Room Selection 2023
Room Selection is the process when current undergraduate residents (rising sophomores, juniors and seniors living in campus housing for the spring 2023 semester) select their on-campus housing for the next academic year.
The Room Selection 2023 application is open! Start your application here.
For Room Selection 2023, returning residents will apply for and participate in either:
- Room Selection (for on-campus residence halls and apartments)
- Forbes Beeler Special Selection Process (for Forbes Beeler only, roommate group of 4 required; earlier deadlines apply)
- Fraternity/Sorority housing (for residents selected to live in their chapter house)
Students may also be assigned to a designated Resident Assistant (RA) or Community Advisor (CA) space (if hired for a position), or be assigned to a themed living community (Spirit House).
Are you a Fraternity or Sorority member planning to live in your Chapter house for the 2023-2024 academic year? Go to the Fraternity & Sorority Housing process page.
All of the information you need to have a successful Room Selection process is here, but you can always email Housing or call 412-268-2139 with questions.
Room Selection Virtual Information Session
This 15-minute virtual information session provides information about applying for on campus housing during Room Selection 2023, includes important dates and deadlines.
Room Selection Open Houses
- Tuesday, February 7, 6-8 pm
- Wednesday, February 8, 7-9 pm
All upper-class housing buildings for the 2023-24 academic year will be available for visitation during the open houses (with the exception of Forbes Beeler Apartments and Fairfax Apartments, due to construction and renovations).
Stay on Track for Room Selection
1. Verify that you are eligible to participate in Room Selection.
2. Decide if you're going to live in regular on-campus housing, or live in your fraternity or sorority chapter house (both processes happen at the same time, but have different deadlines. Details of the Fraternity & Sorority housing application process is available here.) For campus housing, decide if you want to apply for General Room Selection or the Forbes Beeler Special Selection process. (Forbes Beeler applicants who don't get it will be defaulted back to a General Room Selection application.)
3. Be familiar with the Room Selection dates and deadlines.
4. On February 15, 2023, start your Room Selection Application; confirm your roommate group, sign your Housing License Agreement, and submit your application by 12 p.m. (noon) on February 24, 2023.(If you're interested in the Forbes Beeler Special Selection process, make sure to review those deadlines and policies since they are different!)
5. Wait to receive your timeslot on the afternoon/evening of February 24 (campus housing applicants only.)
6. Week of February 27, 2023 - Log in at your randomly generated timeslot (or the best timeslot amongst the members of your roommate group), and select your space in campus housing next year!
Dates & Deadlines
General Room Selection
Deadline to apply for the Forbes Beeler Special Selection process (confirm your roommate group, sign your Housing License Agreement, AND submit your application to receive a Forbes Beeler timeslot.)
Forbes Beeler Special Selection day
Deadline to start your Room Selection application, confirm your roommate group, sign your Housing License Agreement, AND submit your application to receive a timeslot.
Online Room Selection - Log in at your randomly generated timeslot (or the best timeslot amongst your roommate group members) and select your space in campus housing
Community Advisor (CA) Applicants
Resident Assistant (RA) Applicants
November 28, 2022 - Application is available from Residential Education (not a portal process)January 17, 2023 - Application closes
January 23 through February 2, 2023 - Interviews
February 10, 2023 - RA Offers sent out
February 13, 2023 - Deadline to accept RA offers
Are You Eligible?
In general, you are eligible if ...
You are a current first-year/class 1, sophomore/class 2, and junior/class 3 (in other words, rising sophomores, juniors, and seniors), living IN campus or Fraternity & Sorority housing for the full Spring 2023 semester, enrolled in classes for the Spring 2023 semester as a full-time undergraduate student, and are not scheduled to graduate prior to May 2024.
You're not automatically eligible, but can request eligibility if ...
You are a current undergraduate senior/fifth-year/class 4 or 5 resident living in housing for the Spring 2023 semester, and you are going to be enrolled as an undergraduate student for the full 2023-2024 academic year. To request to be made eligible for Room Selection simply email rmassign@andrew.cmu.edu. Once your graduation date of May 2024 is confirmed, you will be approved.
