LEWISBURG -- Bucknell University in Lewisburg made the decision to house the majority of its students on campus. That decision meant the school needed some more space to house them.
Thursday morning, Bucknell opened its new residence halls, called the South Campus Apartments.
Close to 350 students will live in these apartments and these residence halls come with a bunch of new features. In addition to an outdoor classroom, students can download an app on their phones to see when their laundry is done without even leaving their rooms.
Lauren Miller is a senior at Bucknell University and Newswatch 16 tagged along as she saw her new on campus apartment for the first time.
"It's better than what I expected. The kitchen's huge, my room is huge, it's bright, it's a lot of nice lighting," said Miller.
Miller is one of close to 350 students who live at the brand new South Campus Apartments. Construction on the apartments took about two years and now people got their first look inside.
"The apartments were created for independent-style living so each apartment building has four individual rooms with a nice-sized kitchen and living area and a bathroom," said Dean of Students Amy Badal
In addition to the three residence halls, there is a commons building, which is meant to be used as social space for everyone on Bucknell's campus.
Bucknell University decided in 1998 that it would start moving all of its students onto campus. With these new residence halls, all but 200 students will live on campus now.
"There just is a need for student housing and quality housing, so we're really excited about these apartments being brand new, and opening them and being able to offer this as an opportunity for our students," Badal added.
University officials say there is a lottery for students to apply to live in the apartments.
"We were lucky to get number six in the lottery and live on the floor and the unit we wanted," Miller added.
Some younger students say they look forward to living here.
"As a rising sophomore, I'll most likely have the opportunity to live there later on, either my junior or my senior year so I'm really looking forward to that," said sophomore Amanda Miller.
Most students move in on August 19.
Landlords in the Lewisburg area are concerned about filling apartments that once housed students.
