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Cornell University

Housing & Residential Life

Spring Housing Selection for Rising Sophomores

2026-2027 Rising Sophomore Selection Application

Spring Housing Selection for Rising Sophomores is the process in which students submit an application to receive a timeslot to reserve a room in an upper-level Residence Hall or House.  

All Rising Sophomores are required to live on campus for 2026-2027 and must submit a 2026-2027  Room Selection Application via the Housing and Dining Portal. The application will open at the start of the Spring 2026 semester.  

  • Application opens for Rising Sophomores in the Housing and Dining Portal on February 1
  • Application Deadline is April 6
  • Timeslots will be released on April 13
  • Program House Priority Selection will occur on April 14 and April 15
  • Rising Sophomore Room Selection will occur on April 17 to April 18 

Housing information sessions

You can use these opportunities to learn about your options for living on campus, such as in traditional residence halls, in the West Campus House System, in a Co-op or Program House, or in University-approved affiliated housing, and ask any questions you have about the upcoming process.

Residential requirement

Rising Sophomores can fulfill the second year of the residential requirement by living in University-approved qualified second-year housing (sorority, fraternity, and approved affiliated housing). The Office of Housing & Residential Life will receive rosters from the Office of Sorority and Fraternity Life and affiliated properties to ensure compliance with the residential requirement.

Rising Sophomore students who wish to be exempt from the second-year residential requirement for the 2026-2027 academic year must submit an Individual exemption request via the Housing & Dining Portal. The deadline to submit an exemption for your second year on campus will be April 1, 2026. No request received after this date will be considered. 

Housing Selection instructions

The instructions below will lead current undergraduate students through the process of submitting an application for General Room Selection in order to receive a timeslot to reserve a room in an upper-level residence hall or house. 

For details and answers to frequently asked questions, view our General Room Selection FAQs.

Need help during Spring Housing Selection? During all timeslot periods:  

STEP 1:  

Sign up for General Room Selection in the Housing & Dining Portal between February 2 and April 6 in order to receive a Spring Housing Selection timeslot. Timeslots will be emailed starting April 13. 

Through April 6 at 11:59pm, you are able to register for Room Selection as an individual student or as a roommate group (called a block). 

If you plan to live in a Greek house, cooperative house, or affiliated housing, you will need to indicate this on your application no later than March 13, 2026. Please take a moment to review your 2026-27 academic year housing application in the Housing & Dining Portal.   

Are you interested in continuing to live in a program house? Early selection will occur April 14-15 for current program house residents that would like to continue living in their current house or moving to a different program house. You can indicate this on your application to receive a timeslot for Program House Selection. 

Does this step apply to me?  All current undergraduate students who are required to live on campus should sign up for Spring Housing Selection. This includes those who are participating in Greek recruitment.  

STEP 2:  

Prepare for General Room Selection by following the steps below.  

(1) Learn about your housing options. Visit Housing Options for Upper-level Undergraduate Students, to review your options, including buildings that offer Winter Break Housing. For information on the building and room configurations, visit Residence Hall Configurations to see what buildings have corridor-style, suite-style, or pod-style arrangements. 

(2) Decide if you want to live with people you know. Up to six students may choose rooms together in a block. Note: You may only join one block at a time.  

(3) If choosing to live with people you know:  

  • Establish a block leader who will create the block in the housing portal. The student who is planning on being the block leader will 'create a new block' in the portal application. This will require them to set up a username and password when they create a new block. Please use a username/password that is unique and easy to remember. The block leader will give the username and password to other members of the potential block to join through the portal. 
  • Join your block with the username and password from your block leader.    

(4) Receive your timeslot. Timeslots will be emailed by end of day on April 13. Timeslots are randomly generated, and there is no advantage or disadvantage to blocking. Everyone in the block will receive the same timeslot. Make a plan for your group to gather at one computer, if possible, during your block Room Selection timeslot so your group can choose your room(s) together.   

(5) Familiarize yourself with the Spring Housing Selection system. Attend a Room Selection Information Session before your timeslot, hosted by Housing and Residential Life in the weeks leading up to Spring Housing Selection   

(6) Review bed availability reports and floor plans. We encourage you to develop multiple housing plans.  

STEP 3: During General Room Selection (April 17-18) 

Instructions regarding the Housing Selection Process will be released in March 2026.

(1) Log in to the Housing Portal at the beginning of your General Room Selection timeslot. Block leaders: you should log in for your group at the beginning of your timeslot.  

(2) Navigate to the General Room Selection page by clicking the Undergraduate tab on the Home page, and then clicking 'Continue' next to the '2025-2026 Academic Year' application on the Select Contract Period page. (If you see the Timeslot page, but not the General Room Selection page, refresh after your timeslot begins.   

(3) Select a room on the Select Building page. Buildings with current availability are shown.   

(4) Click 'Add to Cart' on the Room List page to select a room for yourself. If you are a block leader, add rooms for blockmates before clicking 'Save and Continue' at the bottom of the page.   

All currently available rooms in the selected building are shown. There may be multiple pages of search results so watch for the option to advance to the next screen.   

You may refine the search results using the room type or hallway/suite filters.   

You may only assign men to male-designated rooms, women to female-designated rooms, and neutral to neutral-designated rooms. Dynamic rooms/suites have their gender change to male, female, or neutral based on the gender of their first person who reserves a bed in the room/suite.   

If you are a block leader, you do not need to assign everyone in your block a bed. However, you will not be able to do so later. Anyone not assigned may self-select a bed.   

(5) Rooms will be held for four minutes while you complete this and the next step. On the Assign Beds page, assign a bed to yourself. If you are a block leader, assign beds to your blockmates before clicking 'Assign Beds' at the bottom of the page.   

If you are a block leader, once you click 'Assign Beds,' you will not be able to change your blockmates' assignments.  

(6) Review the assignment(s) on the Confirmation page and click 'Save & Continue.'   

If you are a block leader and you wish to cancel and reselect, note that you will only be able to cancel your own assignment and not that of any blockmates you assigned.   

(7) Sign your housing contract. If you are a block leader, blockmates you assigned will be automatically emailed and have two (2) hours to log in and sign their housing contracts.   

(8) Select your meal plan. After signing your housing contract, you will select your meal plan for both semesters (Fall 2025/Spring 2026). Your available meal plan options will depend on the housing that you have selected. 

(9) On the Application Status page, review the information. Your application status will be complete if you have an assignment and have signed your housing contract. Click 'Log Out.' 

**Each room listed will include information about whether the room is designated as a male, female, neutral* or dynamic* room, and the number of open beds left in that room. During the process, floor plans are viewable online. 

*Dynamic rooms/suites have their gender changed to male or female based on the gender of the first person who reserves a bed in the room/suite.  

*Neutral rooms/suites are mixed-gender rooms. 

Need help during Spring Housing Selection? During all timeslot periods:  

For further details and answers to frequently asked questions, visit Housing & Room Selection: FAQs.