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Residential Life & Housing > Housing Options

Off-Campus Housing

Barnard students are not required to live in campus housing (with the exception of some students in the VISP program). Students may choose to commute from home or find an apartment off-campus.

Students considering living off-campus should check out the information below for how it may impact their financial aid and/or guarantee of campus housing for the future (if applicable).

Note: while College always hopes to be able to provide campus housing to as many students as possible, space unfortunately may not be available for all non-guaranteed applicants (Transfers, students returning from a leave of absence, continuing students who were not eligible to participate in Room Selection process, etc.), resulting in some students needing to live off-campus as non-residential students.

Housing options like The Bayit, International House, and ADP are not considered part of campus housing nor part of the Barnard/Columbia Housing Exchange. Students who live in those locations are considered to be non-residential students living off-campus.

Barnard Off-Campus Housing Facebook Group -- Connect with other Barnard students who may be looking for apartment shares off-campus! Forming a group with one or more students can help divide the work of finding an apartment, make splitting rent & utilities be more affordable, and open avenues to look for larger apartments (ex. 2 or 3 bedrooms instead of a 1 bedroom or Studio).

Columbia's Off-Campus Housing Assistance (OCHA) office provides resources to aid students (including Barnard students) in their search for rental housing in the metro area, including a database of apartment and sublet listings. Prospective roommates can also post and search profiles to connect with other students looking for off-campus housing. .

  • Barnard students are not able to apply directly for Columbia undergraduate campus housing. A limited number of continuing students may live at Columbia each year as part of the BC/CU Housing Exchange (available only as part of the Room Selection process for eligible continuing students).

Additional information about how to look for off-campus housing in NYC can be found at nyu.edu/students/student-information-and-resources/housing-and-dining/off-campus-living.html.

Other options for off-campus housing may include:*

* Barnard College assumes no responsibility or liability in connection with any rental agreement or services provided by the listed resources. The listing of any resource does not constitute an endorsement of the service or guarantee of availability.

Avoiding Housing Rental Scams

Sustainable Options for Off-Campus Furniture

Students who will be living off-campus are encouraged to check options for sustainable furniture purchases or swaps.

  • Rheaply.com -- online platform designed to facilitate the exchange of items among the Barnard Community
  • LivDao.com -- online marketplace for pre-owned furniture in the metro-area

Campus Resources for Non-Residential Students

For information about the Commuter Lounge, renting a locker in Barnard Hall, etc. please visit https://barnard.edu/studentlife/commuterresources.

Meal Plan Requirement for Non-Residential Students

All enrolled students, including those living at home or off-campus, are required to be enrolled in a Barnard meal plan during the academic year.

Students will be enrolled by default in the Flex 125 meal plan, but may change to a different meal plan by submitting the Meal Plan Change Form before the deadline prior to each semester.

For more information about available meal plans, prices, and the Meal Plan Change deadline, please visit the Bursar's website.

Impact on Financial Aid

Students who live off-campus are packaged as a "commuter" instead of as a "residential" student by the Financial Aid office, which means they may qualify for less grant aid. Students who are planning to move off-campus are strongly encouraged to discuss with the Financial Aid Office how it could affect their financial aid package before finalizing their plans.

Impact on Housing Guarantee

Students who start at the College as First Year students:

  • Only students living in campus housing for the Spring (or who lived in campus housing immediately before going to a study abroad program) are eligible to participate in the Room Selection process (i.e. Housing Lottery) each Spring to secure campus housing for the following academic year.
  • Students who chose to move off-campus (or do not live in campus housing as a First Year) would not be eligible for the Room Selection process and may not join groups for the Housing Lottery, etc.
  • Those students are welcome to apply to be on the non-Guaranteed Wait List, but we cannot guarantee that space will be available for them to be assigned to campus housing.
  • Students who choose to live off-campus should be prepared for the possibility they may not be able to get back into campus housing for the future.

Students who start at the College as Transfer students:

  • Transfers are welcome to apply for housing; however, space in campus housing is limited and assignment unfortunately cannot be guaranteed.
  • Transfers are prioritized for housing during their first academic year, based on a variety of factors including Admissions deposit date and distance from campus.
  • Continuing students who started as Transfers are welcome to re-apply for campus housing in following years but would be prioritized after new enrolling Transfer students.