Day. The local apartments at my daughter's campus were doing this, too.

One of my sorority sisters is a provost, and she told me that the projected number of Michigan HS seniors in 2026 is 15% lower than it was in 2016. That means empty beds that everyone will want to securely fill for the next year as soon as they can.