Spring 2021 Housing FAQs

Students must select a Check-In Date & Time Slot on the Housing Portal. 

Due to the need for students to complete an entry COVID-19 test before moving into their room, students will only be able to move into campus housing during the available Check-In Time Slots.

The Time Slots available for students to select from will depend on their assigned residence hall (in order to facilitate social distancing and the arrival quarantine block for their res hall), so students should not make travel arrangements until after they have selected their Check-In Time Slot.

• 600, 616, Quad -- January 16-19
• Plimpton -- January 18-21
• 620, 121st Street -- January 20-23

When you arrive on campus, you will need to go first to Barnard Hall (before going to your residence hall). Please see the flowchart below:

1. Enter campus at the Main Gate (Broadway and 117th Street). If traveling to campus by your own car, please wait to unload your belongings at your residence hall after checking in.
   
   Proper face coverings are required on campus and in the residence halls at all times.
   
   Only students may enter campus (anyone traveling with you will need to stay outside the gates). Students must wear face coverings and social distance while in line.
   
   Students will need to swipe their Student ID card at the Main Gate.
   
   Updated by Pandemic Response Team 1/15 -- You will not utilize CoVerified until your arrival quarantine ends.  To access campus you will need to show the “green screen” produced by this health screener. (best is to take a screenshot). If you accidentally produce a "red screen", please email covidtesting@barnard.edu to inform us that it was a mistake. If today you don't feel well or you must truthfully answer yes to any of the questions, you must report that via this form and stay away from campus until a PRT member connects with you for next steps. 
   
   If you have lost your Student ID, you will need to get a replacement ID card at the Columbia ID Center (https://ssc.columbia.edu/replace-id-card), which will be open M-F 9am-12noon.  If you are arriving outside those times, you will need to get a replacement ID card *after* completing the arrival quarantine period (and carry another photo ID with you in the interim).
    
2. Students will enter Barnard Hall from the North side (closest to the Milstein Center. Students who need an accessible entrance should enter through the ramp on the South side (closest to the Quad) and then traverse to the north end of the first floor to join the line.
    
3. Students will first complete the entry COVID-19 test. There is no need to schedule the test (it is automatically provided as part of students’ Check In Time Slot).
    
4. After the COVID-19 test, students will show their Check In Barcode from their email (either print out or on their phone) in order to receive their room keys. If you cannot find the email, the Barcode is also available on front page of the Housing Portal after logging in.
    
5. Students will exit through the South side of Barnard Hall. 
    
6. Students must proceed directly to their residence hall to move in and start the arrival quarantine period. Students may not leave campus to go shopping, out to eat, etc.

Check In Barcodes were emailed to students on Jan 12 in an email titled "Check In Barcode and other important information."

If you cannot find the email, the Barcode is also available on the front page of the Housing Portal after logging in.

For information relevant to students living in campus housing for the first-time, please visit https://barnard.edu/reslife/new-students.

The ID Center will be open Mondays-Fridays from 9am-12noon for students to purchase a replacement Student ID. Please see https://ssc.columbia.edu/replace-id-card for more information.

For students who are not able to obtain a replacement Student ID before their Check-In Time Slot, please make sure that you have another form of Photo ID to show when checking in and moving into your room. You will need to obtain a replacement Student ID after your finish your arrival quarantine period.

Please visit the Barnard Arrival FAQ.

A limited number of carts (& sanitizing wipes) will be available in each residence hall.  Students are encouraged to bring their own cart or hand truck if possible.

To minimize potential exposure, guests will not be allowed to enter the residence halls. This includes family, friends, and other students..

Students are encouraged to pack as lightly as possible (see below for more information). Carts will be available, but students are encouraged to bring their own cart or hand truck if possible.

This includes when students are moving into the residence halls. Friends and family can help you unload your belongings and/or bring them to the entrance of the building, but no one other than students assigned to the building will be permitted to enter each residence hall.

Students who may need a disability accommodation as part of the move-in process should contact CARDS@barnard.edu to submit a request.

Students are encouraged to pack lightly (what you can reasonably pack and carry home in a single trip) and bring only what you need for the semester. We recommend no more than two suitcases. Students will need to move themselves into their residence hall (family/friends will not be able to enter).

We encourage you to remember that you will need to bring far less than you imagine. Items you may need later can be bought locally, ordered online, or sent from home. Make this your move-in motto: “When in doubt, leave it out.”

Students should consider that circumstances may require a move to Isolation housing or a move out from housing with little or no advance notice.

For more information, check out What to Bring (and What to Leave at Home).

All mail & packages must be addressed to a student's mailbox in the Student Mail Center. For more information (including how to find out your box number and mailbox combination), please visit barnard.edu/reslife/services/mail-and-packages. Mail/packages will be returned to sender if addressed to a students room or residence hall.

Note:Students will not be able to access the Student Mail Room until after completing their required arrival quarantine period.

