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Housing and Residential Experience

Guide to the Housing Assignment Process – General Information

The Undergraduate Residential Requirement

The residential experience is understood to be an integral part of a Vanderbilt education. This commitment to residential education is clearly expressed in the university’s residential requirement put in place by the Board of Trust in 1952:

“All unmarried undergraduate students must live in residence halls on campus during the academic year, May session, and summer sessions. Authorization to live elsewhere is granted at the discretion of the Director of Housing Assignments and Operations in special situations or when space is unavailable on campus.”
—Student Handbook

The requirement is binding on all undergraduate students regardless of age or academic class. By accepting a room assignment, a student is contractually obligated to occupy that room for the entire academic year, unless the student withdraws from the university, takes a leave of absence, graduates, or participates in a Vanderbilt Study Abroad program. Vacant spaces are subject to assignment by Housing and Residential Experience at any time.

Eligibility

All returning undergraduate students currently enrolled at Vanderbilt are required to participate in the housing assignment process. Students who are participating in spring 2025 study abroad programs, out-of-town internship programs, or are on a leave of absence but plan to return to Vanderbilt for the fall 2025 semester are required to participate in the housing assignment process. Students who currently have off-campus authorization for the 2024-2025 academic year are required to participate and must re-apply for off-campus authorization for the 2025-2026 academic year.  Fall 2025 transfer students and students who have been readmitted to Vanderbilt for the fall 2025 semester are not permitted to participate in the housing assignment process and will be assigned housing during their respective processes.

Registering for the 2025-2026 Housing Assignment Process

All returning students, except those graduating prior to the fall 2025 semester, must register for the housing assignment process between November 4 and November 8, 2024. To complete the Housing Registration, log into the Housing Portal and select 2025-2026 Housing Registration. The deadline to register is November 8, 2024 at 6 p.m. CDT.

Completion of the Housing Registration permits students to participate in future housing assignment processes.  Students do not select any housing during the registration period.

Housing Registration is comprised of three steps:

  1. Signing the 2025-2026 Housing Contract.
  2. Acknowledgement of the renter’s insurance requirement and option to sign up for renter’s insurance with GradGuard.
  3. Completion of a brief lifestyle questionnaire.

While upper-division students self-select roommates for group living, there are occasions where vacancies occur in group living due to cancellations/students not returning after completion of the housing assignment process.  While we provide students with the option to identify a new roommate of their choice whenever possible, there are occasions where students do not have another student to fill the vacancy, and Housing will need to assign the space.  If this occurs, questionnaire responses will be used by staff when making an assignment.

Students who register after the November 8, 2024 deadline will lose one (1) point in the housing assignment process.  Please see below for additional information regarding seniority and points.

Housing Options

Vanderbilt offers upper-division students three different types of on-campus housing:  Residential Colleges, Living Learning Communities (LLC’s), and Traditional Upper-Division Housing.

  • Residential Colleges: Designed to expand on the experience provided to students on the Ingram Commons, Vanderbilt has six upper-division residential colleges – Oliver C. Carmichael College, E. Bronson Ingram College, Moore College, Nicholas S. Zeppos College, Rothschild College, and Warren College.  Each college is led by a live-in Faculty Head of College who is responsible for the programmatic vision and creating an environment where Vanderbilt’s core beliefs are manifest.
  • Living Learning Communities (LLCs): These communities offer students with special interests the opportunity to interact with faculty members and live together in residence halls with structured learning environments.  Interested students must complete a separate application and participate in an admissions process.
  • Traditional Upper-Division Housing: Comprised of traditional singles, doubles, suites, and apartments, Vanderbilt offers a variety of traditional housing options for students.  Students are welcome to pursue options that best meet their individual needs.

In all group living processes (doubles, suites, and apartments), students form roommate groups with friends of their choice during each process.  Students must have a roommate group equal in size to the room type they are pursuing in order to be eligible for that specific process.  For example, in order to be considered for a 6-person suite or apartment, students must have a group of six (6) students.

Room Types

Due to the wide variety of housing options, it is important that students study this guide carefully in order to make intelligent and well-informed decisions. Room types include:

  • Traditional single and double rooms (one room for sleeping/living)
  • Suites with convenience kitchens for six students (all single bedrooms)
  • Suites with convenience kitchens for five students (all single bedrooms)
  • Suites with convenience kitchens for four students (all single bedrooms)
  • Lodges with full kitchens for 10 students (all single bedrooms)
  • Studio-style apartments with full kitchens for two students
  • One-bedroom apartments with full kitchens for two students (shared double bedroom)
  • Two-bedroom apartments with full kitchens for three students (one single bedroom and one shared double bedroom)
  • Two-bedroom apartments with full kitchens for four students (two shared double bedrooms)
  • Three-bedroom apartments with full kitchens for six students (three shared double bedrooms)

Students are encouraged to visit the Residence Halls section on the Housing website for specific information about each hall as well as photos and video tours.  In-person residence hall tours are not available.

Seniority and Lottery Points

All housing assignment processes, excluding Living Learning Communities (LLCs) and the Unassigned Student Process, utilize a seniority-driven, random selection (a lottery).  In all processes, rising fourth-year students or greater have 4 points, rising third-year students have 3 points, and rising second-year students have 2 points. Ties in points are broken utilizing random selection.

