Howard University is anticipating a larger-than-average freshman class—about 2,300 students, compared with 1,834 in the fall of 2019. This increase was manageable when learning was remote, but with students returning, there will be a shortage of on-campus housing. The university gives first- and second-year students priority for housing, leaving many upperclassmen scrambling to find housing in a city where the average one-bedroom costs more than $2,000 a month. Howard has tried to help by securing additional beds at apartments off campus. “One of the hard parts of being an HBCU is when you’re under-resourced for such a long period of time, trying to catch up with your infrastructure needs is a difficult and timely thing,” said Frank Tramble, a Howard spokesman.