There is not enough room in the University of Otago’s 14 residential colleges for the number of students who want to stay there next year.
But University of Otago campus and collegiate life services director James Lindsay said the waiting list of about 450 students for the 3400 beds among all of the residential colleges was "entirely normal".
As in recent years, the university had a waiting list of students yet to receive offers of a college place, Mr Lindsay said.
Students on the waiting list were those who were not offered a place in a first round of applications, and those who had applied after the September 30 cut-off for consideration in that round.
"Obviously not all students who receive offers of college places accept them," Mr Lindsay said.
"Some will be applying to more than one university at this stage, and will ultimately have to choose one.
"Others may change their plans around tertiary study for other reasons.
"So, as we receive declines, students currently on the waitlist are receiving offers."
The process of offers being made, acceptances and declines received, and movement off the waiting list would be ongoing from now through to the start of the 2021 academic year, he said.
The university declined to say how many students were on the waiting list at the corresponding time last year and how many students missed out on a place in a residence last year, citing commercial sensitivity.
