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Cornell University

Housing & Residential Life

New Undergrad Application Process

Welcome new students!

All the housing options for first-year students are located on North Campus, convenient to several dining rooms, a café, a convenience store and many recreational spaces and support services. North Campus is in walking distance of most buildings where you will have classes. The TCAT bus system, which is free for first-year students, picks up at several locations on North Campus. Most first-year students do not bring cars to campus. It’s easy to get around by walking, biking or riding the bus.

Housing options for new transfer students are located in each area of campus - West, North, South, program houses - within easy access to dining options, classrooms, and study spaces.

The new student application for 2025-2026 academic year will open April 1, 2025.

Newly admitted students for the 2025-2026 academic year are required to live on campus.  Newly admitted first-year students are encouraged to submit their completed application by May 15. You'll need your activated NetID to apply and are encouraged to apply within ten days of receiving your NetID. (Transfer students should apply for housing within ten days of receiving your NetID.)

Log in to the Housing Portal to apply

When you're in the housing portal you’ll have these options:

  1. Decide whether you want to live in a program house or a residence hall. Program houses are living-learning communities that are either interest- or identity-based. Residence halls at Cornell vary in format, but all include support from staff and faculty.
  2. Indicate room type preferences. First-year and transfer students may request to live in a single, double, triple, or quad. We will do our best to assign you to your preferred room type.
  3. Tell us about yourself or your preference for a roommate. Complete a brief questionnaire about your lifestyle and habits to help us match you with a roommate; or you can provide a name of a particular student. We will attempt to fill your request but cannot guarantee it. Most students do not have roommates before they apply for housing.

Once you receive your housing assignment

Once you’ve received your housing assignment your next step is to sign your housing license. We ask that you sign your license promptly so you can select your arrival timeslot for move in and finalize your travel plans.

Please note that we will be full for the 2025-2026 academic year and are not able to accept room change requests. Students interested in a different room are encouraged to participate in the direct room swap process. Room Swap is available to any student with a signed housing license and is available via the housing portal during the month of July. 

Over 500 first-year and transfer students will live in Program Houses

“I chose Ujamaa because I felt very much like an outsider at Cornell and wanted to connect more with a community I can relate to.”   “I was passionate about environmentalism coming into college and wanted to learn more about what I could do to make a positive impact on our planet.” These are some of the reasons students have chosen Program Houses.

In addition:

  • You may indicate your interest in a female-only community.
  • You may opt in to mixed-gender housing. First you’ll need to view a video and agree to the rules. Read more about gender-inclusive housing.
  • If you require accessible housing for a disability/chronic health-related reason, you must register with Student Disability Services (SDS). In order to ensure that you are assigned to housing that is accessible to you, we recommend initiating the registration process with SDS before May 15 to allow adequate time for SDS to review your request. For information on how to register with SDS, please visit sds.cornell.edu. Questions? Contact SDS (phone 607-254-4545, email sds_cu@cornell.edu)

NOTE: Unless you're applying to live in a program house, the decision about which residence hall you'll be in is determined by a random auto-allocation process, based on your preferences. You will not rank residence halls.  

Transfer Students

Transfer students are able to preference the West Campus House System, South Campus Residence Halls and Program Houses. You will have plenty of peers and a strong support system. Almost 15% of new incoming students are transfers.

There is no fee to apply for housing

The housing costs will appear on the bursar bill. Students will be billed in July or August for fall-semester housing, and in December for spring-semester housing. Prices vary based on type of room. Read about housing rates.