Assignments

The fall room change period opens the afternoon of Monday, September 18 and close Friday, November 10. During this period, all residents of the College Houses can submit a request for a room change via MyHomeAtPenn. Please note that vacancies on-campus are scarce and may impact the ability of staff to process many room changes.  Most vacancies are in shared bedrooms.

All submissions will be randomized, and room changes will be processed during three separate “waves” in the fall term. Room change offers will be sent on or about the following dates:

• Thursday, October 5
• Thursday, October 26
• Thursday, November 16

Students will have the weekend to accept or reject the offer. If an offer is accepted, students will be expected to move the weekend after offers are made. The periods for student room changes are:

• Friday, October 13 – Sunday, October 15
• Friday, November 3 – Sunday, November 5
• Friday, December 1 – Sunday, December 3

All room change requests will be randomized prior to review.  Students who do not receive an offer will be considered during the next wave of Fall Room Change request reviews, there is no need to reapply.  Students who decline their offer will be moved to the bottom of the list for future waves of the Fall Room Change process.

There are 3 different types of room change that a resident can request – a traditional room change into a vacant room, a mutual trade request where two residents swap rooms, or a request to move into an existing vacancy in a friend’s room or suite.  When you log into MyHomeAtPenn, you will have an opportunity to select the room change type that you are interested in pursuing.  Historically, there are more requests for single rooms and private rooms in suites than we have availability.

3rd and 4th year students have priority for reassignment to available single bedroom apartments. While 2nd year students can preference single bedroom apartments, it is highly unlikely that they will be reassigned to this room type. These units are typically reserved for upperclass students.

First-Year Students (Class of 2027)

First-Year students can only request a room change into first-year rooms in first-year and four-year communities.  Available College Houses for first-year students are Du Bois; Gregory; Hill; Kings Court English; Lauder; Quad- Fisher Hassenfeld, Ware; and Stouffer-Stouffer.

Returning Undergraduate Students, Transfer Students, and Exchange Students

Second-, third-, and fourth-year students, transfer students, and exchange students can only request a room change into Upperclass rooms in Upperclass and four-year communities.  Available College Houses for this population of students are Du Bois, Gregory, Harnwell, Harrison, Lauder, Gutmann, Radian, Rodin, and Stouffer-Mayer.  Residents who switch rooms are responsible for paying the housing rate of the newly assigned room, regardless of the reason for the change.

Please be aware that room changes for all populations will be limited and based on space availability.  

If a space that meets any of your preferences is available, you will receive an offer to your Penn email with information about the new space. Please do not list preferences if you are not willing to live in those locations.

Once you are offered a space, you must accept it in writing to living@upenn.edu within 48 business hours. If you decline the request or we do not hear from you within 48 business hours, the offer will be cancelled and your request will be moved to the bottom of our list

The mid-year room change process will go live on November 15 and close on Monday, December 4 at 11:59 pm. Students that apply for a mid-year room change and have their request processed should anticipate vacating their fall booking completely when departing campus for winter break and moving into their new space upon their return to campus for the spring semester..

Due to summer conferences and maintenance work, we are unable to show undergraduate rooms in advance. Our website has lots of information about the College Houses, including room type diagrams, lists of amenities, and much more!  Diagrams may not be exact and are only meant as a general guide.

Unless otherwise requested, all rooms are designated as single-sex. However, students may apply for Gender Inclusive Housing. If you are under 18 years of age written parental permission must be provided in order for your request to be considered. Gender Inclusive Housing room assignments will be made without regard to sex assigned at birth or gender identity. Please refer to the Gender Inclusive Housing policy for details.

No. The gender of the bathroom (male/female/co-ed) is either predesignated or designated by the students on the floor at the beginning of the fall semester.

Please note that all floors are co-ed.

All University of Pennsylvania undergraduate students are required to live in on-campus housing for their first four semesters (excluding summers), regardless of the number of course credits (CU) or class standing. Sophomore transfers are required to live in on-campus for their first four semesters. Junior transfer students are required to live in on-campus housing for their first two semesters.

• Students who transfer to Penn from another institution with second year standing and who lived on campus their first year at their previous institution may count those semesters toward the Penn housing residency requirement.
• Students who transfer to Penn from another institution with junior standing are required to live in on-campus housing for their first two semesters at Penn.
• Students who study abroad during their sophomore year may include that time toward the requirement.
• A student who has taken a leave of absence during their first two years living on campus may apply for an exemption from the residency requirement.  The exemption will be approved if a student lived on campus for three complete semesters. 
• Signing an off-campus lease or entering into a housing agreement within a fraternity or sorority house does not exempt the student from this policy

An exemption is only granted to students who meet one of the following criteria:

1. The student is enrolled in the College of Liberal Studies or in the Penn Nursing BSN Second Degree Program.
2. The student is married or in a University-recognized domestic partnership.  Proof of marriage or domestic partnership is required.
3. The student is living with their dependents. Official copy(s) of birth certificate(s) or federal/state income tax returns showing exemptions claimed for dependent(s) is required.
4. The student is age 22 or older at the start of the academic year.
5. Exemption requests must be submitted by May 14 for rising second-year and transfer students, by May 31, 2024 for Fall 2024 incoming students, by June 28, 2024 for newly-admitted transfer students, and July 10, 2024 for exchange students. Late requests will not be considered.

Students meeting one of the above criteria must submit an exemption request through MyHomeAtPenn.

If you feel you meet the above criteria for exemption and are interested in living off-campus for the 2024-2025 Academic Year, you will need to complete a Housing Exemption Form via MyHomeAtPenn. Once submitted, you will receive a follow-up email from the Housing Occupancy team requesting proof of residency. The proof of residency must be on official university letterhead, signed by personnel within the previous institution’s housing office. It must also include the following:

• Student’s full name
• Student’s College House/Residence Hall
• Student’s room number(s)
• Dates of occupancy

Once the proof of residency is submitted and is reviewed, you will receive a determination from the Housing Occupancy Team via email. It is highly encouraged that you do not sign any binding agreements with off-campus properties until your final decision is received.