Room Selection

How to Apply

Whether you are new to Penn, returning for your second, third, or fourth year, or just here for a semester or year, the application process is tailored to your needs. To help you feel prepared to hit submit, please review the information provided about room rates, roommates, and save the dates, all specific to you. 

How to Apply

Need to Know

Timing is everything, and our room selection timelines vary depending on the your time at Penn. Updates, deadlines, and other specifics regarding room selection will be sent to your student email account. We recommend checking your email daily to not miss any time-sensitive information.

Students eligible to participate in room selection must be full-time students enrolled in a degree-granting program for Fall 2022 and in good financial and disciplinary standing in order to apply. Please check your standing in the Student Registration System prior to the start of the Room Selection process to be sure your graduation year is accurate.

How to Apply

First-Year Students

Housing Application

On May 7, the first-year housing application will open at MyHomeAtPenn. All first-year students are required to live in on-campus housing for their first four semesters, and all are expected to submit a housing application to express their preferences for their housing assignment. The preferred deadline to submit the housing application in order to be considered in the first round of housing assignments is May 31. The application is not first-come, first-served. All applications submitted by the preferred deadline receive the same randomized priority. The final deadline to submit the housing application is June 28.

Within the housing application, first-year students will rank the College Houses in the order of their preference. Please take the opportunity to learn about the culture, activities, room types, and amenities in each House through our College House webpages and the College Houses & Academic Services website. The housing application does not collect room type preferences, because first-year students are not eligible to request specific room types. First-year students who would like to request specific housing to support a medical need should submit a request for a medical accommodation for housing to Disability Services by May 22.

First-year students who submit the housing application by the preferred deadline will be assigned to their rooms by the housing system. The system arranges all students in a random order. For each student, the system checks to see if a space is available in the student’s first College House preference. If a space is available, the student is assigned to it. If not, the system moves on to the next student. For any students who were not assigned to their first College House preference, the system repeats the same process in the same order for their second College House preference, and so on. First-year students who submit the housing application by the preferred deadline will receive their housing assignment information on Tuesday, June 18.

 

Program Communities

First-year students also have the option to apply to a Program Community, a tight-knit living-learning community based around a specific theme. Check out the College Houses & Academic Services website to learn about the Program Communities available to first-year students. Students who want to apply to a Program Community will be expected to write an essay as part of their application and need to submit the housing application by the preferred deadline, May 31. Students who are accepted into their requested Program Community by the House staff are assigned to spaces within the Program Community prior to the start of the randomization by the housing system.

Roommates

All first-year students will answer a series of Lifestyle Profile questions on the housing application to reflect on the time they go to bed and wake up and the environment they want to have in their room. First-year students may optionally request one specific roommate by creating a Roommate Group name and password in their application, and sharing that information with their roommate, who will use it to join the group on their own application.

First-year students who do not request a specific roommate but are assigned to a double, and roommate pairs who are assigned to rooms that house more than two students, will be matched with roommates based on their answers to the Lifestyle Profile questions. First-year students will only be matched with other first-year students for roommates. Roommates are matched so that all halls are co-ed but all students in a specific suite have the same legal sex, unless students sign up for Gender Inclusive Housing in the housing application, in which case roommates are assigned without regard to legal sex.

How to Apply

Transfer Students

Housing Application

On Monday, June 3, the transfer student housing application will open at MyHomeAtPenn. Transfer students admitted as second-year students are required to live in on-campus housing for their first four semesters, and transfer students admitted as third-year students for their first two semesters. All are expected to submit a housing application to and express their preferences for their housing assignment. The preferred deadline to submit the housing application in order to be considered in the first round of housing assignments is Friday, June 28. The application is not first-come, first-served. All applications submitted by the preferred deadline receive the same randomized priority. The final deadline to submit the housing application is Wednesday, July 31.

