All students who are required or interested in living on campus must complete a housing application each academic year. Most housing application processes are based on students self-selecting their room, but some students are hand assigned by UNH Housing staff. We have individual websites for each process. This page provides information primarily for self-selection processes. To find out when you are supposed to apply for on-campus housing, visit the How To Apply webpage.
Housing Application
Generally, a student needs the following information to complete a housing application:
- USNH login credentials (to log into the Housing Portal)
- If under 18 years of age at the time of completing the application, you must have contact information (email) for an individual who is over 18 who can sign the Room & Board Agreement on your behalf.
- Contact information for yourself
- Contact information for an emergency contact
- Whether you want to opt into GradGuard renters insurance
- Roommate(s) you want to live with (for self-selection processes only)
- An idea of which type of housing you are interested in
We discourage parents/guardians from completing housing applications on behalf of their student. Students answering questions on their own is important for ownership in the housing process, as well as setting them up for the best possible roommate match.
Generally, no. For self-selection processes, all selection timeslots are randomized and application date does not affect a student's assigned timeslot. Students must meet the published application deadlines in order to participate in self-selection. Applications submitted after the published deadline will be hand assigned by UNH Housing.
For hand assigned processes, students are only able to be assigned once the application is submitted. This means that students in hand assigned processes who apply earlier, may receive their housing assignment earlier than someone who has not yet submitted their housing application.
Students who have a housing requirement (generally current first-years and transfer students under 21 years of age) for the next academic year will apply for housing and self-select their room in the Spring semester of each year. Students who do not have a housing requirement (generally current second-year students, juniors, seniors, and graduate students) apply for housing and self-selection their room in the Fall semester for the following school year.
We recognize that friendships can cross academic classes and that current freshman may have friends who are sophomores and wish to live with them the following school year. Students who have a housing requirement that wish to live with a student(s) who does not have a housing requirement must contact UNH Housing during the Fall "non-required" process to request this ability. The student who has a housing requirement MUST be joining a roommate group that is comprised of at least 50% students who do not have a housing requirement.
Please email us at housing@unh.edu so that we can look into your specific situation.
Having lived on campus at a previous institution of higher education can impact your housing requirement in a few ways. The important thing is that we don't know if you have lived on campus elsewhere - according to our records you may have a housing requirement. You must notify us if want your previous on-campus housing experience to count towards your 4-semester housing requirement at UNH.
- If you want to live off-campus: You must complete a housing requirement exemption request and provide supporting documentation that shows you have lived on campus at a previous institution. Your previous housing experience, plus any you have had here at UNH, must equal four (4) semesters to be approved for this exemption. Supporting documentation generally can include a letter from your previous institution's housing department stating you lived on campus and the dates, or a financial statement from the institution showing chousing charges.
- If you want to continue to live on campus, but want to be able to participate in the housing selection process for students without a housing requirement: You must reach out to us. Same guidelines as above will apply - you must be able to show that you have completed your four (4) semesters of on-campus living. If approved, we will manually adjust your application to be able to participate in the non-required selection process. Note - you MUST do this during the application phase for the non-required student process.
Roommate Groups
All housing self-selections are made as a "group." If you are looking for a single or want to fill a bed space in a double, triple room, suite or apartment, you still need to create a group of one (1) – just you. Do this in the "Roommate Group" page of the application.
This section is meant to help you navigate the "Roommate Group" page on the Housing application. All of our self-selection processes include this page to help students connect with friends as they find a new place to live or assists them in making new connections! (This page is not available on the waitlist application. If you have a roommate in mind, please contact Housing.)
Create a Group and Add Roommates:
If you create a group, you become the “group leader.” You are responsible for adding roommates and/or approving requests to join your group.
If you know your roommates, follow these steps:
- All roommates must have an active housing application.
- On the Roommate Groups page, click Create Group and then enter a Group Name, password, and group size (this should match the number of beds in the room you are hoping to select).
- Search for your roommates by clicking Search for Roommates by Details and send an invitation.
- Webnames are on the main page of your portal. You will need your planned roommate(s) webname(s)!
- The roommate(s) will then need to log into their application and accept your invitation to join the group.
- Once you have filled all your roommate spaces and the roommates have accepted the invitation, your group is done. All you have to do is wait for timeslots to be distributed.
Join a Group:
If your potential roommate already created a group, click Join Group. You will need to know the exact group name and password.
Merge Two Existing Groups:
If you created a group and so did your planned roommate(s), you can merge the two groups. Click Search For Roommate Group. Make sure to match the maximum number of members with the maximum number of beds in your desired space.
