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Room & Roommate Assignments

Freshmen and Transfer Students

To provide the opportunity for new students to meet new people and build new friendships, Stanford does not give freshmen and transfer students the option of requesting a particular roommate.

You will learn who your roommate is, and your room number, after you arrive on campus. Stanford does not provide this information in advance because we have found that roommate relationships are more positive and successful when they start out with face-to-face interaction, rather than on preconceived notions based on fragments of information or online communications.

We realize this policy may create temporary inconveniences, but year after year, experience tells us this is a winning way to handle roommate assignments.

Professional Res Ed staff try to pair students who not only share common interests, but who also have differences that enable them to learn from one another. A student from California is likely to have a roommate from another state. Two varsity athletes in the same sport generally won’t be put together. A student interested in physics might be paired with a history buff, but both might be avid jazz fans.

Learn more about residence and roommate assignments for new undergraduates in Approaching Stanford.

Returning Undergraduates

Autumn Quarter

If you are moving in for Autumn Quarter, you will most likely choose your room and roommate(s) during the spring House and Room Selection process. If you were assigned housing over the summer, however, your residence staff or Housing Service Center Supervisor may have paired you with another student. If you are living in a co-op, your house may not make room and roommate assignments until the start of Autumn Quarter.

Winter and
Spring Terms

If you are moving in for Winter or Spring Quarter, your residence staff or Housing Service Center Supervisor will assign you to a room based on available vacancies in your residence. When fully-vacant rooms are available, they will try to pair you with your group member(s) from the current housing application, if any.

Summer Quarter

If you are moving in for Summer Quarter, your residence staff or Housing Service Center Supervisor will assign you to a room based on available vacancies in your residence.

Graduate Students

Individual apartment and roommate assignments are made in a second phase of assignments, shortly before classes begin. You will be assigned to a specific apartment based on the spaces that are ready for occupancy at the time you are scheduled to move in.

You will be able to view your building assignment information in Axess about two weeks before your move-in date, but specific apartment information will not be available until you check in. Apartment assignments are not final until you have picked up your keys. If you require further information regarding your apartment assignment, please contact your Housing Service Center. 

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.

Single Student Roommates

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. Your Housing Service Center will contact you once your apartment assignment is made. This communication will include instructions on how you can reach out to your future roommates. 

Couples without Children

Couples without children are generally assigned to the same buildings within Escondido Village, although there are some mixed buildings and neighborhoods housing both couples and single students in Munger, EVGR, Graduate Residences and the Escondido Village low-rises.

Students with Children

Students with children are generally located together in one of several neighborhoods within Escondido Village. When making apartment assignments, our staff members try to assign students with children of similar ages near each other whenever possible.