Within the housing application, transfer students will rank all available College Houses in the order of their preference. Please take the opportunity to learn about the culture, activities, room types, and amenities in each House through our College House webpages and the College Houses & Academic Services website. The housing application does not collect room type preferences, because transfer students are not eligible to request specific room types. However, because upperclass housing has two different rent rates, the housing application does ask students which rent rate they would prefer. Transfer students who would like to request specific housing to support a medical need should submit a request for a medical accommodation and complete the review process with Disability Services by Thursday, June 15.

Transfer students who submit the housing application by the preferred deadline will be assigned to their rooms by a computerized randomization system. The housing system arranges all students in a random order. For each student, the system checks to see if a space is available in the student’s first College House preference. If a space is available, the student is assigned to it. If not, the system moves on to the next student. For any students who were not assigned to their first College House preference, the system repeats the same process in the same order for their second College House preference, and so on. Transfer students who submit the housing application by the preferred deadline will receive their housing assignment information on Thursday, July 11.

Program Communities

Transfer students also have the option to apply to the Transfer Living Community (TLC), a Program Community in Rodin College House designed specifically for transfer students. Check out the Transfer Living Community webpage to learn about the TLC. Students who want to apply to the TLC will need to select this option on their housing application and submit by the preferred deadline of Friday, June 28. Students who are accepted into the TLC assigned to spaces within the Program Community prior to the start of the randomization by the housing system.

Transfer Communities

Recognizing your journey to Penn is a unique one, the College Houses offer communities to meet your needs.  Within the housing application, you can select the Transfer Living Community as a Program Community choice. This community, located in Rodin College House, offers support and programming designed to best serve transfer students. 

Roommates

All transfer students will answer a series of Lifestyle Profile questions on the housing application to reflect on the time they go to bed and wake up and the environment they want to have in their room. Transfer students may optionally request one specific roommate who is also an incoming transfer student by creating a Roommate Group name and password in their application, and sharing that information with their roommate, who will use it to join the group on their own application.

Transfer students who do not request a specific roommate, and roommate pairs who are assigned to rooms that house more than two students, will be matched with roommates based on their answer to the Lifestyle Profile questions. Transfer students may be matched with other transfer students, continuing Penn students, and/or exchange students for roommates. Roommates are matched so that all halls are co-ed but all students in a specific suite have the same legal sex, unless students sign up for Gender Inclusive Housing in the housing application, in which case roommates are assigned without regard to legal sex.

How to Apply

Exchange Students

Housing Application

More information for incoming fall exchange students will be shared in the spring semester. 

Housing Application

On Monday, June 3, the exchange student housing application will open at MyHomeAtPenn. Exchange students are required to live in on-campus housing for their program and are expected to submit a housing application to express their preferences for their housing assignment. The preferred deadline to submit the housing application in order to be considered in the first round of housing assignments is Wednesday, July 10. The application is not first come, first served. All applications submitted by the preferred deadline receive the same randomized priority. The final deadline to submit the housing application is Monday, July 31.

Within the housing application, exchange students will rank all available College Houses in the order of their preference. Please take the opportunity to learn about the culture, activities, room types, and amenities in each House through our College House webpages and the College Houses & Academic Services website. The housing application does not collect room type preferences, because exchange students are not eligible to request specific room types. However, because upperclass housing has two different rent rates, the housing application does ask students which rent rate they would prefer. Due to limited room availability, exchange students should expect to live in a shared bedroom. Exchange students who would like to request specific housing to support a medical need should submit a request for a medical accommodation and finalize the accommodation review process with Disability Services by Thursday, June 20.

Exchange students who submit the housing application by the preferred deadline will be assigned to their rooms by the housing system. The system arranges all students in a random order. For each student, the system checks to see if a space is available in the student’s first College House preference. If a space is available, the student is assigned to it. If not, the system moves on to the next student. For any students who were not assigned to their first College House preference, the system repeats the same process in the same order for their second College House preference, and so on. Students who submit the housing application by the preferred deadline will receive their housing assignment information on Thursday, July 18.