It depends.
- The transfer student must be admitted through the Admissions Office in order to be eligible to participate in the self-selection process. The student also needs to be an active student which means they must have completed their enrollment deposit and activated their account (UNH ID, username, password, etc.) If they're not sure, have the transfer student call Admissions at (603) 862-1360 or email admissions@unh.edu.
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Students living off campus cannot participate in the self-selection process unless they plan to be part of a roommate group where at least half of the group currently lives on campus. If you currently live off campus and want to join a returner's group, please contact housing@unh.edu.
Applicants may find suggested roommates on the application process. Your "Roommate Matching Questions" will help you find a fellow student with similar life-styles by matching you with a percentage. Before the application closes, you can look at student's profile and even send them a message!
Alternatively, students seeking other students to live with next year can use social media resources to find potential roommates.
You can adjust your roommate group at any time before the application deadline. The group leader can disband the group or transfer the group leader position by revisiting the "Roommate Groups" section of the application. An individual applicant can also remove themselves from the group by revisiting the application.
Timeslots & Self-Selection
You will receive a notification via your UNH email when the timeslot becomes available in your Housing Portal. You can log back in to the housing application to view your timeslot for the upcoming process.
You can pick a space from the moment your timeslot starts until a designated time on that day - see the timeslot email that comes when timeslots of released. If you are unavailable during the selection period, you can transfer the position of group leader to another group member who would be available during the initial timeslot.
Remember, the earlier you are able to select a space, the more choices you will have!
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Popular halls that you like, are probably the same halls other students like as well. Demand will be high and the open spaces in those halls will go quickly. Be realistic with your options and have more than one building and room type in mind. Keep in mind that timeslots are completely random.
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If you are participating in the returner selection process but you don't currently live in the residence hall or apartment you are interested in, join a group where at least one of the members already lives in your desired area. Current residents have an opportunity to renew to their building before students who do not currently live there.
No. During any of the selection processes, all areas will be available. For the first-year selection process, all halls available to incoming students will be visible. For the apartment selection process, both apartment complexes, Gables and Woodside, will be visible. And, for the residence hall selection, all halls available to upper-class students will be visible.
Room selection works very similarly to your class selection process. At your specific timeslot, you login to the housing application and you get to choose from whatever room spaces are available at that time. There is a possibility that the space or hall you wanted might not be available.
The group leader logs in at the earliest timeslot of any group member. The housing application will show the group leader this "best timeslot" and that is when they will log in to select a space. Remember that the group leader is the one who logs in to select - not the other members!
"What If..." and Other Questions
Call Housing at (603) 862-2120, or email housing@unh.edu.
Once you have booked a space, you are not able to change it. If you'd like to change your assignment, please contact UNH Housing to discuss a wish list.
You can still apply for on-campus housing. However, you will be place on the waitlist. If you are guaranteed housing based on the On-Campus Housing Requirement, you will be hand-assigned after the self-selection process. If you are not guaranteed housing, we will reach out via your UNH email when a space that matches your preferences becomes available.
If there was an unforeseen and unavoidable circumstance that prevented you from applying, call Housing right away at (603) 862-2120 or email housing@unh.edu. The assignments team will let you know what options may be available.
Exemptions to live off campus in a fraternity/sorority house will only be accepted through a separate University-approved process, which occurs after the housing returner selection process. Students interested in receiving an exemption to the housing requirement in order to live in a fraternity/sorority house will participate in the on-campus housing process (in the Spring semester) regardless. If approved for a housing requirement exemption, students will be released from their on-campus housing without penalty. Information about this process is shared directly with chapter leadership.
Students who have a housing requirement should not sign a lease to live in a chapter house until the University-approved process has been completed AND the student has received approval to be exempt from the housing requirement. You do not want to be financially held to a lease with a chapter house and then be denied the exemption and required to live on campus.
Timeslots And Self-Selection
Your timeslot is the time when you self-select an on-campus space within the application on the Housing Portal.
Keep in mind that completing your application way ahead of the deadline does not affect your timeslot. Timeslots are completely randomized. Only the group leader can self-select during the group's earliest timeslot —even if its not their own.
Most self-selection processes have more than one timeslot distribution date. This depends on what is being offered at the time (RLC selection, apartment selection, residence hall selection, etc.). Please visit the application process that applies to you to find out more. All applicants receive every timeslot until they make a selection for the next academic year. If an applicant books a room before all timeslot distributions are completed, they won't receive the subsequent timeslots as they already secured a space.
