Mid-Year Room Changes
- 2024-25 Request Timeline & Deadlines
- How to Submit a Request
- Notification of Room Change results
- Moving out of Fall Assignment
- Moving into Spring Assignment
- Requesting for Spring Room Assignment to Be Cleaned
- Billing & Meal Plan Changes
- Frequently Asked Questions
Students may submit a Mid-Year Room Change Request to ask to be reassigned to a different room for the Spring semester.
Students who plan to request a room change should read this entire webpage carefully – especially the sections about moving out of Fall rooms and into Spring rooms.
Students who want a new room but who do not want to move out of their current room before Winter Break may apply instead for a Spring Room Change or look for a 1-for-1 Direct Room Swap (i.e. after the start of the Spring semester).
2024-25 Request Timeline & Deadlines
Wednesday, November 20, 2024
- Mid-Year Room Change Request form opens on the Housing Portal
Wednesday, November 27, 2024
- Priority Deadline for any Housing Accommodation Requests to CARDS
Tuesday, December 3, 2024
- 1pm -- Deadline to submit Mid-Year Room Change Request form on the Housing Portal
Thursday, December 12, 2024
- 11pm -- Room Change results will be emailed to students by 11pm
Wednesday, December 18, 2024
- 1pm – Deadline to request for the Spring room to be cleaned over Winter Break.
Friday, December 20, 2024
- 9am – Deadline to move out of Fall room (more information)
- 9am - 11am – Students may sign for new Spring room key at the Res Life office (more information).
January 2025
Students may sign for their Spring room keys at the Res Life office (if they did not on December 20)
Saturday, January 18, 9:30am - 5pm
Sunday, January 19, 9:30am - 5pm
Monday, January 20, 10am - 3pm
Tuesday, January 21, 9:30am - 5pm
Students who sign up for Spring Early Return (but did not get their Spring room key on December 20) may sign for their new room keys during the dates/times below:
January 2 - 3 (Thursday & Friday), 9:30am - 5pm
January 6 - 10 (Monday - Friday), 9:30am - 5pm
January 13 - 17 (Monday - Friday), 9:30am - 5pm
Note: evening / weekend check-ins are not available
How to Submit a Request
Mid-Year Room Change Request Form (click FORMS after logging in)
How to submit a Room Change Request (PDF)Students will provide ranked preferences for building & room type combinations to which they'd be willing to be re-assigned. Requests are prioritized by class year and cannot be guaranteed (please note that room assignments for guaranteed Spring applicants for housing are also taken into consideration at the same time in class year priority).
Students may include a request for a specific room; however, assignment to a specific room or suite cannot be guaranteed. Students who wish to swap rooms with another student will need to both submit the request form and mutually request each other's rooms.
This process is for Barnard Sophomores, Juniors, and Seniors only.
- First-year students who may be experiencing challenges with their room or roommate assignments should speak to their RA and/or the Community Director (CD).
- Columbia University students living in Barnard residence halls are not eligible to participate in this process and there is no switching permitted between BC-designated and CU-designated spaces (please consult CU Housing for information about room change requests to move back to a Columbia residence hall).
Students who submit a room change are required to inform their roommate(s) / suitemates(s) of their request, in order to give them an opportunity to either request a room change of their own or try to recruit a student to request a room change into your room / suite.
Students who need a housing accommodation not already approved by CARDS for the current academic year must submit a Housing Accommodation Request (in addition to the room change request form) before the priority deadline for accommodation requests listed above.
Room Change Requests may be edited or canceled on the Housing Portal through the submission deadline listed above.
Notification of Room Change results
Students will be emailed by the date listed in the Timeline above to let them know if they received a new room assignment or not.
While the College will attempt to provide new room assignments for as many students as possible, room changes are not guaranteed. Students who do not receive a room change will remain assigned to their Fall room for the Spring semester (and are welcome to submit a Spring Room Change Request in case any additional spaces become available).
Granted room changes are FINAL and BINDING. Students who are granted a room change MUST complete the move, as other room changes will be dependent upon the spaces that will be vacated.
Moving out of Fall Assignment
Students who receive a room change must move completely out of their Fall room before the start of Winter Break (see timeline above). There are no exceptions and extensions are not available.
Students are required to leave their Fall room in a clean condition suitable for another student to move into.
Students must complete a Check-Out Envelope at their residence hall front desk to turn in their Fall room keys and complete the Confirm Check-Out Form on the Portal before the deadline listed above.
- Failure to submit the check-out envelope or the Confirm Check Out form will result in a $100 Improper Check Out fee.
- Keys that are not returned will result in a $100 per key Lock Change fee.
