Whether you are new to Penn, returning for your second, third, or fourth year, or just here for a semester or year, the application process is tailored to your needs. To help you feel prepared to hit submit, please review the information provided about room rates, roommates, and save the dates, all specific to you.
Timing is everything, and our room selection timelines vary depending on the your time at Penn. Updates, deadlines, and other specifics regarding room selection will be sent to your student email account. We recommend checking your email daily to not miss any time-sensitive information.
Students eligible to participate in room selection must be full-time students enrolled in a degree-granting program for Fall 2022 and in good financial and disciplinary standing in order to apply. Please check your standing in the Student Registration System prior to the start of the Room Selection process to be sure your graduation year is accurate.
On May 7, the first-year housing application will open at MyHomeAtPenn. All first-year students are required to live in on-campus housing for their first four semesters, and all are expected to submit a housing application to express their preferences for their housing assignment. The preferred deadline to submit the housing application in order to be considered in the first round of housing assignments is May 31. The application is not first-come, first-served. All applications submitted by the preferred deadline receive the same randomized priority. The final deadline to submit the housing application is June 28.
Within the housing application, first-year students will rank the College Houses in the order of their preference. Please take the opportunity to learn about the culture, activities, room types, and amenities in each House through our College House webpages and the College Houses & Academic Services website. The housing application does not collect room type preferences, because first-year students are not eligible to request specific room types. First-year students who would like to request specific housing to support a medical need should submit a request for a medical accommodation for housing to Disability Services by May 22.
First-year students who submit the housing application by the preferred deadline will be assigned to their rooms by the housing system. The system arranges all students in a random order. For each student, the system checks to see if a space is available in the student’s first College House preference. If a space is available, the student is assigned to it. If not, the system moves on to the next student. For any students who were not assigned to their first College House preference, the system repeats the same process in the same order for their second College House preference, and so on. First-year students who submit the housing application by the preferred deadline will receive their housing assignment information on Tuesday, June 18.
First-year students also have the option to apply to a Program Community, a tight-knit living-learning community based around a specific theme. Check out the College Houses & Academic Services website to learn about the Program Communities available to first-year students. Students who want to apply to a Program Community will be expected to write an essay as part of their application and need to submit the housing application by the preferred deadline, May 31. Students who are accepted into their requested Program Community by the House staff are assigned to spaces within the Program Community prior to the start of the randomization by the housing system.
All first-year students will answer a series of Lifestyle Profile questions on the housing application to reflect on the time they go to bed and wake up and the environment they want to have in their room. First-year students may optionally request one specific roommate by creating a Roommate Group name and password in their application, and sharing that information with their roommate, who will use it to join the group on their own application.
First-year students who do not request a specific roommate but are assigned to a double, and roommate pairs who are assigned to rooms that house more than two students, will be matched with roommates based on their answers to the Lifestyle Profile questions. First-year students will only be matched with other first-year students for roommates. Roommates are matched so that all halls are co-ed but all students in a specific suite have the same legal sex, unless students sign up for Gender Inclusive Housing in the housing application, in which case roommates are assigned without regard to legal sex.
On Monday, June 3, the transfer student housing application will open at MyHomeAtPenn. Transfer students admitted as second-year students are required to live in on-campus housing for their first four semesters, and transfer students admitted as third-year students for their first two semesters. All are expected to submit a housing application to and express their preferences for their housing assignment. The preferred deadline to submit the housing application in order to be considered in the first round of housing assignments is Friday, June 28. The application is not first-come, first-served. All applications submitted by the preferred deadline receive the same randomized priority. The final deadline to submit the housing application is Wednesday, July 31.
Within the housing application, transfer students will rank all available College Houses in the order of their preference. Please take the opportunity to learn about the culture, activities, room types, and amenities in each House through our College House webpages and the College Houses & Academic Services website. The housing application does not collect room type preferences, because transfer students are not eligible to request specific room types. However, because upperclass housing has two different rent rates, the housing application does ask students which rent rate they would prefer. Transfer students who would like to request specific housing to support a medical need should submit a request for a medical accommodation and complete the review process with Disability Services by Thursday, June 15.
Transfer students who submit the housing application by the preferred deadline will be assigned to their rooms by a computerized randomization system. The housing system arranges all students in a random order. For each student, the system checks to see if a space is available in the student’s first College House preference. If a space is available, the student is assigned to it. If not, the system moves on to the next student. For any students who were not assigned to their first College House preference, the system repeats the same process in the same order for their second College House preference, and so on. Transfer students who submit the housing application by the preferred deadline will receive their housing assignment information on Thursday, July 11.
Transfer students also have the option to apply to the Transfer Living Community (TLC), a Program Community in Rodin College House designed specifically for transfer students. Check out the Transfer Living Community webpage to learn about the TLC. Students who want to apply to the TLC will need to select this option on their housing application and submit by the preferred deadline of Friday, June 28. Students who are accepted into the TLC assigned to spaces within the Program Community prior to the start of the randomization by the housing system.
Recognizing your journey to Penn is a unique one, the College Houses offer communities to meet your needs. Within the housing application, you can select the Transfer Living Community as a Program Community choice. This community, located in Rodin College House, offers support and programming designed to best serve transfer students.
All transfer students will answer a series of Lifestyle Profile questions on the housing application to reflect on the time they go to bed and wake up and the environment they want to have in their room. Transfer students may optionally request one specific roommate who is also an incoming transfer student by creating a Roommate Group name and password in their application, and sharing that information with their roommate, who will use it to join the group on their own application.
Transfer students who do not request a specific roommate, and roommate pairs who are assigned to rooms that house more than two students, will be matched with roommates based on their answer to the Lifestyle Profile questions. Transfer students may be matched with other transfer students, continuing Penn students, and/or exchange students for roommates. Roommates are matched so that all halls are co-ed but all students in a specific suite have the same legal sex, unless students sign up for Gender Inclusive Housing in the housing application, in which case roommates are assigned without regard to legal sex.