Va. Tech Offering Dorm Buyouts

A limited amount of on-campus housing is often a problem at big colleges and universities, but at Virginia Tech it's gotten to the point where the school is offering "buyouts" to lure some students out of the dorms.

Virginia Tech officials said the residence halls are currently overbooked for the upcoming fall semester.

Enrollment is on target, but officials said there was an unusually low cancellation rate for housing contracts. They said there was also a substantial growth in the school's Corps of Cadets and an increase of local students choosing to live on campus instead of commute from home.

Now the school is offering an incentive to the first 200 eligible students to cancel their housing contracts for this school year. Those students would have all of their deposits fully refunded, and they will be guaranteed suite-style housing and early preference for housing in the 2012-2013 school year.

Each of the students who opt out of on-campus housing this year will also get $300 in dining dollars, which can be used at any of the on-campus facilities.

Students involved in the Corps of Cadets and those assigned to Oak Lane Greek Housing are not eligible for the program.