Returning Students

No, on-campus housing is not guaranteed for students after the first academic year/semester of initial admission to the university. Returning students must complete an application in the My Housing portal during the application timeframe to be considered for a space on campus, and there is no fee to apply. Applicants will be notified via email whether or not we can guarantee them a space on campus.

Students enrolled in a 4+1 or 3+2 program and Associate in Arts students transitioning to the Newark campus for the respective term also follow the returning student application process and timeline.

Spring Housing: For returning students not already living on campus in the fall who want to move on campus in the spring semester, the spring housing application typically opens in early November with a priority deadline in mid-December. Applications will be considered on a rolling basis, space permitting.

Fall/Academic Year Housing: For returning students wanting to live on campus for the next academic year, the application is expected to open in the first week of the Spring semester and remain open for the month of February. All applications will be reviewed after the deadline. We highly recommend that students interested in living on campus apply by the deadline as there may not be another opportunity to apply. Our ability to open a late application in the summer for students who miss the original deadline will depend on space availability. 

Guarantee of housing is dependent upon how many students apply for housing.  Priority for being guaranteed a space on campus for next year will generally be based on the term when a student was admitted to UD regardless of credits completed. Rising sophomores (any first year student admitted during the most recent academic year) will receive highest priority, followed next by students admitted during the last academic year and so forth. If the number of rising sophomores who apply outnumbers the available spaces, not all rising sophomores will be guaranteed and no other groups will be guaranteed. Priority to be guaranteed housing within each class grouping will be determined at random. Priority will be averaged for roommate groups with mixed admit terms.

Note that the priority process to be guaranteed housing differs from the room assignment priority process which is explained below.

Students who are not initially guaranteed housing may have the opportunity to be placed on a non-guaranteed waitlist for housing in case space becomes available during the summer.

Yes, students who apply during the application period can request roommates. For the academic year process, students can form roommate groups up to a certain size with students of the same gender from within the applicant pool. The full group will either be guaranteed housing or not guaranteed housing based on their averaged priority. While most students in roommate groups are able to be assigned together, forming a roommate group does not guarantee assignment together, which will depend on space availability. Living with a specific person is not guaranteed for any student on campus. Details about the roommate request process each year will be announced closer to the application opening. 

Traditional, suite, and apartment-style housing are available, with each type representing about one third of our inventory for returning students. Room types include limited single occupancy, some triple occupancy and the majority of students living in double occupancy. Where a student ends up will depend on what housing options are available at the time that they select their space or are assigned to a space. Explore Our Halls online to learn more about our buildings and amenities. We also offer specific in-hall communities for returning students - details about next year's communities will become available once the application opens.

When you apply for housing, you are applying for a space on campus in general.  Students cannot apply to live in a specific location or room type, and we can't guarantee placement in a specific location.  We recommend that students who only want to live in an apartment look at off-campus housing since only about 30% of returning students will live in apartments on campus.

Most, but not all, returning students who get guaranteed housing for next year will self-select their room assignment within the online housing portal during the spring semester. In recent years, priority for room selection/assignment has been determined by term admitted to UD and roommate group size. Students admitted earliest (typically rising seniors) are given the highest priority with students admitted in the most recent year having the lowest priority (typically rising sophomores). Priority will be averaged for groups with mixed admit terms. Within each admit term grouping, roommate groups will be given priority by size with largest groups having the highest priority and individuals having the lowest priority.  

Guaranteed students who do not get the opportunity to self-select their space will be manually assigned by our staff throughout the summer. This typically impacts rising sophomores who have the lowest priority.