In general, you are NOT eligible if ...
- You are a graduate student.
- You are an undergraduate who will be a graduate student (class 10) in fall 2023 (including accelerated Master's programs).
- You are an undergraduate student currently living off-campus.
- You are a new incoming first-year student who will start at CMU in the fall of 2023.
- You are on leave of absence, academic suspension or any other non-enrolled status during the Spring 2023 semester (however, you can apply for the housing waitlist, which opens at the same time as the Room Selection application.)
- You are scheduled to graduate in December 2023; however, you can email us at rmassign@andrew.cmu.edu to get your name on the Fall Only waitlist, and we will make fall only housing offers based on availability following the General Room Selection process, if space remains. Fall only housing is not guaranteed.
Eligibility Scenarios
I currently live on campus.
If you're currently living in campus or Fraternity & Sorority housing as a current first-year, sophomore, or junior (as defined by SIO), then you're eligible for Room Selection. If you plan to live in your Fraternity & Sorority Chapter house next year, you should participate in the Fraternity & Sorority Housing application process.
If you are a current resident who is a senior, fifth-year senior, or graduate student (as defined by SIO), you are not automatically eligible for Room Selection. Current seniors who will be attending for a fifth full undergraduate year can request an exception via email.
I am currently studying abroad, on a Washington Semester, or participating in a registered Co-op.
If you are studying abroad or participating in an off-site program for the spring semester but are still enrolled as an active full-time Carnegie Mellon student, then you are eligible for Room Selection, as long as you lived in campus or Fraternity & Sorority housing during the Fall 2022 semester (or the Spring 2022 semester, if your study abroad program was a full academic year.)
I am currently living off-campus.
Students living off-campus are not eligible for General Room Selection but can apply for the Housing Waitlist (via the Housing Portal and available beginning February 15). Housing is not guaranteed to waitlist applicants, and offers are made based on availability following the conclusion of Room Selection, if space exists.
Fraternity & Sorority members currently living off-campus are eligible for the Fraternity & Sorority housing application ONLY (not General Room Selection), if they plan to live in their Fraternity & Sorority Chapter House for the 2023-2024 academic year.
I am currently on a leave of absence or academic suspension.
Students who are currently on leave or suspension are not eligible for Room Selection, but you can apply for the Housing Waitlist (via the Housing Portal and available beginning February 15) as soon as you have been approved to return from leave/suspension and the appropriate paperwork has been started with your academic department. Offers are made based on availability following the conclusion of Room Selection, as space exists, to individuals who are eligible to enroll for the upcoming fall semester.
Being eligible for Room Selection does not mean that you will automatically be assigned university housing. You must actively participate in the Room Selection process.
Roommates
Your Room Selection housing options are much greater when you select with a roommate.
Finding roommates through the housing portal is a great option if you don’t already have roommates in mind. You can create a roommate profile and browse and message potential roommates. Once roommates decide they want to live together, one will need to set up a Roommate Group and the others add themselves to the group.
Additionally, you can browse potential roommates, view compatibility matches, and message back and forth through the Room Selection application.
Your RA, CA, or Housefellow could also be a good resource as they may be aware of other residents who are also looking for roommates. Approach your roommate search with an open mind - you may end up finding a great roommate!
Residents have the ability to hide their information from the roommate search functionality in the Room Selection application if they do not want to be part of the roommate search feature.
General Room Selection
During online General Room Selection, you will generally have more room options available if selecting with a roommate than if selecting by yourself. Many multi-occupant rooms and units will only be available to a roommate group that matches the size of the unit. (For example, to select a Roselawn house, you must have a roommate group of 5.)
If you are selecting housing without a roommate and no single rooms are available, you will either need to select a half-filled room (if one is available), select a double or triple room in a semi-suite building (where there are no rules requiring roommate groups), or wait until Extended Selection when we will open up all remaining spaces - even in multi-bedroom houses and apartments - without requiring a roommate group that matches the capacity of that unit.
During regular timeslots dates (prior to Extended Selection), residents without a roommate will be able to select from a variety of semi-suite room options and some limited apartment options.
