Application Guide

All new first-year students are required to live on campus and guaranteed housing in the academic year of admittance and should complete the housing application in the My Housing Portal after making their admissions deposit. First year students can instead request an exemption to live off-campus if they meet certain criteria to include: are living with a parent or legal guardian within 30 miles from campus, are married, have a child or are at least 21 years of age by the first day of classes. The full exemption policy and required forms can be found in the First Year Exemption Request process in the housing portal. If you'd like to request a housing exemption, be sure to complete the First-Year Exemption Request form in the My Housing Portal by May 15 instead of a housing application.

Failure to complete either a housing application or an exemption request may result in either still being assigned and charged for housing or alternatively, not being guaranteed or assigned a space on campus.

Students admitted to the university as a freshman transfer (transfer student admitted with 18 or fewer credits from another institution within one year of high school graduation) are not required to live on campus for the academic term of admittance but will be guaranteed housing if they choose to apply. They will follow the housing process for first-year students. Since they are not required to live on campus, freshman transfer students do not need to submit an exemption request if living off campus.

We encourage newly admitted first year students to apply for on-campus housing before the priority deadline of May 15, 2025 at 5 p.m. The application is available in the Apply for Housing section of the My Housing portal starting March 17 and can take up to 48 hours to appear after you deposit to the University and set up your UD email, UDelNetID and password. All applications received by May 15 are given the same priority. After May 15, a more limited application will remain available where room-type interests and roommate requests will not be accepted, optional living-learning community applications will be closed and housing accommodation requests will be late.

There are three sections of the returning student application process in the My Housing portal. Completing a valid basic application in the Apply for Housing section is required of all applicants, while the Roommate Manager and Housing Communities sections are optional for students to either request a specific roommate or apply to live in a specific Living Learning Community (LLC). Students required to live in an LLC based on academic program cannot apply for a different community, and roommate requests may be restricted for certain communities.

Steps of Basic Application

• Review application instructions

• Sign the housing contract (if under 18, parent/legal guardian must sign)

• Agree to the cancellation fee policy

• Your application is valid! Receive confirmation email

• Confirm demographic information

• Provide optional identity details

• Get instructions to submit housing accommodations if needed 

• Answer lifestyle questions

• Complete the room type interest poll
• Indicate your intention if you plan to complete a supplemental community application

• Submit the basic application and learn about next steps

Steps of Housing Communities

• After submitting basic application, students gain access to this optional process

• Read about the first-year communities being offered for next year

• Select the specific community you want to join 

• Complete required essay questions

• Receive email confirming submission

Steps of Roommate Manager

• After submitting basic application, students gain access to this optional process

• Review instructions to either: create a new roommate group, join an existing group with specific students, search for potential roommates, or view suggested roommates if unsure who you want to live with

• Accept or decline pending invitations or requests to join a group

• Receive emails confirming new group members or other changes to the group

• Verify your group 

On-campus housing communities and Living Learning Communities (LLCs) provide students with unique experiences designed around academic programs, interests or identities. Many LLCs are supported by an academic department. Some LLCs are required for specific students and some are optional. The supplemental LLC application in the Housing Communities process of the My Housing Portal becomes available to a student after completing their basic application and will close on May 15 at 5 p.m.

You can learn more about the communities being offered for first-year students on our In-Hall Communities webpage or in the portal. Locations for all communities will be released later in the summer.

About half of incoming first-year students choose to let our system’s algorithm assign them a roommate(s) based on the compatibility of their lifestyle answers in the housing application. Roughly speaking, we don't see increased roommate conflict between 'random' roommates, and it can be an excellent opportunity to meet a new friend group.

If you would like to request a specific roommate, you can create or join a roommate group of 2-3 students of the same gender within the Roommate Manager section of the My Housing portal before May 15 at 5pm after completing your basic application. If you are required to live in or applied to live in a Living Learning Community, you may only be able to select other students who are also in that community and groups will be verified prior to assignment. While we do our best to accommodate requests, roommates are NOT guaranteed for any student even if in a roommate group. Additionally, group size does not guarantee a specific type of room, meaning groups of two could still be assigned to a triple room with a third student.

