Living with Barnard Students

Below are the rules & guidelines for CC/SEAS & Barnard students who would like to live together in either Barnard Housing or Columbia Housing.

Updates for Room Selection 25-26

Barnard Spaces in Sorority and SIC Exchange Must Be Filled

25 bed spaces across Columbia sorority and SIC housing are allocated to Barnard students every year to promote community and provide the opportunity to live at Columbia with friends. In exchange, 25 Columbia students can live at Barnard alongside their friends. In recent years, the SIC/FSL exchange of 25 has not been filled. 

In addition to the FSL/SIC exchange, rising Barnard seniors have also had the opportunity to enter Columbia’s general Room Selection if more than 25 Columbia students want to live at Barnard. In previous years, this has been fewer than 10 students.  

For Room Selection 2025-26, the 25 bed spaces in sorority and SIC housing remain guaranteed for Barnard students, as does the opportunity for entering Columbia’s Room Selection. However, the 25 sorority and SIC spaces must be filled in order for rising Barnard seniors to enter Columbia’s general Room Selection. 

More Resources

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Columbia Groups with Barnard Students in General Room Selection Will Be Placed on Guaranteed Assignment List Due to Late Barnard Housing Timeline 

Due to the Barnard Housing calendar and timeline, Columbia Housing cannot predict an exchange number beyond the 25 in sororities and SICs until Barnard Room Selection concludes on Friday, April 18. 

This means that Columbia students grouped with Barnard members will not be able to enter Columbia’s Room Selection until the final week of Columbia's Room Selection process. At that point in time, inventory will be limited and it is likely that groups will not be able to select a room. These groups will be placed on the Guaranteed Assignment List.  

Columbia Housing will prioritize those seniors by their original lottery numbers to assign them into the best available rooms. To facilitate assignment from the Guaranteed Assignment List, groups with rising Barnard seniors can consist of no more than two students: one Columbia student and one rising Barnard senior. 

For Room Selection 2025-26, the 25 bed spaces in sorority and SIC housing remain guaranteed for Barnard students, as does the opportunity for entering Columbia’s Room Selection. However, the 25 sorority and SIC spaces must be filled in order for rising Barnard seniors to enter Columbia’s general Room Selection. 

An additional cap is set on the number of rooms exchanged with Barnard, equal to the number of Columbia students who register for Barnard's Room Selection. Due to Barnard's late Room Selection calendar, the cap cannot be determined until the final week of Columbia's Room Selection when inventory is limited.

Columbia Room Selection groups with Barnard students will be placed on the Guaranteed Assignment List.

  • Only rising Barnard seniors are eligible. New for 25-26: Barnard seniors will receive a 35-point value. The 35-point value for rising Barnard seniors falls between the point value assigned to rising Columbia seniors (40) and rising Columbia juniors (30). This results in the following:

    • Groups that only have rising Columbia seniors maintain highest priority.
    • Groups that have both rising Columbia seniors and rising Barnard seniors maintain higher priority than rising Columbia juniors.

  • New for Room Selection 25-26: Groups with rising Barnard seniors are limited to two students, one rising Barnard senior and one rising Columbia senior, to facilitate assignment from the Guaranteed Assignment List.

  • Barnard students are not eligible to be Group Leaders.   

  • Barnard students cannot live in single corridor-style housing. 

  • Barnard students are not eligible to be RA Riders or Disability Riders. 

  • Barnard students who register as part of a group for Columbia Room Selection must also register for BC Room Selection; otherwise they will not be eligible to take part in CU Room Selection. 

CC or SEAS students who are eligible to participate in CU Room Selection may register for Barnard's Room Selection as part of a group. 

To participate in BC Room Selection, Columbia students must:

  1. Email [email protected] to request access to the Barnard Housing Portal so they may complete registration before the Barnard registration deadline.

  2. Register for Columbia Room Selection and select "Individual - Living at Barnard" as the option to the “declaration status” step of registration.  

Requirements for groups with CC/SEAS students who are participating in Barnard's Room Selection

  • Groups must be comprised of at least 50% Barnard students
  • Groups must select into a suite. Columbia students are not eligible to select into corridor-style Barnard housing.
  • Groups must select into Plimpton Hall, 601 W 110 Street, 537 W 121 Street, 600, 616 & 620 W 116 Street, or Cathedral Gardens.

Groups with CC/SEAS students may select into co-ed suites regardless of sex, gender, or gender expression, as part of the Open Housing program. Co-ed groups will be required to sign the BC Open Housing Agreement/Contract; see the Open Housing section of Barnard's Room Selection Guide for more information. 

Because of the limited number of suites matching each group size, CC/SEAS students may not be able to select into suites with their BC group. In the case where a CC/SEAS student is not able to select at BC, they will need to contact Columbia Housing immediately so that they can be assigned an appointment time according to their class standing and select as an individual in Columbia’s Room Selection.

View Barnard's Room Selection page for more information about the Barnard Room Selection process.