For First-Year Students-Housing and Dining Services - Room Selection - Carnegie Mellon University

Information for First-year Students

Welcome to Room Selection, first-years!  Room Selection is the process through which all current first-year, sophomore, and junior class residents select their housing assignment for the following academic year.  There are many different phases of Room Selection, and each resident only participates in one phase.

Room Selection can seem like a confusing process and this page attempts to simplify and clarify the process as it applies specifically to first-year students.  However, be sure to read through the entire Room Selection website, as all students are responsible for the information, dates, and deadlines published on this site.

Room Selection at a Glance for First-Year Students

  • First-year students who currently live in university housing are eligible for Room Selection.  First-year students living in Greek housing are not eligible to participate in Room Selection and are not guaranteed housing, but can reapply for university housing through our Housing Waitlist process.
  • First-year students have the option of living in university housing or off-campus for their sophomore year.  Students interested in learning more about off-campus housing should plan to attend the Community Housing Fair and check out our Community Housing Resources page.
  • Room Selection officially begins with the Room Retention process.  However, first-year students are not eligible to retain their rooms, regardless of which building they currently live in.
  • Eligible first-years can participate in one of the following Room Selection phases: Room With a Retainer (pull-ins), Block Housing, or General Room Selection.
  • First-year students are strongly encouraged to talk to with their RA or CA if they have any questions about Room Selection.  There will also be some Information Sessions scheduled in the coming weeks.
  • The majority of first-year students go through General Room Selection, which occurs in April.  In order to be able to select a room through General Room Selection, you need to complete your Room Selection Application and select the "General Room Selection" option on the "Process Selection" page of the website.  You can complete this application anytime between March 6th and April 5th (before 12 p.m.) for General Room Selection, and you will receive your Room Selection timeslot on April 5th (at 5 pm), which determines the date and time that you can go in and select your room. 
  • Each year approximately 100 to 300 first-year students selecting on the last day of General Room Selection will receive an Open Assignment.  This simply means that you will fill out an online form giving us your building and room preferences instead of selecting a permanent assignment through online General Room Selection.  Then we will send you your permanent assignment via e-mail once cancellations are processed and spaces open up. 

Remember, this is just an overview of the Room Selection process - students should still read through this site to be aware of all of the options!  Room Selection can be a stress-free process if you take the time to familiarize yourself with all of the information!