Room Changes

First Year Students

The Director for the First Year Focus makes room changes for first-year students on a case-by-case basis only.  Any students with roommate concerns will first participate in a roommate discussion/negotiation during which time the roommate contract will be evaluated and adjusted as needed.  Vacant spaces within rooms will be assigned to students needing room changes, using a student’s Housing Applications to help match new roommates.

For more information, please talk to your RA or contact Courtney Bazan Colvin, Director for the First Year Focus.

Upperclass Students

Sophomores, Juniors, and Seniors may request a room change in the Fall (mid-September), for the Spring semester (early December), or in the Spring (late January).  Rising-Seniors only may request a room change over the summer after the Room Selection process. 

Room changes at any other point in the academic year are rarely granted and require that a student has demonstrated an attempt to mediate any roommate/suitemate conflicts.  Any room changes that are not approved by Residential Life & Housing are a violation of policy and the responsible student(s) will be required to return to their previous room and will be subject to conduct sanctions and monetary fines.

Students vacating the residence halls at the end of the Fall semester are expected to accommodate any student who may be moving into their space for the Spring semester.  Students making a December room change will be required to move their belongings prior to departure for Winter Break and to coordinate the move with the Fall semester occupant of the room.

Columbia students in residence at Barnard are guided by the room change policies and procedures of Columbia University.  Barnard students in residence at Columbia are guided by the policies and procedures of Barnard College.

Please note that room change requests & preferences based upon race, ethnicity, religion, religious practices, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, physical characteristic, or national origin cannot be accommodated.

Students who have a vacancy in their room / suite may submit a Roommate / Suitemate Request Form during the Room Change Request periods, mutually requesting a specific friend to move into the vacancy. Please note that the submission of a Roommate / Suitemate Request Form does not guarantee that the requested student will be given the vacancy as a room change.

Frequently Asked Questions

What can I do to improve my chances of getting a room change?

The more flexible the criteria you specify on your Room Change Request form (indicating what types/locations of rooms you’d be willing to switch to), the more likely a room change may be possible.  However, you should only specify room types & residence halls you would be willing to live in because all granted room changes must be completed.

What if there is a vacancy in my room/suite or my roommate/suitemate gets a room change?

You will more than likely be assigned a roommate/suitemate.  If you know someone specific who is interested in moving into that vacant space and submits a Room Change Request form requesting so, you should submit a Roommate/Suitemate Request form no later than the deadline for the Room Change Request forms.  The names and signatures of all roommates / suitemates must be on the form.  No late forms will be accepted. Also, please note that the granting of a room change is not guaranteed, so your roommate / suitemate may not receive a room change.

If a space remains open in your room after the Room Change Request process, you must continue to keep this space open and ready for occupancy at any time. Vacancies may be used later in the semester for emergency room changes.

Can you give me a list of empty rooms to pick from?

Unfortunately, we cannot provide a list of empty rooms.  There are few vacant rooms at any time.  Room changes are more of a game of "musical chairs," where one student receiving a room change creates a vacancy which may be assigned to another student requesting a room change.  It is impossible to predict which rooms may be available for room changes until all the requests forms have been submitted and reviewed.

Can I request to buy out my double room as a single?

Due to the increase in Spring semester enrollment, it is no longer possible to request to buy out a double room as a single.  On rare occasions, Residential Life & Housing may give a student a room change to an empty double as a single (at the single room rate), if there are no competing room change requests to fill that room; however, it is not possible to specifically request this.