Residential Life

Exciting changes are coming regarding how students will make their housing selection for the 2023-24 academic year. After listening to feedback from students and staff, and with the opening of the new Brook Street residence halls on the horizon, the Office of Residential Life (ResLife) has thoughtfully redesigned the housing selection process to improve students’ experience. 

These changes will allow ResLife to substantially enhance the timeline and process for rising sophomores and rising juniors to select and confirm their housing assignments in spring semester. This should reduce stressors for students, improve the preparedness of the smaller number of rising juniors receiving permission to live off-campus, and ensure that students who participate in selection will know their housing assignment before the end of spring semester. 

Throughout the selection process we will provide students with the information and support they need to understand and navigate options. This page will serve as a hub for resources related to housing selection.

Self-Selection How-To Guide

 

Watch this video to understand how self-selection works in our housing portal

Detailed Selection Timeline

  • January 24-31 - Greek, Program & Theme (GPT), Special Interest Application, and Non-Resident Intent Launch
    • STUDENTS HOPING TO LIVE IN A GREEK HOUSE, A PROGRAM HOUSE, BROWN RISD DUAL DEGREE, THEME or a SPECIAL INTEREST ALLOTMENT MUST APPLY FOR HOUSING BY JANUARY 31.
    • Students who are eligible for non-resident status (commuters, seniors, married students, RUE students, rising Brown-RISD Dual Degree third year students, and students 23 years or older) may accept non-resident status via the Non-Resident Intent Form, available via the Forms process.
  • February 1-15 – Greek, Program & Theme(GPT) & Special Interest Placement
    • Greek and Program leadership will submit applicant approvals and housing assignments with our office.. Students accepted into these areas are placed by leadership into spaces and do not select their own housing.
    • Sustainability, Interfaith, and Civic Engagement Themed Community Leadership will share accepted community members and their assignments with our office. Students accepted into these areas are placed by leadership into spaces and do not select their own housing.
    • Wellness Community Leadership will share accepted students with our office for processing. Students accepted into Wellness will select their own housing during the General Selection Days.
    • Special Interest applicants are notified of acceptance. Students accepted into Special Interest housing will be selecting their own housing during the General Selection Days.
    • Brown RISD Dual Degree applicants will be contacted by our office regarding their roommate preferences and will be assigned accordingly based on availability.
  • February 13-17 - ResLife Information Sessions & Open Office Hours
    • ResLife will host information sessions (in-person & Zoom) & drop-in hours, explaining the modifications and changes to the housing selection process and address any questions students may have. 
  • February 15-17 – Office of Residence Life notifies students of placement into GPT & Special Interest Communities 
    • Students are notified of their acceptance into the communities for which they applied. Students are notified that they must accept or decline these placements by February 23.
  • February 23 - Decision Day Deadline
    • Students offered placement in any Greek, Program, Theme, or Special Interest community, the Brown-RISD Dual Degree Community, or an assignment through the SAS accommodation or religious request process MUST accept or decline their assignment or placement by this date. 
    • Failure to respond with acceptance or decline will result in the removal from the pre-assigned community. Students who fail to respond will still have an opportunity to participate in the General Selection process in April. 
  • February 22-28 – Junior Selection/Off-Campus Interest Application Launch
    • Rising juniors wishing to live off campus will submit both their Housing Application for on-campus housing as well as express interest to live off-campus (this is an application to be exempt from the On-Campus Housing Requirement Policy).The Office of Residential Life strongly discourages students or their families from signing any lease without confirmation from our office that the exemption has been granted. The signing of a lease for off-campus housing is not justification for receiving off-campus approval, and the signing of a lease - and any resulting financial difficulties - will not result in non-resident status. Those released from this residency requirement will be selected through a randomized lottery process.  
  • March 15-22 –Junior Off-Campus Permission/Release
    • Rising juniors who expressed interest to live off-campus and were approved will be contacted on a rolling basis by the Office of Residential Life.
  • March 22 -April 4 – General Selection Application Launch
    • Rising juniors and sophomores (who did not previously apply or accept placement through the GPT & SI process) will submit their application for on-campus housing for 2023-2024.
    • All students living on campus for Academic Year 2023-2024 must have a Completed Housing Application submitted prior to April 4 in order to select housing through the General Selection process. Students required to live on campus who do not have an application on file prior to April 4 will be assigned a room on campus after the Housing Selection Process concludes, over the summer.
  • April 6-11 – Roommate Group Pairing & Timeslots
    • All students with completed applications that do not already have an assignment for Fall 2023 will be given a timeslot for selection.
    • Students going through General Selection may form roommate group pairings. Students should be prepared to change their groupings based on room availability at their assigned timeslot. 
  • April 11-12 – General Selection Days
    • Rising seniors, juniors, and sophomores who applied for on-campus housing will select their room(s) for 2023-2024.
    • All students living on campus that were not previously given an assignment through a previous process will select their on-campus assignment for the following academic year.
  • April - August - Late Assignment & Contract Agreement
    • Once General Selection has concluded, any student that did not select their own room or accept a placement into a community will be assigned by the Office of Residential Life.
    • Prior to moving onto campus in the Fall, all students will be required to digitally sign the Housing Contract.

Residence Hall Tours

This spring, Residential Life will host tours of the residence halls to inform decision-making during housing selection

When are the tours being held?

April 4th from 8:00 pm -9:30 pm 

 

Where are the tours?

All tours will leave from Grad Center E. Tours will be grouped by residence hall. Students will leave from Grad Center with a tour guide, visit a residence hall, and return back to Grad Center with the same tour guide. Students can then select another residence hall to visit.

 

Which residence halls are included?

Chapin, Goddard, Grad Ctr., Greg A, Greg B, Harkness, Littlefield, Perkins, Sears, Barbour, Buxton, Diman, Hegeman, Hope, Marcy, Minden, Olney, Slater

 

Do I have to sign up if I want to see a tour?

While there is no official sign up, please fill out this interest form so we can get a sense of which residence halls will be the most popular. 

 

How many tours can I see?

You can see as many tours as you can fit throughout the 8-9:30 timeframe. Keep in mind, some tours travel farther from Grad Center than others and may limit the number of tours you can fit in. However, there are no tours going to North campus.

 

Why are the tours leaving from Grad Center? 

We want to provide a space for students to come ask questions about the housing process. We will have leaders from ResLife, ResCouncil, and UCS at tables in Grad Center E giving information and answering questions throughout the tours. By having the tours leave from a centralized location, we are also hoping to reduce foot traffic in the residence halls and keep the tours at a reasonable size. 

 

What spaces will I get to see on the tour?

You will get to see one showcase room in each residence hall. If you are visiting a residence hall with suites, you will also get to see one suite. Kitchens and lounges will also be shown to students. 

 

What if I can’t make the tours from 8-9:30 pm? Will they be offered on another date?

Unfortunately, this is the only date tours will be offered this semester. This is the first time we are hosting housing tours, so we expect to make some changes for future tours. If they are successful, we will plan on running tours next year. 

Tabling at the Dining Halls

Housing staff will be tabling at the dining halls during the week of April 3 to answer housing selection questions

Tabling Hours

Tuesday, April 4 11:30am - 1pm at Verney-Woolley

Wednesday, April 5 11:30am - 1pm at Andrews Commons

Thursday, April 6, 11:30am - 1pm at Verney-Woolley

Links to Additional Resources