Questions & Answers
The housing selection process is for current residents only. This process allows for students currently residing on-campus to select their housing assignment for the next academic year.
Note: Incoming students do not participate in the housing selection process. They complete a similar process at a different time, but do not select their housing assignment.
The housing selection process is open to students living on-campus during the current academic year.
If you lived on-campus during the fall semester but do not live on campus during the spring semester, contact buhouse@bloomu.edu to confirm that you are included in the process.
All current on-campus students can choose to live on-campus again, however there are procedures and date sensitive requirements that must be met in order to secure housing. If students fail to follow our timeline and complete housing requirements, they will not be eligible to select on-campus housing the following year. Please see the housing selection schedule for specific dates and times.
Students under obligation of the 2-year residency requirement who do not complete this process and select housing or do not have an approved exemption will automatically be matched with roommates and assigned housing by the Office of Residence Life. Complete the process and select your preferred roommate and housing location.
All new full-time undergraduate students are required by Commonwealth University to live in University housing for their first four semesters (not including summer and winter sessions) with the following general exceptions. The residency requirement also applies to readmitted students and transfer students who have not completed two years of on-campus residency at another university post-high school.
- Students who reside with their parent or legal guardian within 30 miles of campus
- Married students
- Students who are 21 years of age or older by before the first day of classes for the fall semester
- Students who are the parent or legal guardian of dependent child
- Transfer students who have attended another university and lived on-campus for 4 semesters and have earned 60 or more credits
- Students who have received a general discharge under honorable conditions from U.S. Military service
- Students whose recommended accommodation from University Disability Services supports living off campus
- Students who are officially withdrawing or transferring from the university
- Students who are transferring to Commonwealth University's Lock Haven or Mansfield campus
As part of the 2-year residency requirement, you will complete a new housing agreement for the following year and will have the opportunity to select your specific housing location during the housing selection process.
Why a 2-year requirement? With the success of our students at the forefront of this decision, the plan is rooted in data relating to student success, access to support services, and offers a transition and more healthy pathway toward life after college.
Students who meet one or more of the exception reasons and wish to not live on-campus for the second year of their residency requirement, must submit a Housing Exemption Request form to request an exemption. You will not be exempt unless you receive an approval notice from the Office of Housing and Residence Life.
Follow all information and instructions sent out through BU email and posted on our housing selection pages.
We cannot guarantee that students will get the exact housing they want. Our housing process is organized so that students first have an opportunity to select their current apartment/suite/room (as long as they have completed the necessary steps to that point). The process is then broken down so that students living elsewhere on-campus, depending on their current housing location and number of credits they have earned to date, get the next opportunity to choose housing. This means that some students may not get their first choice. We encourage students to have a second or even a third housing choice.
No, a deposit is not required.
However, you must complete your housing agreement in MyHousing Self-Service by the date indicated during the current housing selection process to confirm your commitment to live on-campus. Once you complete the housing selection process you are committed to on-campus housing for the full academic year (fall and spring semesters). As long as you complete all parts of the housing selection process, you will be able to select campus housing during the selection dates in March.
For housing rate and fee information visit the Housing Rates & Fees page of our website.
No. All expenses (i.e. garbage, cable, internet, electric) are paid through housing and utility fees.
The on-campus housing agreement covers the full academic year (fall and spring semesters) or remaining portion thereof.
See Searching for a Roommate on the MyHousing Self-Service page.
You must have the exact number of roommates requested in MyHousing Self-Service to fill the number of beds in the apartment/suite/room that you want. Your roommate group must be fully matched, which means that each roommate must request everyone in the group. If you want to remove someone from your roommate group, everyone in the group must do the same.
MyHousing Self-Service will only show you available apartments/suites/rooms that match the number of roommates in your roommate group.
Yes, students are permitted to select their roommate(s) for next year, however, their roommates must be eligible to live on campus and must also complete all of the housing selection requirements to secure housing. If the roommate you want to request does not meet deadlines, you will not be able to choose them. Roommate requests must be entered by each roommate in MyHousing Self-Service before you try to select your housing.
- New incoming students do not normally complete the housing selection process. Current on-campus residents planning to live on campus again can request new incoming students as roommates, if the incoming student is admitted and has already paid their admissions deposit prior to the housing selection process in March.
- If you would like to request a new incoming student as a roommate during the housing selection process, email buhouse@bloomu.edu so that we can determine whether or not they are eligible to be your roommate and if so, give them access to participate in the housing selection process.
- If the new incoming student does not meet the requirements prior to the housing selection process in March, you will not be able to request them. You will need to request another roommate who is eligible for on-campus housing. Once your new incoming student is admitted, they can email us to request to be placed close to your room and we will try to do so.
If for some reason, after you have selected your apartment/suite/room, your roommate(s) notifies us that they are no longer attending BU, we will fill the vacancy. We encourage students to check their housing assignment in MyHousing Self-Service throughout the remainder of the semester and again when we open assignments in the summer for any changes. Students will not be notified directly about roommate changes. Assignments are blocked in MyHousing Self-Service after the Spring semester ends through the first week of June while we work on placing our incoming new students.
Students must answer the Personal Information questions in MyHousing Self-Service even if you request a roommate(s). In the event that your roommate(s) does not return, we will fill that space with another student. We will try to match your answers to your new roommate so it is in your best interest to have them completed.
If you plan on living with a CA again (in a suite or apartment only), you must complete the housing agreement, personal information questions and roommate request in MyHousing Self-Service during the housing selection process. You will not need to participate in the room selection process in March as we will place you wherever your CA roommate is assigned.
If you do not want to live with a CA again next year, you should complete the entire housing selection process and select housing in a different room, suite or apartment during the scheduled dates.
All students should have a back-up plan. During the selection process, MyHousing Self-Service will show you what rooms, suites and apartments are available. You will only see options matching the same number of beds as roommates in your roommate group. If there is nothing available in the location you want, you can rearrange your roommate group by adding or removing roommates to fill a different size room, suite or apartment. Each person in your roommate group must do the same so you have a newly matched group. It would be a good idea to have everyone in your group together when you are selecting in case you need to change plans.
If you no longer need on-campus housing, review the housing release request. We will not release students to move off-campus after the start of the academic year. With that in mind, we encourage you to be sure you need on-campus housing before signing up.
MyHousing Self-Service will not allow you to make changes once you have selected housing. In order to make this type of change, each roommate will need to email buhouse@bloomu.edu as soon as possible to request a change to be made. We will remove you from the assignment you chose which will allow you to go back in and select a different location. Keep in mind that the housing you really wanted could be gone by the time these changes occur so pay close attention to what you are doing in MyHousing Self-Service when you select your room, suite or apartment.
Remember, your housing agreement is for the full academic year, or any remaining portion. Review the housing release request for information on what to do if you no longer need campus housing.
We will not release students to move off-campus after the start of the academic year. With that in mind, we encourage you to be sure you need on-campus housing before signing up.
No, Winter session (between fall and spring semesters), 12-month housing and interim housing, are not included in your Fall - Spring housing agreement. Students who need housing over breaks (i.e. international students, winter sports) or anticipate taking an on-campus Winter Session course between fall and spring semesters must sign up for a campus apartment (MPA, MOA or JKA) or Elwell Hall, which is the 12-month residence hall. Students who need year-round housing must sign up for Elwell Hall. You will need to submit an Interim Housing Request Form closer to the start of that session. There will be an additional charge for Winter Session, 12-Month and Interim Housing applied to your account at that time. Students living elsewhere will not be permitted to stay on-campus during Winter Session.
