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Cornell University

Housing & Residential Life

Residential Policy

Two-year residential requirement

Cornell has a 2-year residential requirement for our first-year and second-year students, including a required meal plan. Cornell implemented this requirement for all first-year students who began enrollment in the Summer of 2021 and beyond.
 
Studies indicate that students who live on-campus experience increased academic achievement, improved social-emotional adjustment, and develop a stronger ability to build cohesive community versus those who live off-campus during this transformative time in personal development. During this time, students also maintain a meal plan while living on-campus to ensure they have access to proper nutrition to sustain overall well-being, and to safeguard against food insecurity, which has increased for students at colleges across the country. The programmatic model of Cornell’s residence halls creates a place where staff and community are invested in the safety, security, and growth of residents at this crucial developmental point in their lives.

For the first year of residency, first-year and transfer students are assigned to university residence halls. In the second year of residency, students may live in university residence halls, and are permitted to live in approved, university-affiliated housing, which may include on- and off-campus housing owned or controlled by a registered or recognized student organization and university-owned cooperative houses (co-ops). See the lists of qualified sorority and fraternity properties (all recognized chapters), qualified off-campus properties, and qualified co-ops. Students living in on-campus housing are required to have a meal plan.

Individual Exemption Process/Policy

APPROVED INDIVIDUAL EXEMPTIONS

Students can request to be exempt from this policy for the reasons below. Supporting documentation may be required.

  • Married/Partnered - Students who are married will not be subject to the residency requirement.
  • Veteran and military status - Students who served in the active military, naval, or air service, and who were discharged or released therefrom under conditions other than dishonorable will not be subject to the residential requirement. This exemption will also apply to international students who served under their home country. This exemption does not apply to ROTC participants.
  • Dependents - Students who are coming to Ithaca with legal dependents will not be subject to the residential requirement.
  • Age - Students who will be 21 and older by the start of the academic year in which they are applying for an exemption will not be subject to the residential requirement.
    OR
    Students who are 16 and younger at the start of the academic year in which they are applying for an exemption and are living with a custodial parent or legal guardian for the duration of the academic year will not be subject to the residential requirement.
  • Transfer student status - Students transferring to Cornell who had two years of an on-campus residential experience at their previous institution, or who are matriculating as a junior or senior, will not be subject to the residential requirement.
  • Commuter - Students who have resided at a permanent residence for a minimum of six months with a custodial parent or legal guardian and within 25 miles of campus will not be subject to the residential requirement. Please note that Cornell believes the residential experience is of great value to new students. Students applying for an exemption under this category may be contacted by a member of Cornell’s Housing and Residential Life team to discuss their decision further.
REQUESTING AN INDIVIDUAL EXEMPTION

Students may request an exemption by logging in to the Housing application and applying for the exemption term when it is available for spring and fall. We will accept exemption requests during the open application period but not after a signed housing license has been completed or during the term of the license period. Individual exemptions are for a single academic year. Transfers and returning students must reapply for each year that they would like to be exempt.

Qualified Second-Year Housing (In addition to residence halls and University-owned co-ops)

Requirements for University-recognized Sororities and Fraternities and Cooperative Housing

University-recognized sororities and fraternities and university-owned co-ops will be allowed to house second-year students as long as the individual students apply to live in one of those properties and the organization remains recognized. Any sophomore resident in a fraternity or sorority house must be a member of the fraternity or sorority at the time of the housing application.

All recognized sororities and fraternities will be automatically approved if they meet all current recognition policy requirements and have a live-in advisor and four upper-level officers, by January 1 annually. Recognized sororities and fraternities will work with OSFL to navigate this automatic approval process.

FOR STUDENTS PARTICIPATING IN RECRUITMENT FOR UNIVERSITY-RECOGNIZED SORORITIES AND FRATERNITIES

If a student decides to participate in recruitment and accept a bid, they will need to work with their organization to determine if they will be living in-house. All students must complete the Academic Year 2025-26 Housing Application by April 1, 2025 through the Housing Portal. For students expecting to live in-house, you will need to indicate that on the application. Those students who are confirmed by the chapters as expected to live in-house will not receive a timeslot for the General Room Selection process, which begins April 11, 2025, to select qualified second-year housing that complies with the two-year residential requirement. 

For information on the requirements for qualified second-year housing, visit  Requirements for Qualified University-Recognized Off-Campus Housing. Note, this application process does not apply to University recognized sororities or fraternities.