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Residential Life & Housing > Residence Hall Handbook > Procedures

Apply for Housing

Information about applying for housing for the Spring 2021 semester will be shared with students by early November.

Eligible Juniors & Seniors will be prioritized for Spring housing. FYs, Sophomores, Transfers, and other students may apply for Spring housing as an exception; however, assignment cannot be guaranteed (it will depend on availability).

Information about applying for Summer 2021 will be shared during the Spring semester.

Barnard is dedicated to promoting an inclusive and respectful community. The College makes room and roommate assignments without regard to race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, religious practices, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, dietary preferences, abilities, and/or age.

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* Instructions for setting up your Barnard & Columbia computer login accounts are emailed to students by the Admissions office after enrollment is confirmed (it can take a week or more for accounts to be generated).   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!  

Room & Roommate Assignment information will be distributed via email on Saturday, August 8, 2020. Please refer to our calendar for move-in dates

While the College always hopes to be able to assign as many applicants as possible, housing is not guaranteed for new transfer & visiting students. Housing is only guaranteed for students who are part of the Spelman exchange or the Visiting International Student Program (VISP).

Prioritization for housing depends on a combination of enrollment deposit date and geographic distance from campus. The number of spaces in singles and/or rooms that do not require participation in a more comprehensive meal plan is typically limited.

* Instructions for setting up your Barnard & Columbia computer login accounts are emailed to students by the Admissions office after enrollment is confirmed (it can take a week or more for accounts to be generated).   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!

Room & Roommate Assignment information, pending the availability of space, are typical distributed via email in early August (or early January for the Spring). Please refer to our calendar for move-in dates.

While housing for students in the VISP program is guaranteed and students may request singles on their applications, most students will be assigned to shared multiple occupancy rooms (i.e. with roommates). Rooms will not be available in every residence hall, so we ask that students to please rank order all of the residence halls on their application. Some students may be required to live in Hewitt, which requires a higher cost meal plan.

Room & Roommate Assignment information will be distributed via email in early January (early August for full-year VISP students). Please refer to our calendar for move-in dates.

Eligible returning students take part in the Room Selection process in early spring to secure housing for the following academic year. Students must be currently residing in on-campus housing (or have lived on-campus during the semester prior to leaving for an approved study abroad program) in order to be eligible to take part in Room Selection.

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, 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 is not guaranteed for students who do not take part in (or were not eligible for) the Room Selection process.

Note: Only students who had been living in on-campus housing during the semester prior to completing an approved study abroad program are guaranteed housing (and/or may participate in Room Selection) for their return to campus. In order to receive the guarantee of housing, students must submit housing applications before the noted deadlines.

Students who take a leave of absence before or during an approved study abroad program must request to Return from a Leave of Absence and are not guaranteed a housing assignment (see section below for more information).

Returning for Spring (i.e. abroad during the Fall)

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, 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 submit an application on the Housing Portal to be on the non-Guaranteed Wait List.

  • Housing Application (requires log in with your Columbia UNI)
  • 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 application even if you are still waiting for official confirmation of your approved return (assignments will be held until return status is confirmed).

Please note that while the College always hopes to be able to assign as many applicants as possible, housing is not guaranteed for students returning after a Leave of Absence. Students returning from a Medical Leave will receive extra priority upon application for housing; however, housing is not guaranteed.  In cases where there is not enough space for all applicants, students are prioritized by geographic distance from campus.

Assignments, pending the availability of space, are typically made in mid-August for the Fall and early January for the Spring. Please refer to our calendar for move-in dates.

  • Housing Application (requires log in with your Columbia UNI)
  • Deadlines:
    • Fall: June 1
    • Spring: November 1

Because there are a limited number of rooms available, assignment to campus housing cannot be guaranteed. Students who previously lived off-campus or commuted (or did not participate in the Room Selection process) are the last students to be assigned, pending the availability of space. Students are typically prioritized by distance from campus.

If there is a specific room/suite with a vacancy you would like to request to live in, please specify on your application. Please note that assignment to a specific requested room cannot be guaranteed.

Assignment information is distributed via email in mid-to-late August for the Fall semester and early January for the Spring semester. Please refer to our calendar for move-in dates.