* Be sure that you and your roommate(s) are in agreement about where you would both like to live before either of you selects a room and assigns the other person (or people.) By joining a roommate group, you are granting permission to any group member to assign you to a space. However, once you are assigned to a room (whether you select on your own or are assigned by a roommate) you are bound to your housing contract and will only be permitted to cancel if you are leaving the university.
What's New for Room Selection 2023?
Room Selection continues to evolve. If you've gone through Room Selection before, be sure to review these changes carefully, since things will be different for Room Selection 2023.
The Open Cancellation Period has been eliminated.
Beginning in Room Selection 2023, there will no longer be an Open Cancellation Period. Residents who choose to participate in Room Selection to select campus or Fraternity/Sorority housing for the upcoming academic year will only be released from their housing contract if they are formally leaving the university. Students who are planning to live off-campus should not participate in Room Selection, and should instead apply via the Housing Waitlist only when/if an off-campus housing option is not secured. Under no circumstances will Room Selection applicants be released from their housing contract unless they are leaving the university for the 23/24 academic year.
If a student does not select - or is not assigned by a roommate group member - a room...
Applicants who have not selected or were not assigned (by a roommate) to a room for 23-24 academic year housing as of 9 a.m. on Monday, March 6, 2023 will have their application automatically cancelled by Housing staff and will not be bound to the Housing Contract. As a reminder, all applicants have already signed their Housing Contract as part of their application in order to receive a Room Selection timeslot. Your Housing Contract goes into effect at the moment that you are assigned to a room - whether via self-selection or by being assigned by a confirmed roommate group member. The Housing Contract is legally binding and cancellations will only be permitted for limited, approved reasons, such as withdrawing from the university or taking a leave of absence.
Fairfax Apartments will be back online for the 2023-2024 academic year!
Following some exciting and extensive renovations, Fairfax Apartments will be coming back online for the 2023-2024 academic year. More information about unit types and apartment renderings as well as all new floor plans are now available on the Fairfax Apartments page.
The brand-new Forbes Beeler Apartments will be available for selection!
The all-new Forbes Beeler Apartments will be available for selection during Room Selection 2023. Hard hat tours of the building will be available to residents. Forbes Beeler Apartments are primarily 8 occupant units, each consisting of two four-occupant "wings." Forbes Beeler Apartments will be available to roommate groups of 4.
Webster Apartments and Shady Oak Apartments are coming offline.
With the addition of Fairfax and Forbes Beeler Apartments, Carnegie Mellon will be ending its leases with Webster and Shady Oak Apartments at the end of the Spring 2023 semester. Neither Webster nor Shady Oak will be available for selection during Room Selection.
Fraternity and Sorority Housing will have its own application process.
Beginning this year, Fraternity & Sorority chapter houses will have their own Fraternity & Sorority housing application process, which will take place in advance of the general Room Selection process. All students planning to live in their Chapter house next year will sign a Housing License Agreement and use the Fraternity & Sorority housing application to confirm their interest in living in the chapter house. Chapter leadership will make room assignments to specific rooms through the Housing Portal. For full details on this process, visit the Fraternity & Sorority Housing application process webpage.
All eligible applicants will receive a randomly generated timeslot within one large pool of applicants
All applicants who are eligible to receive a timeslot will be part of the same, large pool of applicants. There will be no priority for rising seniors, current first-years, or any other enrollment class. All eligible applicants will have the same opportunity through the random process to receive the first timeslot, as well as the last timeslot. Regardless of the timeslot you receive, we will have ample housing choices available to all students who wish to participate in the process.
Roommate groups will play an important role.
Some buildings and areas are more conducive to groups of friends living together. For multi-room apartments and suites (such as 2 and 3-bedroom apartments, 3-bedroom Roselawn houses, and multi-bedroom suites in Resnik), the roommate group size must match the capacity of the unit in order for the group to select that unit. For example, in a Resnik 5-occupant suite consisting of two doubles and one single, only a roommate group consisting of 5 residents will be able to select the suite.