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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 visitors from Spelman and students in the VISP program). Students may choose to commute from home or find an apartment off-campus.

Students considering moving off-campus should check out the information below for how it could impact their financial aid and/or guarantee of campus housing for the future.

Note: while College is always hopeful to be able to provide campus housing to as many students as possible, housing 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 commute as non-residential students.

Housing options like The Bayit and International House 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 living off-campus.

The NYPD has noted a recent increase in fraud reports for rental listing scams. For more information, check out the links below:
-- https://streeteasy.com/blog/nyc-rental-scams
-- https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0079-rental-listing-scams 

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 university students (including Barnard students) in their search for rental housing in the metro area. OCHA manages a database (the Housing Registry) which includes available rooms and apartments in non-Columbia-owned buildings and sublets of units in Columbia-managed housing. Prospective roommates can also post and search profiles to connect with other students looking for off-campus housing. In addition, OCHA offers housing search counseling and is supported in these efforts by their cooperative relationships with two New York City real estate/relocation agencies. OCHA is located at 401 West 119th Street (between Amsterdam Avenue and Morningside Drive) and can be called at 212-854-2773. More info is available at https://ocha.facilities.columbia.edu.

  • Barnard students are not able to directly apply 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.

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

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

Non-residential students are enrolled by default in the Convenience Points Only Meal Plan.

If they wish to change their enrolled meal plan, they would need to complete 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.

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 may affect their financial aid package before finalizing their plans.

Students who start at the College as First Year students and live in campus housing 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. These students would be 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 chose to live off-campus would need to 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 are welcome to apply for housing; however, space in campus housing is limited so assignment is unfortunately not able to be guaranteed. New Transfers are prioritized for placement during their first academic year, based on a variety of factors including Admissions deposit date and distance from campus. Continuing students who previously started as Transfers are welcome to apply but would be prioritized after new enrolling Transfer students.