Lottery points are determined by term of entry.  All first-year students currently residing on the Ingram Commons are considered rising 2nd-year students.  Students who began courses at Vanderbilt in either the fall 2023 or spring 2024 are rising 3rd-year students, and students who began courses at Vanderbilt during the fall 2022 (or earlier) or spring 2021 are rising 4th-year students. For fall 2024 transfer students, term of entry at your previous institution is utilized to calculate lottery points.

Students are welcome to participate in any process for which they are eligible.  All group living processes (doubles, suites, and apartments) utilize a seniority-driven, random selection taking the point average of all members of the roommate group with ties in point average broken via random selection.  As a result, groups with a higher point average have a greater chance of success in each of the processes.  For successful groups in a given process, those with higher point averages select their spaces before groups with lower point averages.

In the single room process, students are welcome to apply as an individual applicant, or they can form a hallmate group with up to three (3) additional single room applicants.  Lottery point average is utilized for hallmate groups.  Students/groups with more points/higher lottery point averages have a greater chance of success in the process.  For successful students/groups, those with more lottery points/higher lottery point averages select their rooms before those with fewer lottery points/lower lottery point averages.

Specific details for each process are included in the subsequent sections.

Procedural Fairness

All processes treat all students of the same lottery class equally so that every student has an equal opportunity to pursue the housing of their choice. Procedural fairness is ensured through our seniority-driven, random selection processes.

There are distinct random selections for every type of accommodation offered. The only exceptions are the Living Learning Communities for which students submit specific applications. Those applications are considered by committees that determine acceptance into the communities.

NOTE: Procedural fairness guarantees equal opportunity, not equal outcomes. For example, the Powerball and Mega Millions lotteries are procedurally fair—all tickets have an equal chance of winning; however, the outcomes are not equal—only some ticket buyers win millions.

Likewise, in the housing assignment process, each student has equal chances within their lottery class in the random selection processes, but some students are successful while others are not.

Our housing facilities vary widely in age, construction, location, type, room sizes, finishes, and many other attributes. As a result, Vanderbilt cannot guarantee students that they will be assigned to the housing that they most prefer or that is “equal” to another. However, all campus housing is suitable for academic, social, and personal growth and success at Vanderbilt. All students who engage in the housing assignment process will be assigned a room on campus unless authorized by the Director of Housing Assignments and Operations (or designee) to reside off campus.

Student Accountability

Students are solely responsible for understanding the policies and procedures of the housing assignment process and meeting all deadlines.

Housing Gender Designations

In general, the university designates buildings, floors, suites, apartments, and lodges by gender. All students, regardless of gender, have a roughly proportionate opportunity to be assigned to the various types of accommodation on campus.

Gender-Inclusive/Mixed-Gender Housing Options

In order to meet student demand and to recognize the complexities around sex and gender identity, students can form roommate groups with other student/s of their choice regardless of legal sex or gender identity in the residential college suite processes and all apartment processes. Students will self-select their own roommates.  Unless in mutual agreement, no student will be assigned to a space with a roommate of the opposite gender.

In the residential colleges (E. Bronson Ingram College, Moore College, Nicholas S. Zeppos College, Oliver C. Carmichael College, Rothschild College, and Warren College), floors and suites have no gender designations. That is, students of all gender identities will live on the same floors and they may – if they choose – live in the same suites. Traditional double rooms are single gender only. Community bathrooms where fully enclosed stalls are not available will be designated, and students will be asked to use the bathroom that corresponds to their gender.

The second and third floors of Blakemore House will offer double rooms for both women and men.  All double rooms have their own private bathrooms.

The second floor of McGill Hall will offer rooms for women and men.  Bathrooms will be designated, and students will be asked to use the bathroom that corresponds to their gender. The third and fourth floors of McGill Hall will offer rooms for women and men with all gender bathrooms.

Housing and Residential Experience knows that each person has their own specific needs and comfort levels. Alison Matarese, Director of Housing Assignments and Operations (pronouns: she/her/hers), can help guide you through the housing assignment process to find the housing option that works best for you.

Fall 2025 Study Abroad, Out-of-Town HOD Capstone, or Out-of-Town Internship Participants

Students who intend to study in a direct or indirect study abroad program or participate in a HOD Capstone or an out-of-town internship during the fall 2025 semester are eligible to participate in the housing assignment process. We encourage those students who have applied to a study abroad program, HOD Capstone, or for an out-of-town internship, but are uncertain as to their status or their participation, to take part in the selection of single and double room accommodations only. Students should NOT participate in suite/apartment processes.

Students who select a room assignment will not have these spaces held for them while they are away for the fall 2025 semester. Once students cancel their housing, the space will be assigned to another student.  Students returning for the spring 2026 semester will apply for spring housing in November 2025.

Students who commit to participate in a Vanderbilt study abroad program or an out-of-town HOD Capstone will be contacted by Housing Assignments after program commit deadlines to confirm their participation and cancel their fall 2025 housing assignment/need for fall 2025 housing.  Students participating in other out-of-town internships should contact the Housing directly at housing@vanderbilt.edu.

Students who plan to participate in out-of-town internships must contact Housing Assignments via email at least sixty (60) days prior to the start of the fall 2025 semester to request a cancellation of their fall 2025 housing assignment.

Students participating in study abroad programs, out-of-town HOD Capstone, or out-of-town internships during the fall 2025 semester who return to Vanderbilt for spring 2026 will be required to live on campus. Spring 2026 housing applications for returning students will be available in November 2025. Returning students will be assigned to available housing for the spring 2026 semester.