Dear Vanderbilt Students,

We write today with additional information about the 2021-22 housing application process. As communicated March 8, we are returning to traditional levels of housing capacity and occupancy, with a large majority of students residing on-campus.

We are excited to share the following changes:

• The housing assignment process is shorter and has been simplified
• Branscomb Quad (Lupton, Stapleton, Scales, and Vaughn) will resume housing upper-division students at its designed capacity
• Chaffin apartments (48 four-person units) will again be available to the upper-division students
• The Village at Vanderbilt Townhouses (30 two-bedroom, three-person apartments) and Village at Vanderbilt South Tower apartments (75 one-bedroom, two-person; 12 two-bedroom, four person; and 6 three-bedroom, six-person) will be additional options for upper-division housing
• For this year only, the Residential Colleges assignment process will be modified by suspending the class cohort allocations for the 2021-2022 academic year and implementing a simple seniority driven, random selection process
• Carmichael Towers East will be closed

To stay responsive to the COVID-19 pandemic, Blakemore House will continue as quarantine and isolation housing.

The housing assignment process for the 2021-2022 academic year will begin April 1 and will continue into June with a brief hiatus during the exam and commencement period May 1-15.  To help students navigate the assignment process, the Office of Housing and Residential Experience (OHARE) provides the Guide to the Housing Assignment Process.  Because the assignment process for the 2021-2022 academic year differs from previous years, please review the Guide in its entirety.

The Guide provides the following information:

• A full calendar of dates and deadlines
• Information about the various assignment processes
• Information of forming roommate/hallmate groups

Vanderbilt offers a variety of housing options – residential colleges, living learning communities, apartments, suites, and traditional single and double rooms – and emphasizes personal choice in a competitive assignment process.  We encourage you to explore the on-campus housing options via the information provided on our website, and by talking with your friends and other students about their experiences in our communities.  With the exception of our Living Learning Communities (LLC’s)  Mayfield, McGill, and McTyeire, student assignments are determined via seniority driven, random selection processes.

Of particular note, the assignment process for residential colleges has been modified for the 2021-2022 academic year only. The modified process retains the privilege of current residents to return to their colleges but suspends the 1/3-each allocations of spaces for 2nd-year, 3rd-year, and 4th-year students respectively. In place of the allocations, available spaces in the residential colleges will be included in the general lotteries for apartments/suites, singles, and doubles and students will compete for those spaces on the basis of seniority. The purpose of the change is to provide improved opportunities for rising 4th-year students to experience a residential college.  For the 2022-2023 academic year and beyond, the assignment process for residential colleges will reinstate the 1/3-each class-cohort allocation of spaces.

Current residential college residents (with the exception of first-time spring 2021 semester residents) are eligible to participate in the returning resident process for their residential college.  Previous residential college residents who took occupancy in their college in the fall 2020 semester or earlier who took a leave of absence or opted into remote study for the spring 2021 semester are also eligible to participate.  Residents can apply as individuals or can form roommate groups with other members of their current college.  All students who participate in the returning resident process for their college are guaranteed a space.  Please review the Residential Colleges Returning Resident Process section of the Guide for additional details.

Upon conclusion of the Residential Colleges Returning Resident Process, we will begin the suite/apartment processes, followed by the processes for traditional single rooms and traditional double rooms.  Spaces that are unassigned in the residential colleges and other upper-division residence halls will be available during these processes.  Please review relevant sections of the Guide for additional details.

The majority of our housing options are designated for groups of two or more occupants. Students are responsible for forming their own roommate groups.  We recognize that you may need assistance identifying a roommate or roommates and are happy to assist.  Please review the Roommate Assistance section of the Guide for additional details.

We want to help you make the best decisions possible throughout the housing assignment process.  If you have questions, please contact us at ohare@vanderbilt.edu or 615-322-2591.

Alison Matarese
Director of Housing Assignments

Ashley Ladyman
Associate Director of Housing Assignments

Josh Miller
Coordinator of Housing Assignments