Residential Life

First-Year Room Selection

At UVM, first-year students are able to select their own space within their assigned learning community.

Room Selection Overview

1. Receive your Learning Community Placement and room selection window.

In Early June, you will receive your Learning Community placement via email! At the same time, you find out the selection window for your community.

Example (dates are not accurate!): You find out that you are assigned to Arts and Creativity, and that the Arts and Creativity selection window is June 25-28 (again, dates are not accurate).

2. Receive your individual time slot.

24-48 hours before your selection window, you will receive your specific time slot within the room selection window. If you formed a roommate group according to instructions, you all should be assigned the same time slot.

Example: You find out that your individual time slot is June 26 at 10 am.

3. Select a room!
You made it! During your assigned time slot, go into the housing portal, view available rooms, and select a space. Please see the accordions below for more information about room selection, including instructions to select with roommates.

Example: It's 9:55 on June 26, and you're ready to select! You're in a roommate group with two other students, and you previously decided that you are going to be the point-person to select a space. You go into the housing portal and find an available triple space in McAuley hall. You assign beds, sign and submit your selection on the confirmation page, and can now view your booking.

Room Selection Resources

Learning Community First-Year Locations

Please note: These locations are tentative at this time and are subject to change.

Arts and Creativity:  Mercy, McAuley
Global Connections:  Living/Learning A, B, C, D, E
Innovation and Entrepreneurship:  Simpson, Mason, Hamilton
Leadership and Social Change:  Christie, Patterson, Wright
Outdoor Experience:  Wing, Davis, Wilks
Sustainability:  Marsh, Austin, Tupper
Wellness Environment: Central Campus Residence Hall
Gaming Collective:  Jeanne Mance

For more information, please view the Hall information page.

Selecting with Roommates

Only students who created a roommate group in the housing contract and received confirmation from Residential Life will go through room selection together. If you did not create a roommate group, you will select as an individual. You can create a roommate group in the housing contract up until the May 17 deadline. After May 17, you will not be able to add a roommate and will go through room selection as an individual.

Prepare for Room Selection

Double-check to be sure your roommate group was confirmed via email from Residential Life.
Discuss any potential preferences for room locations with your roommate/s. Be sure to have plenty of backup options.
Designate one person to be the official "room selector". This just means that they will be the person to physically select your space and hit submit. This can be any member of your roommate group and does not need to be the creator of the group.

Please note:
Roommate pairs may choose double or triple rooms. You may only see triple spaces available for selection, which means there are no double rooms left. If a roommate pair selects a triple room, the third space will be available for another student.

Room Selection Instructions

While all roommates can view potential spaces during your selection window, your designated selector will be the one to select a space. Some groups all go into the portal to look at spaces together, and others discuss ahead of time and just have the designated selector choose. If one or more group members is unavailable during the time slot, no worries! One person can (and must) select for the group.

During your designated timeslot, go to the housing portal to begin the room selection event.
You will see all available rooms in your Learning Community. Buildings are designated only for first-years, returners, or both. You will only see buildings in your LC availble to for first-year students.
Once you have found a space, your designated room selector will "assign beds" to members of your roommate group.
The room selector will be taken to a confirmation page. This is the last opportunity to go back and make changes!
On the confirmation page, the room selector will "sign and submit" to finalize your room choice.

Now you can relax! Enjoy the rest of the summer-- we can't wait to see you in August!

Common Room Selection Concerns

I'm unavailable during my selection window
No worries! You can select at any time after your time slot during your Learning Community's selection window. You cannot select before your designated time slot.

I don't see any rooms in my preferred hall.
In most cases, this is because there are not any available rooms in that hall. It may also be that the hall you want to live in is only available for returner students. Please select a space in another hall. Don't worry- we guarantee that you will have a space in your assigned Learning Community!

I don't see any single/double rooms/I only see triple rooms.
All spaces that are available to you will show up in the housing portal. If a certain room type does not show up, it means that we do not have any of those spaces left in the buildings available to you. 40% of incoming students will be assigned to a triple space, so we recommend preparing for that potential!

A note on singles
We have very, very limited singles on campus and many are reserved for medical accommodations. We recommend that students anticipate a double or triple room assignmen unless they require an accommodation. If you think you may qualify for an accommodation, please contact Student Accessibility Services.

I'm in a roommate pair, but don't see any double rooms/I'm selecting as an individual, but don't see any single rooms.
Roommate pairs will see any rooms that have two available beds, including triple rooms. If you don't see doubles, it's because there are not any available. Likewise, individual students will see any spaces that have an available bed, including double and triple rooms.

My roommates and I have different selection windows.
If you and your roommate/s have different selection windows, then you are not in a confirmed roommate group and will go through room selection as individuals.

Why wasn't my roommate group confirmed?
There are a number of reasons why a roommate group may not be confirmed. Often, one student may have failed to accept the invitation to the group. Other times, one of the roommates may have been approved for accessibility-related accommodations, and will need to be placed in a different space to meet their needs.

I want to room with someone but we didn't make a roommate group. What should we do?
There is no way to guarantee that you will have a space together if you are not in a roommate group. You can always try to arrange a body-for-body swap once you're both on campus.

Can my friends and I select a suite together?
No, sorry! You can only sign up for a room with one or two roommates (as long as you preferenced each other on the contract). If you do sign up for a room in a suite, the other rooms within the suite are open to others who may wish to choose there.

What happens if I miss the deadline to choose my room?
If you are required to live on campus, we'll contact you after room selection has ended and assign you to an available space. If you are not required to live on campus, housing is not guaranteed and you'll need to submit a housing request at housing.uvm.edu.

Disability Accommodations

All ResLife housing accommodation requests are handled through the Student Accessibility (SAS) office, and must be renewed each year. Students with documented disabilities may be eligible for a housing accommodation and documentation is required. Contact Student Accessibility Services (SAS) as soon as possible for the best consideration.