Thousands of students without housing guarantee at San Jose State University

SAN JOSE, Calif. (KGO) -- It's no secret San Jose State has become a very popular choice for students in recent years. But hundreds of incoming students have just been told the university might not have any space to house them. Now, with just two months to go before the start of the school year, many are scrambling to find housing close to campus.

On Tuesday nearly 1,400 students, half of them freshmen, were notified about being placed on a waiting list for housing.

A mother from Solano County says her daughter made SJSU her top choice' not ever thinking that the university wouldn't have space to accommodate her.

"It's frustrating as a parent to see my daughter going through all the motions of not having the college experience that she has been looking forward to, since being a young girl," the mother told ABC7 News.

SJSU typically requires freshmen coming from outside of a 30-mile radius of San Jose to live on campus but that requirement will now be waived for those who aren't placed in a dorm.

University officials say it's rare for them to have to turn away students who want to live on campus, but they expect more than 5,000 freshmen to attend this fall, which is 25-percent more than they had originally planned for.

"Students are tremendously interested in being here, we try to accommodate all we can, but it is challenging to keep up, we'll do our best, but it is a challenge," said Pat Lopes Harris, a spokesperson for SJSU.

Incoming grad student Jess Sayo was surprised about getting 'waitlisted' for housing he applied in February months before the priority deadline.

"It gives me a little less than two months to try and find a place to live, which is certainly doable, but it definitely kind of puts the clock on," said Sayo.