Marquette apartments are in high demand. So high, in fact, that approximately 270 sophomores and juniors who were planning to secure on-campus housing will have to begin searching for off-campus housing and apartments for the 2005-'06 year.

For current residents of apartments, housing registration began Nov. 8, said Stacie Dooley, assistant dean for University Apartments and Off-Campus Student Services.

Registration for sophomores and juniors signing up for apartments for the first time began Monday, she said.

Students were given sign-up times, beginning at 8 a.m. Monday and ending Wednesday evening, Dooley said.

By 12:15 p.m. Monday, all on-campus apartments were filled, leaving 270 students without on-campus apartments, Dooley said.

"The apartments normally fill up this quickly each year," she said, "There are more demands for the apartments than we have a supply of."

Dooley said both students and parents are satisfied with the on-campus apartments, making them highly popular.

This year, approximately 1,000 students submitted the $200 deposits for on-campus housing, she said.

The apartments can accommodate up to 1,200 students, Dooley said, but students are not required to fill the apartments completely.

"We do require at least one person to be in each bedroom, " she said. "But some of the bedrooms can fill more than two people."

Maggie Ulbert, a sophomore in the College of Arts & Sciences, was signed up to register Monday, but the apartments were already filled when it was time for her to register.

"I was very angry because they should have told me earlier, so I would have had the chance to get a different apartment," she said.

Colleen Caron, a College of Arts & Sciences sophomore, was also frustrated by the process and must make other arrangements with her roommates.

"We're just trying to look around and find things that aren't already taken," she said.

Dooley said students who weren't able to secure apartments have several options, including remaining on the waiting list, she said.

"The longer a student stays on the waiting list, the greater their chances are of getting an apartment," she said, because some students will end up taking their names off the list.

Students can sign up to be on the waiting list for a campus apartment until 11 p.m. today.

Students who choose not to remain on the waiting list can receive a full refund on their deposits, she said. In addition, University Apartments and Off-Campus Student Services can assist them in finding off-campus housing.

For the most part, students living in an apartment or house off-campus are satisfied with their housing arrangements, she said.

"We haven't gotten too many complaints, and I take that to be a good sign," she said.

Dooley said Marquette does not endorse off-campus housing and therefore could not name any apartments. However, students looking for off-campus housing should visit the office, where they will be given suggestions.