What is Room Selection?
Room Selection is when eligible undergraduate students declare their housing intent for the following academic year and select their room. The process takes place online in the Housing Portal.
All students must declare their housing intent, whether they plan to select their own room, study abroad, take a leave, move off-campus, or are part of a pre-assigned population.
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Incoming First-Year students (Class of 2031) do not participate in Room Selection and are instead assigned to one of our First-Year residence halls.
What You Need to Do: Room Selection in Six Steps
All students must complete step 1: declare your housing intent.
Students who are pre-assigned to a room do not need to complete steps 2-5.
Students who do not declare their Housing Intent will lose guaranteed housing status and will not be eligible for future Room Selections.
All Eligible Students are Required to Declare Their Intent
Whether you plan to study abroad, take a leave, move off-campus, are part of a pre-assigned population, or plan to select your own room, you must declare your housing plans for the upcoming academic year.
This applies to students who have guaranteed housing status for the upcoming year and are eligible for Room Selection. Students should review the eligibility requirements to confirm their status.
Pre-Assigned Student Housing Declaration, February 19-20
Pre-Assigned students include students who live in Special Interest Communities (SICs) or in Fraternity and Sorority Life (FSL) Housing; students with a registered disability accommodation or who are DS Riders; and students who are RAs or RA Riders.
Pre-Assigned students must declare their intent to live on campus during the Pre-Assigned period to maintain their guaranteed housing. However, they will not form groups and will not select a room.
General Housing Declaration / Room Selection Registration, February 23 - March 6
All remaining students must declare their intent, whether they plan to:
- Move off-campus
- Study abroad
- Take a leave of absence, or
- Live on-campus and participate in Room Selection
After student declare their intent, they will have the opportunity to form a group in the Housing Portal.
Students who plan to select their own room will be assigned a point value based on their class standing. The point value is used to determine their lottery number and appointment time. Students with higher point values (i.e., rising seniors) select earlier in the process.
Learn more about how point values impact the selection process.
Join an Even-Numbered Group for the Most Options
Even-numbered groups offer the most flexibility during Room Selection, as they can divide among corridor-style singles or doubles. We encourage all students, especially rising sophomores and juniors, to participate as part of an even-numbered group.
If you want to live in a suite or apartment-style building, you must be part of a group.
Learn more about open housing, selection for groups, and how to optimize your group size.
Participating as an Individual
Individuals have limited options as they can only select into corridor-style singles or studio/one-bedroom apartments. If these rooms are no longer available during your appointment time, you will not be able to choose a room and will be placed on the Guaranteed Assignment List.
Learn more about selection for individuals.
Explore Your Res Hall Options
Filter the Residence Hall Directory to show options specific to you and your group. Filters can be applied individually or stacked to narrow search results.
- Filter by "Typical Residents" to see building options based on building population. This information is based on Room Selection data and varies year-to-year.
- Filter by "Room/Suite Capacity" to see building options based on your group size.
Filter by "Housing Style" to see building options based on layout: apartment-style, corridor-style, or suite-style*.
*Carlton Arms and 600 W. 113th St. are the only suite-style buildings. Due to the large size of the suites, groups do not need to fill completely fill the suite; however, groups must fill individual rooms with no empty beds.
Use Room Selection Resources
Links to the following resources will be shared vie email and will be posted here.
- The Room Selection Demo, available after registration closes: practice navigating the Portal and selecting a room.
- The Room Selection Live Viewer, available before appointments start: see which rooms have been selected and which are still available.
- The Room Selection Lottery Number, Group Size & Appointment Time List, available before appointments start: see how many groups and individuals have appointments before you.
Make a Selection Plan
Below is an example of a Room Selection plan. Depending on your lottery number, group size, and preferences, you may want to identify more choices.
- Identify your top 3 buildings. Consider identifying specific rooms or floors depending on your preferences.
- Identify 2 backup buildings. Consider having more backup options if your appointment is later in the process.
- Agree on room-sharing arrangements
- Decide who will get singles vs doubles if a limited number of singles are available
- Confirm your group leader is available for your appointment
For Groups:
- The group will receive one appointment time.
- During the appointment, the Group Leader will log into the Housing Portal and make selections for each member of the group.
- The Group Leader is the only member of the group who can select and assign rooms.
- Room assignments cannot be submitted unless all members of the group have been assigned to a bed.
For Individuals:
During the appointment, the student will log into the Housing Portal to choose a room.
After room selections have been made, every student must sign their Occupancy Agreement. Your assignment is not finalized until you and all members of your group have signed.