The Pandemic Response team will deliver regular mail to students during the Arrival Quarantine period, but packages will be held in the Mail Room until after students finish their quarantine. Only packages containing textbooks and medications will be delivered to students during quarantine.

Students who have items in storage should arrange for delivery after their quarantine is over or retrieve those items prior to coming to campus for move-in.

All students in residence (regardless of class year) will be required to move out of the residence halls within 24 hours of their last scheduled final exam and by no later than 10am on Saturday, April 24, 2021. 

A potential later check-out deadline for graduating seniors may be decided at a later date taking into consideration the finalized plans for this year’s Commencement.

For a list of what your room will contain and what is recommended for you to bring, please visit https://barnard.edu/reslife/new-students/what-to-bring.

For a list of items that are prohibited in the residence halls, please visit https://barnard.edu/reslife/policies/prohibited-items.

Shower curtains are provided in the bathrooms. Trash cans are provide in student bedrooms and suite kitchens.

Students may pick up toilet paper from the lobby of their residence hall.

Students will need to provide their own linens, pillow, towels, etc.

Students will need to provide their own pots, pans, plates, utensils, etc. in their suite kitchen.

The Barnard Facilities office will provide an initial "cleaning pack" in each suite. There supplies are designed to help students clean during their arrival quarantine.  After they have gone through the provided materials, it will be the suitemates' responsibility to provide cleaning materials for the remainder of the semester for their kitchen & bathroom. Generally suitemates create a cleaning schedule to share the work of cleaning.

(Note: the floor bathroom is cleaned by the Facilities staff in Sulzberger Tower only)

Mail & packages must be addressed to your Student Mailbox in Altschul Hall. See MAIL & PACKAGES for more information.

Note: students will not be able to access the Campus Mail Room until after completing their required arrival quarantine period.

The Pandemic Response team will deliver regular mail to students during the Arrival Quarantine period, but packages will be held in the Mailroom until students finish their quarantine. Only packages containing textbooks and medications will be delivered to students during quarantine. Students who have items in storage should arrange for delivery once their quarantine is over or retrieve those items prior to coming to campus for move-in.

See REPAIRS for information on how to submit a Work Order Request.

The cost of laundry is built into the housing rate (you do not have to pay on the machines). 

For more information about laundry, please visit https://barnard.edu/reslife/services/laundry.

For more information for new residents, please visit https://barnard.edu/reslife/new-students.

As stated above in the visitor question, students may not sign-in or host guests. In addition, students are encouraged to limit social gatherings in their room and are expected to comply with College & public health guidance when gathering. This includes maintaining 6 feet of physical distance and wearing a face covering.

Students are encouraged to socialize outdoors while practicing physical distancing or by using technological tools.

All residence hall lounges, music practice rooms, and computer labs will be closed. Access to shared spaces, including bathrooms, laundry facilities, elevators, hallways, and stairwells will be subject to maximum capacity guidelines, physical distancing requirements and any other restrictions that the College may impose or that may be required by local, state, or federal authorities.

For a list of items not allowed in the residence halls, please visit https://barnard.edu/reslife/policies/prohibited-items.

No. Residents may not sign-in or host guests, including Barnard students living in other residence halls, Barnard students living off-campus, family members, and/or significant others.

Students are encouraged to socialize outdoors while practicing physical distancing or by using technological tools.

To see the Residence Hall Handbook, please visit https://barnard.edu/reslife/handbook.

If you applied and/or were assigned to Spring housing and now wish to cancel, you will need to follow the steps below.

• Log into the Housing Portal
• Click SPRING HOUSING FORM
• Click the CANCELLATION FORM link
• Provide the reason you are cancelling and click the CONFIRM CANCELLATION button.

Students who cancel their application (or room assignment) by December 1 will not be charged.

Starting December 2, students would be charged a cancellation fee as outlined at http://barnard.edu/reslife/cancellations.

SUMMER:
Students who cancel Spring 2021 housing will still be able to apply for summer housing. However, it's important to note that the College has not finalized plans for Summer 2021 yet (i.e. which applicants would be prioritized, how much space will be available, etc).

2021-22 ACADEMIC YEAR:
Continuing students who were eligible for the 2020 Room Selection process but will be enrolled & living at home or off-campus during the 2020-2021 academic year will still be eligible to participate in the Room Selection process for 2021-2022. New 2020 First Year students will also be eligible.

Note: cancelling Spring 2021 housing will not impact the Lottery numbers that students will receive. Lottery Numbers are generated randomly by class year.

Other students (including Transfers, commuters, and students who take a leave of absence) may apply for 2021-2022 campus housing, but will not be eligible for the Room Selection process. Please note that while the College always hopes to provide housing to as many applicants as possible, housing cannot be guaranteed for students not eligible for the Room Selection process.

Information will be shared with students when available after the start of the Spring semester.

The timeline for the 2021-2020 Room Selection process will be shared with students in February 2020. Registration will take place in early-to-mid March.

