Students wait in long lines at the Carmichael Student Center Restaurants. August 27th, 2025. Image Credit: Tye Brown/The Sentinel
The 2025 academic year introduced 10,000 incoming freshmen students. This is a record high number for KSU’s institution since its establishment in 1963.
Today, Kennesaw State University ranks as the third largest university in Georgia, with over 48,000 students and a growing need for parking, housing and space.
KSU deserves its praise for continuing to grow and gradually expanding the campus’ resources. However, this has presented problems, as the institution accepted 10,000 new students for the new academic year without enough resources to accommodate them.
KSU should be built to house as many students as it receives, but, unfortunately, this isn’t the case.
KSU houses over 5,200 students across both of its campuses, and the institution is set to add 462 new beds to the Summit 2, its new freshman residence hall. This brings the total number of beds on both campuses to over 6,300 according to a 95.5 WSB Facebook post.
Still, this is not nearly enough for students who are actively seeking housing.
According to the U.S. News and World Report, 86% of KSU’s population are commuters. Many students are forced to travel over an hour every day or settle for off-campus apartments due to being waitlisted on the campus housing registry.
To no one’s surprise, spaces like libraries, cafeterias and study halls have become overcrowded with students. In previous years, the student center had been packed with students waiting in long lines for their food. This year, however, it’s been difficult to know where the lines even start and end.
Parking decks and lots are also extremely full, making it nearly impossible for students to find a place to park. During the first week alone, there were lines of cars waiting to get parking in the decks, and many students were tardy to class.
Additionally, in certain classrooms, there are students over the capacity limit. In one trending video on TikTok, a student recorded herself seated on the floor, alongside others, in an auditorium room full of students.
KSU’s efforts to educate a growing student population don’t go unnoticed. However, when that growth becomes excessive because of limited spaces and resources for students and faculty, something must change.
Housing an overcrowded population of students is not only unsafe, but also unsanitary and dangerous.
People are being crammed into tight spaces and lines. Buildings are housing people over its capacity. Students travel miles to school only to not get parking.
As it continues to evolve, the university needs to expand its parking lots, housing and other spaces, like classrooms and study halls. The students deserve a safe, uncrowded environment to learn.
