Incoming First-Year Housing FAQ

Incoming first-years should complete the online First-Year Housing Application after May 1 and before June 1.

After you submit your enrollment deposit, it sometimes takes 2-3 business days before you appear as a matriculated student in our system and can log into the housing application portal. Please note that you have until June 1 to complete the housing application and there is no advantage to completing it early. We appreciate your patience!

Details about first-year housing areas online are provided for the general purpose of information sharing. Once housing assignments are available, this section of our website is a great resource for first-years and their families to learn more about the area where they will be living!

Incoming first-year students cannot select a specific first-year housing area. Assignments in first-year housing are completely random.

You can, however, opt into the Scholars Community (see “What if I'm an Echols or Rodman Scholar?” below); one of UVA's three residential colleges; or into mixed gender housing, which may be located in any of the first-year areas. These preferences on your housing application are not guaranteed, and are limited by the space available.

Students who do not opt into any of these special communities will be randomly assigned within UVA's first-year areas — Alderman Road Hall-Style, Alderman Road Suite-Style, Gooch/Dillard Suite-Style, or McCormick Road Hall-Style.

We are not able to accept preferences for hall-style or suite-style housing, or for a specific building.

Housing & Residence Life (HRL) welcomes students of all genders at UVA, with a goal of providing housing accommodations that are conducive to individual academic success. Mixed Gender Housing is comprised of rooms, suites, or apartments of different genders that are located within the same Resident Advisor group. Open Housing allows students to request roommates regardless of their gender identity within the same room, suite, or apartment. We also offer individual assistance for students who wish to explore on-Grounds housing options that accommodate their gender identity or gender expression.

To learn more, please visit our Inclusive Housing FAQ.

If you opt into a residential college on your housing application, you agree that you may be assigned to that community. If you are assigned to the community, you may only request a roommate who is also assigned to the same residential college. 

• If you select a residential college on your housing application, you will be given additional application instructions to complete.
• Brown College and Hereford College require a Residential College meal plan. For more information, see www.virginia.edu/dining.
• Each residential college charges a program fee to support community events and activities.

The only deposit required is your enrollment deposit to accept the offer of admission at the University. Students are not required to pay a deposit for housing. You will be billed for your Fall sememster housing fees during the summer.

Our assignment software randomly generates your room assignment after the application deadline. While preferences for Special Communities that you select on your application will impact your housing assignment, it is not guaranteed that your assignment will reflect your stated preferences.

We cannot consider special requests other than accommodations made through the Student Disability Access Center (SDAC). See “How can I receive assistance from the University if I have a disability or medical condition?” below.

You may consider opting to have a roommate assigned to you, which is an easy way to meet someone new as you start your UVA journey!

If you do want to request a roommate, preferences must be mutual and designated on your housing application during the roommate preference phase of the application process. We strive to assign preferred roommates together, however, it may not be possible to honor all roommate preferences.

To opt into the roommate preference process, complete the two steps below during the roommate preferences phase. This is done on the housing application:

1. Roommate Profile: Specify whether potential roommates can search for you, enter an optional description of yourself, and complete optional profile questions that can be used to help others match with you.
2. Roommate Searching: Search for a preferred roommate, or accept/decline a roommate request from another student.

Due to space limitations, we cannot guarantee that requested roommates will be placed together. The order in which requests are received does not determine any ranking in the process, so there is no advantage to completing the process early. The assignments process begins after the published deadline, so we cannot accommodate late roommate requests.

The Office of Admission will provide a list of scholars to Housing & Residence Life during the summer. Echols and Rodman Scholars are able to opt into the Scholars Community through the housing application process. Please note, any preferred roommates must also be a scholar, and must also select the Scholars Community. The Scholars Community is limited by the available space in the designated Alderman Road building(s).

Please see our Special Housing Accommodations page for information.

Please see our Service and Assistance Animals page for information.

You will receive your room and roommate assignment in late June, as long as you submit your application by the June 1 deadline.

You will be given your move-in date along with your room assignment in late June. For more information, see Move-In and Move-Out.

All first-year students must live on Grounds. If you believe your extraordinary circumstances (such as being non-traditionally aged or being a parent) qualify you for consideration to live off-Grounds, please send your request to housing@virginia.edu.

Please see our pages regarding Fire Prevention, Decoration Policies, and Prohibited Items for specific information. You may also want to check out our What to Bring FAQ.