Roommates

First-Years, Transfers & Exchange

All students will complete a Lifestyle Profile as part of the housing application. You may request one roommate, or you may apply without a roommate and the Housing Occupancy Office will use your Lifestyle Profile and College House preferences to match you with a roommate or suitemates.

If you request a roommate:

•  Make sure you list the same College House preferences in the same order. 
•  If you are applying to a Program Community, both roommates must apply and be accepted into the program. A Program Community will not accept one roommate without the other. 
• If you have a different sex assigned at birth than your roommate, make sure you both sign up for Gender Inclusive Housing on the housing application.
•  To submit the roommate request, one roommate creates a roommate group name and password on the roommate groups step of the housing application and shares that information with the second student. 
•  The second student joins the group by entering the group name and password on the roommate groups step of the housing application. 
•  If you meet a student you want to room with after you submit your housing application, both students may log back into your housing application to edit the information on the roommate groups step, as long as you do so by May 31.
•  Both housing applications must be submitted by May 31.

Residential Services recognizes that transgender and intersex students may have particular needs for their on-campus living environment. Students are encouraged to contact the Housing Occupancy Office to discuss possible options for best supporting their needs. 

As a returning student, selecting who you live with is an important part of the application process. You and your roommate(s) will create a “Group” within the application. Roommate Groups are a way for students to enter the Room Selection process as a group of individuals who would like to live together in the same suite or apartment. Roommate Groups can range in size from anywhere from 2-6 students. Each Roommate Group is identified by a group name and password, so only those with the password are able to join the group.

If you plan to live alone, or do not have a specific roommate request, you will need to follow the steps above to create your Group. You will simply verify your group with you as the only member. During Fill A Unit you will only be allowed to select single rooms, but during Fill A Bed, you will be allowed to fill any vacant space without regard to filling the room. Students can select bed spaces in occupied rooms, so long as their gender matches that of the occupants. Should a student select Gender Inclusive Housing, they can only reserve a space where all other occupants have also made that selection. 

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.