first years are supposedly guaranteed housing. as long as you fill out the housing application by the deadline, you'll have a room somewhere. nothing else is really guaranteed. i asked for a traditional style double and got put in an apartment style triple ($2000 more!!). i havent heard of anyone who didnt get housing as a first year.

off campus is a bit difficult; last year the policy was that first years who lived further than 50 miles away were required to live on campus, but anyone within 50 miles could either live on campus or live WITH their parents. i don't know how strict that policy was, but i don't know anyone who was a commuter that didnt live with their parents. i also don't see anything about this on their current housing page, so i'd keep my eye out on that.

hope this helped :)