It is time for another year of housing selection! Housing selection is a virtual process for returning students that will take place in the housing portal beginning in mid-March.
Please read through the information below to learn more about the available selection processes and your options. We are here to support you through every step of this process.
The housing selection season is an exciting time for our office. We will be happy to answer any questions you may have about the application, roommate groups, room selection, or the different processes available. Please submit a contact form or give us a call and we will return your call as soon as possible.
Students applying for 2024-2025 Housing will use the application found on the Housing Portal. The application will be available in the housing portal starting February 1!
Returning Students
Welcome to the returning student Housing Selection page! We are excited you are planning to live on campus with us again next year. UMW and national data shows that students who live on campus are more likely to succeed academically and have an overall more enjoyable experience at UMW.
We have provided a wealth of information about Housing Selection below and within the links provided. Please read everything thoroughly and contact our office if you have questions. For students participating in specific processes, additional information will be sent via email after applications are submitted.
Please note: First-year students who sign an agreement to live on campus during 2023-2024 are bound by the two-year residency requirement and may not choose to change to commuter status without being released by the Contract Review Committee. Students obligated to the second-year fulfillment who do not participate in the Housing Selection process will still be assigned a space and be held to the terms and conditions of the Housing and Dining Agreement.
Housing Selection Timeline
- February 1: Housing and Dining Application opens at noon for 2024-2025 academic year
- March 8: ALL Housing and Dining Applications DUE for returning 2024-2025 students (roommate groups finalized)
- March 18: Housing selection begins for students with approved ODR Accommodations (only accommodations that affect physical placement, excludes students with ESAs, bed shakers, etc.)
- Week of March 25: Same Building Sign-Up process begins; students who have signed up to live in their same building will choose their space during this week (reminder: students must fill their entire room, apartment, or suite). Roommates must be placed at this time.
- March 25: Room selection timeslots emailed to eligible residents
- March 26: 4-person roommate group timeslots begin
- March 27: 3-person roommate group timeslots begin
- March 28: 2-person roommate group timeslots begin
- March 29: Individual timeslots begin
- Week of April 1: 4-3-2-1 process for Housing Selection begins; any group member will log in during their assigned time slot and select their room space as well as assign all roommates.
- April 1: Room selection timeslots emailed to 4-person and 3-person roommate groups
- April 2: 4-person roommate group timeslots begin
- April 4: 3-person roommate group timeslots begin
- April 8: Room selection timeslots emailed to 2-person and 1-person roommate groups
- April 9: 2-person roommate group timeslots begin
- April 11: Individual timeslots begin
Options for Upper-class Students
- Manual Assignment by Residence Life and Housing – Certain circumstances require Residence Life and Housing staff to manually assign students to rooms. This includes some ODR accommodations, Flexible Housing groups, or Specialty Communities. Our goal is to provide as many students as possible the opportunity to use the Housing Portal to select their space; if a manual assignment is needed, a member of the Residence Life and Housing team will let you know prior to the Housing Selection process.
- Same Building Sign-Up – Students who currently reside in an upper-class hall have the opportunity to select their same building for the following year. Students will be asked during the application process if they plan to Same Building Sign-Up. Same Building Sign-Up requires students to fill their space or be consolidated if there are spaces open. Please note: this is not applicable to first-year students who live in first-year halls.
- Self-Select a Room – All students participating in either Same Building Sign Up or 4-3-2-1 General Selection will be assigned a room selection timeslot to go into the Housing Portal and select a space from the available rooms. Any group member can log into the housing portal during their room selection timeslot, select a space from available rooms, and assign all group members to the available spaces.
- Must Fill Space – Students participating in Housing Selection, regardless of which process they are a part of, must fill their selected space. For example, if you are interested in signing up for a suite in Eagle Landing (consisting of two double rooms), you must have a roommate group that allows for you to fill all four spaces in the suite or to fill both spaces in one of the double rooms. This goes for all spaces, including the UMW Apartments. The housing portal will only show rooms/units/suites with exactly the same number of available spaces as members of your roommate group.
Housing Selection Process
Students participating in the 4-3-2-1 process will choose their spaces for next year based on roommate group size and classification. Students who have a four-person group will select their spaces first. Room selection timeslots will be assigned based on student classification so that Seniors in four-person groups receive the earliest timeslots, then Juniors in four-person groups, and so on. Students with a four-person roommate group can only see and select spaces that match the number of students in the group (i.e. four-person suites or apartments).
After the four-person roommate groups have gone, three-person roommate groups will begin room selection. Room selection timeslots will again begin with Seniors in three-person groups, move on to Juniors in three-person groups, and so on. Three-person roommate groups can only see and select spaces that have three vacancies, and no more. A three-person group cannot select three spaces in Eagle Landing and leave one vacancy. Whatever space you choose, you will need to fill. We encourage roommate groups to have a back up plan in place if their top choice is not available during their timeslot. After three-person groups, we will go by classification for two-person groups, and then finally for individuals who are not in a roommate group.
If there are vacancies in an apartment or suite, that apartment or suite will be subject to consolidation. This means if you select a single space in a 4 person apartment, you may be moved to another room or apartment in order to fill that apartment and open the apartment you were in. Consolidation will not change the type of room you have selected. For example, if you selected a single room, you will only be moved to a single room. If you have selected a double room you will only be moved to a double, etc. During consolidation, we will not break up roommate groups.
To learn more about these options, please read further on the Housing Selection Processes web page