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Applying for Shared Apartments - Single Graduate Student Housing

Many of the housing options are shared apartments in which you have your own bedroom and share common space with one, two or three other students.

If you are new to Stanford and plan to live with one or more roommates, you can:

  • Apply for housing without specifying a roommate. We will review the roommate preference information in your application and match you with one or more roommates during the assignment process.
  • Apply for housing with a potential roommate or roommates you already know or have met through your department, Stanford student organizations, campus religious groups or online roommate matching services. Once you have a specific roommate in mind, you should apply as a group on your housing application. There is no guarantee that all members will be assigned to the same residence, or to the same room or apartment within a residence.

Either way, complete the Roommate Preferences part of the housing application. It's important to fill out your lifestyle preferences as opposed to listing what you hope to find in a roommate. The questions allow you to indicate your gender identity and your preferences for cleanliness, noise, social environment, dietary preferences and smoking preferences. An open question provides an opportunity to include additional information. Student Housing staff will use the confidential information to provide you with a potentially-compatible match.

Room & Roommate Assignments

Shortly before classes begin, you will be assigned a specific apartment based on the spaces that are ready for occupancy at the time you are scheduled to move in.

Please note that you will not be directly notified of your room or apartment number prior to your arrival.

You may see your building assignment listed in Axess two weeks before you move in, but your specific room/apartment numbers are available only at check-in.

Note: We strongly advise that you wait until you check in before changing your mailing address, having checks printed, or shipping items to your new address. All room and apartment numbers are tentative because of last-minute changes, cancellations, early arrival requests, unexpected repairs, and other reasons.

Once assignments are made, we generally do not have the flexibility to change them because of the short period between moves. We will, however, consider changes based on extenuating circumstances.

If you are a single student assigned to a shared occupancy room or apartment, you will have one or more roommates. Whenever possible, you will be assigned to the same room or apartment as the other member(s) of your group if you entered the Lottery as part of a group. If you did not apply in a group, you will be matched with a roommate based on the preferences you entered on your housing application in Axess.

Sharing Contact Information with Future Roommate(s)

You will have the opportunity to share contact information with your assigned roommate prior to checking in. Once you are assigned to a specific apartment, closer to your move-in date, you will receive an email from your Housing Service Center with a link to a Roommate Information portal. While we encourage you to take advantage of this opportunity, it is not required and both roommates must opt in and share contact information in order to have access to this information.

Living in Shared Housing

In some cases you may move into an apartment where another student has been living for a number of years. You should have access to an equal amount of space in the common areas.

Find helpful tips about living with a roommate on our website.

If you experience difficulties settling into your new apartment, please speak with your Housing Service Center Supervisor or the Graduate Life Dean for your area.