First-Year Housing Application

On the housing application, you will rank all available College House preferences in order. The housing application does not collect room type preferences. Please note that College House preferences are not guaranteed.

The housing application will open at MyHomeAtPenn on May 7. The preferred deadline for the application, including the deadline to apply for a Program Community and to have your College House preferences considered in the first round of assignments, is May 31 at 11:59pm EDT. As long as you submit your housing application by May 31, which day you submit it will not affect your application. Furthermore, if you submit your application and then realize you would like to request a specific roommate, you can go back into your application to add your roommate request, as long as you do so prior to May 31 at 11:59pm EDT.

BFS has additional application requirements beyond the housing application. Please check with the program directly for their requirements.

If you are interested in applying to a Program Community, you'll see an option to select the Program Community you would like to apply to within the housing application.

For BFS specifically, please also check in with the program directly, as BFS has application requirements in addition to the housing application. Students who are participating in BFS may request one roommate who is also participating in BFS, and you may make that request on the housing application.

First-year students may each request one specific roommate using the Apply with a Roommate step on the housing application. One student creates a group name and password on this step and shares that information with their requested roommate. The roommate then enters the group name and password on the Apply with a Roommate step in order to join the group.

First-year students may only request one specific roommate on the housing application. Whether or not you choose to request a specific roommate, all students will complete a set of Lifestyle Profile questions as part of the housing application. These questions ask things such as what time you wake up in the morning and your neatness preferences. The Housing Occupancy Team will use students’ answers to the Lifestyle Profile questions to match up students who did not request a specific roommate and to match up suitemates if you are assigned to a room that accommodates more than two residents.

On the housing application, you will rank your College House preferences in order. The housing application does not collect room type preferences. First-year students may only request one specific roommate. Please note that College House preferences are not guaranteed.

Whether or not you choose to request a specific roommate, all students will complete a set of Lifestyle Profile questions as part of the housing application. These questions ask things such as what time you wake up in the morning and your neatness preferences. The Housing Occupancy Team will use students’ answers to the Lifestyle Profile questions to match up students who did not request a specific roommate and to match up suitemates if you are assigned to a room that accommodates more than two residents.

Tell us about yourself! If you plan to request a specific roommate, how you answer these questions will not affect your ability to match with that person—but you’ll thank us later if you are assigned to a multi-person suite or if there’s a vacancy in your space and you are assigned a new roommate. If you do not request a specific roommate, this is how we match you up!

When we assign roommates and suitemates, we do so based on the overall percentage similarity of your Lifestyle Profile, rather than on any one question. That means that even if you select “I don’t smoke and I don’t want to reside with someone who does”, for example, you are not guaranteed to have roommates who picked the same answer. Within that framework, our main goal for these questions is to match you with someone you can live with compatibly, whether or not you also become friends. This is a great time to stop and reflect on how well you know yourself. Don’t forget to review our policies so you know what’s expected in our College Houses – such as our smoking policy and guest policy.

How the app works:

• We ask every student to answer 7 Lifestyle Profile questions on the housing application.
• We match up roommates based on the overall percentage similarity of students’ Lifestyle Profiles, rather than any one question.

Outcomes:

• If a student does not request a specific roommate, and they are assigned to a two- or more person room, we use the Lifestyle Profile questions to match them up with their room/suitemate(s).
• If two students who requested to be roommates with each other are assigned to a three- to six-person suite, we use the Lifestyle Profiles to match them up with their remaining suitemates.
• If two students request to be roommates with each other and one of them decides to take a gap year or not come to Penn, we use the Lifestyle Profiles to match the remaining student up with a room/suitemate(s).
• After Move-In, we do not use the Lifestyle Profiles during the academic year. Room changes during the academic year are made based on House and room type preferences and do not factor in the Lifestyle Profiles.

First-year students are eligible for single rooms. On the housing application, you will rank your College House preferences in order. Please note that College House preferences are not guaranteed. Students cannot specifically request them except for medical reasons.

If a single room is required for medical reasons, you must apply for a medical accommodation. 

Students re-apply for housing every year they plan to live on campus. After your first year, you can choose to live in any of the Four-Year Houses (Du Bois, Gregory, Gutmann, or Stouffer) or Upperclass Communities (Harnwell, Harrison, Rodin, and Radian) where space is available.