The following groups of students will be eligible to take part in the 2021 Room Selection process (whether they live in campus housing during the 2020-21 academic year or not), as long as they remain enrolled full-time for the 2020-21 academic year (i.e. do not take a leave of absence):

• Continuing students who were eligible for the 2020 Room Selection process
• 2020 First Year students

Note: cancelling Spring 2021 housing will not impact the Lottery numbers that students will receive. Lottery Numbers are generated randomly by class year.

Other students (including transfers, commuters, and students who take or return from a leave of absence) may apply for 2021-2022 campus housing but will not be eligible for the 2021 Room Selection process (even if they lived in campus housing for Fall 2020 or Spring 2021 as an approved exception).

While the College always hopes to provide housing to as many applicants as possible, housing cannot be guaranteed for students who are not eligible for or do not take part in the Room Selection process.
 

Students must complete the Spring Housing application by the November 5 deadline.

New Spring 2021 Transfer students must apply by December 28.

Yes! Students will not be considered for Spring 2021 campus housing unless they submit a new Spring housing application.

As noted in Dean Grinage's 10/27 email to the community, the rate for Spring housing has been reduced to reflect that students will start move in during the second week of the semester.

The rate for Spring Housing is $5052.

Yes. Residents will automatically be enrolled in the Standard Meal Plan, but may switch to the Platinum or Flex 75 Meal Plan (or choose a Kosher plan) when the Meal Plan Change Form opens on November 13.

The Bursar office will email students more information about meal plans when the Spring tuition bills are sent.

Meals provided to students in quarantine and/or isolation would be deducted from students’ meal plan balances (or charged to a student's account if they do not have any remaining meal swipes).

Currently enrolled Juniors & Seniors who were eligible for the 2020 Room Selection process will be prioritized for Spring housing if they submit the Spring Housing application by the November 5 deadline.

• After assigning eligible juniors and seniors, the College would then assign First Year students using a randomized selection (if there is more demand than available beds). 
• After assigning First Year students, the College would then assign eligible-Sophomores (who were eligible for 2020 Room Selection) using a randomized selection (if there is more demand than available beds). 
• The College would then assign the remaining applicants (transfer students, students returning from a leave of absence, students who lived off-campus last year, etc.) using a randomized selection (if there is more demand than available beds). 

The College will also hold additional beds for assignment based on individual circumstances for students who do not initially receive housing based on class year or random selection. Information about that request process will be shared at a later date with students not initially selected for Spring housing.

Yes. At the end of the Spring Housing application, students may join a Mate Request Group to request to be in the same suite or on the same floor as other student(s). Each student must individually complete an application and join the Mate Request Group by the November 5 application deadline.

The College will try to place together students who request so if possible; however, assignment together as a group is dependent upon available space and cannot be guaranteed in advance. 

Because the number & size of Groups that students may form cannot be known in advance, the College cannot predict which size groups would be more likely to be placed together and/or where they would be placed. Larger groups may be broken up into 2 or more suites, or smaller groups may be placed into larger suites with other students (based on available space).

Students can get a general sense of the suite layouts by looking at the floorplans on the webpages for 110th Street, 121st Street, 600, 616, 620, Elliott, Plimpton, and Sulz Tower. Note: all rooms will be assigned as singles (i.e. only 1 student in a double or triple).

Columbia students are not eligible to apply for Spring 2021 campus housing at Barnard.

The BC/CU Housing Exchange is cancelled for the 2020-21 academic year.

Columbia students should check out Columbia Housing for more information about housing options available to them.

If you previously requested and were approved for a housing accommodation by CARDS for the 2020-21 academic year, that request will carry through for the Spring semester and does not need to be resubmitted. Please make sure that you indicate on the Spring Housing Application that you already requested an accommodation.

If you have not previously requested an accommodation for this academic year, you will need to request a CARDS housing accommodation and provide medical documentation by no later than November 10.

Some Juniors & Seniors may be eligible to take their financial aid for room & board off campus if they plan to rent or sublet an apartment locally to campus.

For more information and the request link, please visit https://alert.barnard.edu/return-campus-spring-2021.

The College anticipates emailing room assignments to students in mid-December, after the College finalizes plans for the Spring semester.

New 2021 Spring Transfer students: if space is available for you, room assignments will be emailed to students in January.

The College will try to place together students who request so if possible; however, assignment together as a group is dependent upon available space and cannot be guaranteed in advance. Reminder: Mate Request Groups must be finalized on the Spring Housing Application before the November 5 application deadline.

Because the number & size of Groups that students may form cannot be known in advance, the College cannot predict which size groups would be more likely to be placed together and/or where they would be placed. Larger groups may be broken up into 2 or more suites, or smaller groups may be placed into larger suites with other students (based on available space).

Due to the need to assign all rooms as singles, it is unfortunately not possible to keep the assignments from last year’s 2020 Room Selection process. And because the students who apply for Spring 2021 housing (and are prioritized for assignment) will be different from the Fall, the assignments originally made for Fall 2020 will need to be remade.

Students will be able to provide ranked preferences for the residence halls on the Spring Housing Application.