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Returning Student Room Selection Process Overview

The Returning Student Room Selection process allows rising 2nd, 3rd, and 4th year residential undergraduate students to secure on-campus housing for the 2025-2026 academic year. This process includes two phases: Phase One – Contracting, held at the end of the Winter Quarter, and Phase Two – Room Selection, which occurs in the first few weeks of the Spring Quarter.

Review the NU Undergraduate Housing Contract Terms & Conditions for 2025-2026. 

View the 2025-2026 Housing Map and learn about each building. 

If you are looking for summer housing information, please visit the Summer Housing page. 

Residency Requirement

All rising 2nd year students are required to complete both phases of the room selection process to meet the two-year residency requirement. Rising 3rd and 4th year students may complete the contract if they wish to live on campus again next year. All students planning to live in a fraternity, sorority, or Evans Scholars house only need to complete Phase One – Contracting.

Wait List Information

All room change wait lists for returning students will open on Friday, May 2 at 9am. The wait list menu can be accessed in the Housing Portal under Forms & Requests. The wait lists will be reviewed periodically throughout Spring Quarter and in the Summer. If we are able to make room changes, you will receive a room change offer, and you will have 24 hours to accept or decline the room change.

For your convenience, we have recorded a short video to demonstrate how to use the wait list feature in our new housing system. Click here to access the recording.

Mutual Room Swap Request

The Mutual Room Swap Request form will also open on Friday, May 2 at 9am. Please use this form to request a room swap with one other student. These requests are one-for-one, so if two students are swapping with two other students, then each student will submit a room swap request listing the one other student with whom they are swapping for a total of four requests. Please be sure that your gender and the gender of the student with whom you are swapping are the same unless you are swapping spaces in All Gender Housing.

Please note that all room swap requests are not automatically approved, and they are subject to administrative approval. Students will be notified via email if their swap is approved and processed.

For your convenience, we have recorded a short video to demonstrate how to use the mutual room swap form. Click here to access the recording. 

Housing Cancellation

Rising second-year students may not cancel their housing contract due to the two-year residency requirement. Rising 3rd and 4th year students may cancel their contract without questions or penalty until 11:59pm on March 15, 2025.  

Beginning, March 16, 2025, students will only be released from housing for the reasons listed below. You can read more on our cancellation page.

All Gender Housing

All Gender Housing allows students, regardless of sex or gender, to share a room or suite. You will be able to select All Gender Housing as a preference in the housing assignments process.

Continuous Housing

Continuous Housing allows eligible students to stay in undergraduate housing through Winter Break. You will be able to select Continuous Housing as a need in the room selection process. 

 Returning Student Room Selection Resources

Learn how room selection works. 

Please review the returning student flowchart to understand how you will complete phase one. (pdf)

A video showing step-by-step instructions for completing the housing contract is also available. 

Learn how to use the new Roommate Finder functionality. 

Frequently Asked Questions 

Visit our FAQ page for detailed information on the room selection process.