More than 700 students were waitlisted for on-campus housing for the 2011-2012 year, a University official confirmed Wednesday, a comparable number to last year’s waitlist.

Director of GW Housing Programs Seth Weinshel said 720 students were placed on the housing waitlist – 30 fewer than last year.

Weinshel said he expects students will be taken off the waitlist as other students decide to go abroad or move off campus and cancel their housing assignments. Students who received housing assignments may cancel them without incurring a fee until April 4 at 5 p.m.

Freshmen and sophomores are required to live on campus because of an agreement forged with the District when the University was attempting to gain approval for its 20-year campus plan. About 100 sophomores are currently on the waitlist.

“I’m not too worried because I am guaranteed housing as a sophomore,” Tess Mulrean, a waitlisted freshman, said. “The only problem is going to be if I don’t get the roommates I want. I don’t know at this point where I am going to be living or who I am going to be living with.”

Mulrean applied with a friend for a double for next year and they were both placed on the waitlist.

“I know that we are going to be able to move up and possibly be in upperclassman housing, which is fine with me… But I know a lot of people are complaining about prices if that happens, because they weren’t anticipating paying for upperclassman housing as sophomores, and now they are forced to,” Mulrean said.

Zach McNamara, who chose to apply for gender-neutral housing, did not expect to find himself on the waitlist.

“We opted for gender-neutral housing and thought that would increase our chances of getting assigned to the residence hall we wanted, but obviously it didn’t,” McNamara, a sophomore, said.

McNamara applied to live with three other roommates, one male and two females. They listed Ivory Tower and Amsterdam residence halls as their top preferences.

“It’s probably just because so many people who end up canceling housing because they are going abroad or moving off campus register anyway,” McNamara said. “Right now it’s just an overload, but it will end up opening up.”