Students may not leave any belongings in their Fall room nor any suite common areas / etc. over the Winter Break. Students who plan to leave campus for Winter Break before they can move into the new room will need to take their belongings home over break or store them off-campus or in a friend's bedroom, etc. (i.e. someone who is not moving out or changing rooms mid-year). The College does not have any storage space available for students’ belongings.
Failure to fully vacate a room before the start of Winter Break may result in fines and/or disciplinary action, which could include cancellation of the room change, the loss of campus housing, and/or loss of ability to participate in the Room Selection process.
Moving into Spring Assignment
Students will have two options for signing for their Spring room keys at the Res Life office (110 Sulzberger).
SIGN FOR ROOM KEYS AT END OF FALL SEMESTER
- 9am - 11am on Friday, December 20, 2024
Students who sign for their keys on December 20 will be given a grace period until 11am to finish moving out of their Fall room (otherwise the Fall room must be vacated by 9am on 12/20). This is a short timeline, so students should be packed in advance to complete their move and vacate the Fall room by no later than 11am. Please note that students may need to coordinate with students doing a room change out of their new Spring room and/or students moving into the room they’re vacating for the Spring.
Access cannot be provided to the Spring room before December 20 and the College does not have any storage space available. Students who plan to leave campus for Winter Break before December 20 will need to make arrangements to store their belongings elsewhere over Winter Break and to sign for their Spring keys in January (see below). Students may take their belongings home with them over break, or store them off-campus, or in a friend's bedroom, etc. (i.e. someone who is not moving out or changing rooms mid-year).
Students who sign up for Winter Break Housing must move into their new Spring room on December 20 (i.e. they will occupy the Spring room for break, not the Fall room).
Students who sign for their Spring room keys on December 20, 2024, will move into their new room on an as-is basis, as there will not be a window of time for Facilities to clean the room after the Fall resident moves out.
SIGN FOR ROOM KEYS STARTING IN JANUARY
Saturday, January 18, 9:30am - 5pm
Sunday, January 19, 9:30am - 5pm
Monday, January 20, 10am - 3pm
Tuesday, January 21, 9:30am - 5pm
If students sign for their new Spring room keys in January, they must find an alternate location to store their belongings over Winter Break. Belongings may not be stored in the Fall room nor any suite common areas during the break.
The Spring room will be provided on an as-if basis unless the student submits a special form by December 18, 2024, to request their new room to be cleaned by Facilities over Winter Break (see below)
Students who sign up for Winter Break housing or Spring Early Return (but did not get their Spring room key on December 20) may sign for their new room keys during business hours:
- January 2 - 3 (Thursday & Friday), 9:30am - 5pm
- January 6 - 10 (Monday - Friday), 9:30am - 5pm
- January 13 - 17 (Monday - Friday), 9:30am - 5pm
- Note: evening / weekend check-ins are not available
Requesting for Spring Room Assignment to Be Cleaned
Students moving out at the end of the Fall semester are expected to leave their room in a clean condition suitable for another student to move into.
Spring room assignments will not be cleaned over Winter Break unless students submit a special request form by December 18, 2024 (instructions will be emailed to students who are granted a mid-year room change).
In order for a room to be cleaned, the following conditions must be met:
- The new room is either a Single or a Double where both Fall occupants move out before the end of the Fall semester (half-vacant Doubles cannot be cleaned). If 2 students are provided a room change to a Double for the Spring, both students must submit the form to request for the room to be cleaned.
- Students will confirm that no items have been left in the new Spring room assignment and that the College will discard any items found during the cleaning.
- Students will confirm that they will not move into the new room until January 18, 2025, at the earliest (i.e. when the res halls reopen for the Spring semester). The rooms are not able to be cleaned for students who sign up for Winter Break Housing or Spring Early Return.
Billing & Meal Plan Changes
All rooms (except studio singles) are billed at the same rate, so students' Spring charges will not change unless they move into (or out of) a Studio Single at 110th Street or move into Hewitt (which requires enrollment in the Flex 150 meal plan at minimum).
Because room changes & any changes to billing will not be finalized until mid-to-late December, students will need to pay the charges listed on their Spring Bursar bill by the December payment deadline. Semester housing & meal plan rates are available on the Bursar website.
Once room changes are finalized, students will be be able to see their updated balance owed for the Spring on the Barnard Student Account Center (BSAC). Any additional charges (i.e. increases in room or meal plan rate) will need to be paid to the Bursar's office as soon as possible.
Students who receive a room change to Hewitt Hall will be changed to the Flex 150 Meal Plan. Students who wish to switch to the Kosher Flex 150 plan or upgrade to the Platinum Meal Plan can do so via the Meal Plan Change Form.