Apply for Housing
Barnard is dedicated to promoting an inclusive and respectful community. The College will not discriminate in room assignments or room changes on the basis of membership in a protected class, including but not limited to: race, color, religion, religious practices, creed, national or ethnic origin, age, pregnancy, disability, socioeconomic status, dietary preferences, or sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression.
Housing Application (requires log-in with Columbia UNI)
New Enrolling Students (First Years, Transfers, & Visitors): Instructions for setting up your Barnard & Columbia network login accounts will be emailed to enrolling students in late May (in late December for Spring admits). Applications are not sorted by submission date, so there is no need to worry if you have not yet received your account info to log in and submit the housing application.
Application Categories
Application Deadline:
- Friday, June 13, 2025
Both early decision & regular decision students will be emailed the link to submit the housing application in mid-to-late May (along with instructions to activate their Barnard/Columbia login accounts).
Room & Roommate Assignment information will be emailed to students by Friday, August 8, 2025.
Please refer to the Res Life Calendar for move-in dates
Application Deadlines:
- Fall: June 13, 2025
- Spring: December 18, 2025
Enrolling students will be emailed the link to submit the housing application in mid-to-late May (mid-December for the Spring), along with instructions to activate their Barnard/Columbia login accounts.
While the College always hopes to be able to provide housing to as many applicants as possible, space in campus housing is limited. Application priority is provided for new enrolling Transfers & Visiting students during their first year at Barnard if space is available. Unfortunately we cannot guarantee campus housing in advance for the first or following years.
Because housing is not guaranteed, Transfers & Visiting students are encouraged to explore options for off-campus housing. Some links to help students look for off-campus housing are available at http://barnard.edu/reslife/housing-options/off-campus.
Continuing students who started as Transfers may re-apply for housing in following years, but applications from new enrolling Transfers would be prioritized first (see "Continuing students not eligible for the Room Selection process" below). Typically continuing students who started as Transfers must find their own housing off-campus.
Please refer to the Res Life Calendar for move-in dates.
Application Deadlines:
- Fall students: June 1
- Spring students: December 1
While housing for students in the VISP program or the Spelman Exchange is guaranteed and students may request singles on their applications, most students will likely be assigned to shared multiple occupancy rooms (i.e. with roommates) based on where space is available.
Room & Roommate Assignment information will be distributed via email in early January for Fall students and in early January for Spring students.
Please refer to the Res Life Calendar for move-in dates.
Returning for Spring (i.e. abroad during the Fall)
- Application deadline: November 1
If there is a specific room/suite with a vacancy you would like to request to live in, please specify on your application. Application preferences may be edited/updated through December 1. Please note that assignment to a specific requested room cannot be guaranteed.
Assignment information is distributed via email in early January. Please refer to our calendar for move-in dates.
Returning for Fall (i.e. abroad during the Spring)
Eligible students will register to take part in the Room Selection process (which includes the Housing Lottery, pre-Lottery disability housing accommodation requests, RA pull-ins, CU Greek & Special Interest Communities, etc).
Students who did not live in campus housing before going to their Study Abroad program are not guaranteed campus housing. They may apply on the Housing Portal to be on the non-Guaranteed Wait List.
Students who take a leave of absence before or during an approved study abroad program must request to "Return from a Leave of Absence" (see below section for more information).
Application Deadlines:
- Fall: June 1
- Spring: November 1
Reminder: the deadline to submit the Request for Return form to the Dean of Studies office is also June 1 for the Fall and November 1 for the Spring.
Please submit the Housing Application even if you are still waiting for confirmation of your approved return (assignments will be held until return status is confirmed).
The College always hopes to provide housing to as many applicants as possible; however, space in campus housing is limited so assignment cannot be guaranteed when returning from Leave of Absence. Students returning from a Medical Leave will receive extra priority upon applying for housing; however, assignment is dependent upon available space and cannot be guaranteed in advance.
Assignments, pending available space, are typically made in mid-August for the Fall and early January for the Spring. Please refer to the Res Life calendar for move-in dates.
Eligible returning students take part in the Room Selection process during the Spring semester to secure housing for the following academic year.
Students who do not take part in Room Selection (or were not eligible) and wish to apply for housing should submit the online Housing Application, by no later than June 1 (or by November 1 for housing starting in the Spring), in order to be on the Non-Guaranteed Wait List (see below)
Please note that while the College always hopes to be able to assign as many applicants as possible, housing cannot be guaranteed for students who do not take part in (or were not eligible for) the Room Selection process.
- Fall application deadline: June 1 (opens in mid-March)
- Spring application deadline: November 1 (opens in mid-September)
Students who are not eligible for the Room Selection process (or who didn't participate or cancelled their housing) may submit a housing application to be on the non-Guaranteed Wait List.
Because space in campus housing is very limited, non-guaranteed applicants should explore options for off-campus housing in the event assignment is not possible. Some links to help students start their search are available at http://barnard.edu/reslife/housing-options/off-campus.
Non-guaranteed applicants will be emailed in early August to let them know if space is available for them to live in campus housing (in late December for Spring applicants). Please refer to our calendar for move-in dates.