Housing Guarantee

2024-25 New Frosh, New Transfers, and New Visiting Students:

New undergraduate students are eligible for a one-year housing guarantee if they indicate a preference for university housing when accepting their offer of admission and meet all housing application deadlines. A housing guarantee ensures a space in university housing; however, a particular community or specific room type is not guaranteed.

  • Fall admits: the guarantee includes all three year quarters (Fall, Winter, and Spring) of the admitted year. 
  • Winter admits: the guarantee includes the remaining two quarters (Winter and Spring) of the admitted year.

Guarantee Conditions

Students with housing guarantees must adhere to the following conditions in order to maintain the housing guarantee. A guarantee will be voided if a student fails to meet any of the following conditions.

1) Meet all housing application and assignment deadlines.

New Students: Accept the offer of admission to UC Santa Cruz by completing the Statement of Intent to Register (SIR) process at my.ucsc.edu. When prompted during the SIR process:

  • Indicate your preference for university housing. Note: students who indicate a preference for off-campus housing during the SIR process will not receive a housing guarantee, even if they later apply for university housing.
  • Submit any required advance fees.

Once affiliated with a college, submit a housing application at studenthousing.ucsc.edu by the deadline issued by Student Housing Services. A housing guarantee is voided if the student does not take the required steps to complete the application process by the deadline, or if the application is canceled. 

2) Maintain continuous residence in UCSC housing during the academic year (fall, winter, and spring quarters) in which the guarantee spans.

3) Accept university housing when it is offered.

A housing guarantee ensures a space in university housing; however, a particular community or specific housing type is not guaranteed. In some instances, a Housing Coordinator may offer an alternate housing assignment if a space matching a student’s application preference(s) is not available. If a guaranteed student declines (or does not respond to) an offer of housing, any existing housing guarantee will be voided and the student’s application will be moved to the non-guarantee wait list.

4) Adhere to all Terms and Conditions of residence (conduct and financial contractual responsibilities).

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: How can I find out if I have a housing guarantee?

A: Contact your Housing Coordinator to inquire whether you have a housing guarantee or not.

Q: Can I apply for university housing if I don’t have a housing guarantee?

A: Any student – guaranteed or not – can apply for university housing. However, students with housing guarantees will be assigned housing first. Each year we work diligently to house as many students without guarantees as possible. However, because the demand for housing is often greater than our capacity, it is unlikely we will be able to accommodate all students without housing guarantees.