Application Guide

The housing application will be available on the My Housing Portal starting Tuesday, February 7, 2023 at Noon and will close at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, February 28, 2023.

The application does not require an application fee and all rising sophomores, juniors and seniors are welcome to apply.  The application is for consideration for a spot on campus with priority given to rising sophomores. The application is NOT first-come, first-served, but you must apply by the deadline to be considered. We may not be able to guarantee all students who apply - it will depend on the number of applications received. All applicants will receive an email within one week after the application closes about their guarantee status.  Students may also apply for a Living Learning Community and create a roommate group during this time.

No student is automatically guaranteed housing. The priority for receiving a space on campus for 2023-2024 as a returning student will generally be based on when a student was admitted to UD.  Rising sophomores (any current first year student admitted during the 2022-2023 academic year regardless of credits completed), Spring 2023 transfer students, and students transitioning from the Associate in Arts program for Fall 2023 will receive highest priority, followed next by rising juniors and rising seniors.  

Students who apply by the deadline and get guaranteed a space on campus may be able to participate in room selection and be offered a timeslot to self-select their space based on room selection priority. Priority for room selection/assignment will be determined by seniority (term admitted to UD with most senior students selecting first) and then roommate group size (larger groups selecting before individuals).  Priority will be averaged for groups with mixed class years. 

We anticipate that most, but not all, students who are guaranteed a space on campus will have an opportunity to select their own room in the spring. The room assignment process is expected to begin in mid-March 2023. Some students will be manually assigned by our staff later on and may not receive their assignment until the summer.

Once a student’s basic application is complete, students may create verified roommate groups of 2-4 with other applicants in the Roommate Manager section of the My Housing Portal through February 28 at 5pm. While most students in roommate groups are able to be assigned together somewhere on campus, forming a roommate group does not guarantee assignment together, which will depend on space availability.

Students applying to live in a Living Learning or Theme Housing Community may only create a group with other students who have also applied to that community. That means all group members must apply to the community separately, and groups may be separated who don’t meet this criteria as of the application deadline.

Once a student’s basic application is complete, they may also apply to live in a specific in-hall community through the Housing Communities section of the My Housing Portal through February 28 at 5pm. On-campus Theme Housing Communities and Living Learning Communities (LLCs) provide students with unique experiences designed around academic programs, interests or identities. LLCs specifically are supported by an academic department.

You can learn more about the communities being offered for upper division students on our In-Hall Communities webpage or in the portal.

If in a roommate group, each group member must complete their own Housing Communities application since you can only select roommates who have also applied to the community. If approved for the community, you'll only be able to select from, or be assigned into, available spaces within that community. If you request to leave that community prior to the room assignment process, you may lose your guarantee for housing and will be placed at the end of the non-guaranteed wait list.

Traditional, suite, and apartment-style housing will all be available to returning students for next year with each type making up about one third of our returning student inventory. Single rooms are limited. Final housing placements will depend on what kinds of spaces are available at the time that you select your space or are assigned to a space.

When you apply for housing, you are applying to live on campus in general. We do not guarantee a particular style of housing, specific room, or roommate as part of being guaranteed housing on campus. Apartments only make up about 30% of our housing inventory for returning students, so we cannot guarantee placement in an apartment.

You can cancel your application without fee up until the point that you are guaranteed housing. We expect to send out guarantees of housing within one week after the application closes.

• If you are initially guaranteed housing, you have from that point through 11:59 p.m. on June 5, 2023 to cancel with a $200 cancellation fee. Beginning June 6, you become legally bound to the contract and can no longer cancel your application.
  
• If you are not initially guaranteed housing and are placed on our waitlist, you can continue to cancel at any time without fee up until the time you are guaranteed housing. Once guaranteed and before your binding date, you can cancel with a $200 cancellation fee. If guaranteed prior to June 6, your binding date will be June 6. If guaranteed beginning June 6, you will have three business days from guarantee notification before your contract is binding. Once your contract binding date occurs, you may not cancel your contract.

To cancel your application before becoming bound, log into the My Housing portal, go to the Application Status section and select Cancel Application/Request for Release from the menu dropdown.

The Undergraduate Student Housing Contract is like a lease in that it is a legally-binding financial agreement. Before you sign your contract and validate your application, please be sure to review the terms and agreements outlined, as release from your contract (after the binding date) is very unlikely.

The housing application is considered valid when a student signs the Student Housing Contract and agrees to the fees associated with the cancellation. Students under the age of 18 will need a parent/guardian to sign the contract for them.  

Housing rates are determined by the Board of Trustees in their spring meeting, and are generally released in June or July for the upcoming year. We typically see a 2-5% increase to the previous year's rates, which can be viewed here.

The returning student housing application for next year closes on February 28 at 5 p.m. at which point we will not be accepting late applications. Depending on space availability, we may open a late, non-guaranteed application closer to the summer. Keep an eye on our website and in the housing portal, or contact our office toward the end of the semester for updates.

For students interested in off-campus housing options, the Office of the Dean of Students offers resources to assist with your search, as well as sites like Places4Students which also features listings of available off-campus spaces.