New roommate requests or changes to groups cannot be made after the priority deadline.

First-year students will be placed in traditional or suite-style housing primarily in double and triple occupancy rooms with limited single occupancy options. Traditional halls have rooms along the corridor with communal bathrooms and are mainly located on East and Central campus.  Suite style halls typically feature two bedrooms connected by a bathroom and are mainly located on Laird (North) campus.  Our buildings are primarily co-ed by room, meaning that while students of the same gender share a room/suite, the floors are mixed gender. Students can indicate interest in a room type in their application, but we cannot guarantee assignment to any specific type of space.

First-year students do not get to choose where they are housed and can be placed anywhere across campus in a variety of buildings. Some buildings have air conditioning, some do not; some buildings have elevators, others only have stairs. Room rates will vary depending on room type. You can learn more about our buildings on the Explore Our Halls page. 

Students with a medical, psychological or physical condition that substantially limits one or more major life activities and may impact their housing can request reasonable housing accommodations by submitting documentation directly to the Office of Disability Support Services (DSS) no later than May 15, 2025 in addition to completing a housing application. Documentation consists of an evaluation by an appropriate professional that explains the condition and how specific housing accommodations would mitigate its impact on the student.  Accommodations can include a need for items such as air conditioning, elevator access, bathroom modifications, or a single room based on the documentation submitted. This is important information to know as not all buildings have these items. This is not a process to circumnavigate the assignment process and should only be used by students who have a documented need. Questions about this process should be directed to the DSS office.

Students with specific dietary restrictions, allergies or intolerances should contact the university Dietitian at Dining Services to discuss what dining accommodations can be made during their time at UD. Dining Services works very hard to accommodate students in the dining halls, and a housing accommodation is often not necessary, but any documentation for consideration should be submitted to the Dietitian for review by May 15, 2025.

Submitting documentation does not automatically qualify a student for housing accommodations. Staff from Disability Support Services and Dining Services will review documentation submitted and make a recommendation to Residence Life & Housing if necessary. Roommates are not considered a reasonable accommodation, and a student may be removed from their roommate group in order to meet their recommended accommodation.  

Documentation received late may result in an assignment that does not meet the recommended accommodations, and our ability to provide an accommodation after the deadline will be extremely limited. Students who already have accommodations on file must submit updated paperwork each year by the posted deadline in order to be valid for the upcoming year.  

We will begin to work on first year student housing assignments after the priority application deadline, with those who applied by the deadline receiving priority consideration for placement. Housing assignments and roommate information for first year students will be sent via UD email addresses later in the summer. We appreciate your patience as we work to assign the thousands of new Blue Hens to our residence halls!

Housing rates for the upcoming year are determined by the Board of Trustees in their spring meeting, and are generally released in June or July. We typically see a 2-7% increase to the previous year's rates, which are available on the Housing Info page. Rates will vary depending on room type.

The New Student Checklist for first-year students is a helpful guide that lists some key actions students need to complete after submitting their admissions deposit, during New Student Orientation (NSO) and after NSO. 

One important step to prepare for your arrival includes getting your student ID card (ONEcard). You’ll receive an email with instructions to upload your photo online so that your card can be ready for you to pick up if you’re attending in-person New Student Orientation (NSO). If you have not submitted your photo at least 5 days prior to your in-person NSO appointment, your card may not be ready.

Your ONEcard is your official university ID that can be used to access services and facilities such as your residence hall, parking, fitness centers, student activities, student health services, athletic facilities and events, laundry, and dining meals and points. Cashless spending using your FLEX account on your ONEcard is also available at many locations on campus.

Learn more about your new ONEcard and get answers to frequently asked questions.