Roommates

All exchange students will answer a series of Lifestyle Profile questions on the housing application to reflect on the time they go to bed and wake up and the environment they want to have in their room. Exchange students may optionally request one specific roommate who is also an incoming exchange student by creating a Roommate Group name and password in their application, and sharing that information with their roommate, who will use it to join the group on their own application.

Exchange students who do not request a specific roommate, and roommate pairs who are assigned to rooms that house more than two students, will be matched with roommates based on their answer to the Lifestyle Profile questions. Exchange students may be matched with other exchange students, continuing Penn students, and/or incoming transfer students. Roommates are matched so that all halls are co-ed but all students in a specific room have the same legal sex, unless students sign up for Gender Inclusive Housing in the housing application, in which case roommates are assigned without regard to legal sex.

How to Apply

Second-Year Students

Application

The Rolling Undergraduate Application will open at 1 pm on March 14. At this time, there are very limited spaces available for students that are not required to live on campus. While students that have already met their Two-Year Housing and Dining Requirement are welcome to submit an application, they will be added to the housing waitlist. Students will be activated off the housing waitlist if space becomes available.

Students that are required to live on campus as part of the Two-Year Housing and Dining Requirement and are returning from a leave should complete this application. These students will be housed in available spaces across campus.

To access the Rolling Undergraduate Application, visit MyHomeAtPenn.

 

How to Apply

Third & Fourth-Year Students

Application

Are you a currently enrolled student who missed out on Room Selection? You can submit an application via the Rolling Undergraduate Application to be placed on our housing waitlist. The Rolling Undergraduate Application goes live on the afternoon of March 14. To access the Rolling Undergraduate Application, visit MyHomeAtPenn.

For students who were on the waitlist for the Returning Room Selection process, we will honor your current waitlist standing in the Rolling Undergraduate Housing Application.

How to Apply

Spring 2024 Housing

Returning Students

You will submit your preferred housing options by completing the Housing Application located at MyHomeAtPenn.  To access the application, you will need to log in using your PennKey username and password and navigate to the Spring 2024 Housing Application tab. 

The housing application will become live on October 23.  The application must be submitted by November 30 to be considered in the first round of assignments.  Applications received after November 30 will be accepted and processed on a rolling basis.   

All students that were admitted for Fall 2020 and later are required to reside on-campus for four semesters.  If a student that was admitted for Fall 2020 or later is returning from a leave of absence and has not completed their four-semester residency requirement, they will be required to apply for Spring semester housing.  For more information about the on-campus residency requirement, please visit here. If you are returning from a leave of absence, the Housing Occupancy team will contact you via email with application instructions. 

If you are a returning undergraduate student, you will self-select your room for the Spring 2024 semester in early December.  An email will be sent to all applicants in early December notifying them about their timeslot and how to select their rooms 

Exchange Students

You will submit your preferred housing options by completing the Housing Application located at MyHomeAtPenn.  To access the application, you will need to log in using your PennKey username and password and navigate to the Spring 2024 Housing Application tab. 

The housing application will become live on October 23.  The application must be submitted by December 1 to be considered in the first round of assignments.  Applications received after December 1 will be accepted and processed on a rolling basis.   

Exchange students who do not submit their housing applications by December 9 will be assigned to any available space.  Spring housing assignment information will be made available on Tuesday, December 12. 

All incoming exchange students are required to reside in on-campus housing, and students that were admitted for Fall 2020 and later are required to reside on-campus for four semesters.  If a student that was admitted for Fall 2020 or later is returning from a leave of absence and has not completed their four-semester requirement, they will be required to apply for Spring semester housing.  For more information about the on-campus residency requirement, please visit here

Exchange students will rank all 8 College Houses that are available to Upperclass students.  While your preferences are considered in the housing assignment process, they are not guaranteed due to availability, as returning Penn students have already been assigned rooms. Due to the high demand for high-rise apartments with private bedrooms, it is strongly encouraged that you also include preferences in other buildings.  There is limited availability for single and private bedrooms, so students should anticipate an assignment in a shared bedroom.