Housing Application
What’s the difference between a college and a community?
Each housing area is a community. This includes UCSC’s 10 colleges, as well as the Village, and the University Town Center. Carefully consider where to apply. In your housing application, you will be asked to choose one community to apply to.
Can I apply to more than one community?
No, you can only apply to one community.
Tip: After completing your housing application, you will have the option to add more room preferences, including those at other communities. We highly recommend taking this additional step!
You can maximize your chances of being assigned by ranking as many room types as you agree to accept in your housing application.
If possible, you will be assigned to your preferred housing community, but you may be assigned to any room type in your application even if it is not at your preferred community.
Disability Resource Center (DRC) Housing Accommodations
What kinds of DRC accommodations are eligible for Preassignment?
Housing accommodation requests issued by the DRC for a specific type of housing are eligible for Preassignment, if received before March 18 (when Preassignment begins).
Housing accommodations for a specific type of housing may include things like housing without steps or stairs; additional space for mobility devices; ADA accessible furniture; visual alarms, etc. Accommodations for an Emotional Support Animal (ESA) are not in this category.
A new housing accommodation request is needed each year. You must submit your Housing Accommodation Request in addition to completing a housing application. Visit drc.ucsc.edu for information.
What if I have a DRC accommodation, and want to live in university housing with a group of friends?
During Preassignment, Housing Coordinators are only able to assign students with accommodations for a specific type of housing. This means you would be assigned, but not your group of friends.
If you’re interested in participating in the Room Selection Lottery with a group of friends, contact the Housing Coordinator (at the community that you applied to) before room selection to let them know about your plans.
Room Selection Lottery
How does the lottery work?
Eligible students are issued a randomly generated lottery start time, which is the earliest date/time a student can access the Room Selection Lottery process.
The housing lottery is based on availability at the time a student logs in, with spaces becoming more limited as other students complete their selections. Unfortunately, space availability is not certain, and some students will not be able to make a selection during the lottery.
How can I find out if I am eligible for the Room Selection Lottery?
If you have lived continuously in UCSC housing during Winter 2024 and Spring 2024 quarters, and apply for housing during the Feb. 26 - March 4 application period, you are eligible for the Room Selection Lottery.
How does the room selection lottery affect incoming freshmen and transfer students?
New freshmen and new transfer students do not participate in room selection. New undergraduate students are assigned housing by a Housing Coordinator through a separate process.
I'm eligible for the lottery – which Room Selection Pass(es) am I eligible for?
|
Apply to: |
1st Pass |
2nd Pass* |
3rd Pass* |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Your affiliated college |
✅ |
✅ |
✅ |
|
The Village or University Town Center |
✅ |
✅ |
✅ |
|
A different college |
🆇 |
✅ |
✅ |
*Important: All passes may not take place at every college/community. If the spaces made available for Room Selection have been filled at a community, no additional passes will be held there.
Do I have to log in precisely at my Room Selection lottery start time?
Your lottery start time is the earliest date/time you can access the Room Selection Lottery process, and we strongly advise that you log in as close to your start time as possible to have the best chance of selecting housing. It’s a lottery process and spaces will become more limited as other students complete their selections.
Can my lottery start date and time be changed?
No. Room Selection start times are assigned using a random lottery system. We are not able to change lottery dates and times.
What if there are no spaces available for me to select during the lottery?
If you have not selected a space by the end of the Room Selection Lottery or if there were no remaining spaces to select, you will be placed on the housing waitlist. more »
Roommate Groups
How do I form a Roommate Group?
- Click on the Roommate Request icon in the Housing Portal
- Select the option to create a group
- Search for your friend(s) by entering their UCSC email, and invite them to join your group
Note:
- Each student must have an active application for the same community.
- Each student must not already be assigned to housing. You cannot request a roommate who has already been assigned to housing.
- Prior to the Room Selection Lottery, only students who are eligible for the lottery can form a group. After the lottery, students who are on the waiting list can submit their roommate requests.
IMPORTANT: This is a request. We cannot guarantee roommate requests will be honored, but we do our best to accommodate when possible.
If I am in a roommate group, is it guaranteed that we will be assigned together?
No. It is dependent on space availability. Roommate groups and room types cannot be guaranteed.
Do I need to officially submit my Roommate Group’s plans (and backup plans)?
You don’t need to provide this information to housing staff, but you and your group should have a plan—and back-up plans—before you log in to Room Selection! Talk to your group ahead of time about what types of rooms each person is willing to accept and who will share a room with whom. If your preferred space isn’t available, then move on to your back-up plans.
If a space is not available for your group, you can try reducing the size of your group or participating as individuals.
Gender and Student Housing
I’m nonbinary or declined to disclose my gender. Will this affect my roommate choices?
In most cases, students are assigned roommates of the same gender.
Room Selection Note: The spaces available to a student during the Room Selection Lottery are based on the student's gender. In the case of a roommate group, the size and gender make-up of the entire group will impact which spaces are available. A student may assign themself to a vacant room, or to a room shared by other students of the same gender. Apartments can be mixed-gender, but bedrooms are single-gender.
During the Room Selection Lottery, if you are having difficulty completing a selection because of a gender designation issue, please contact your Housing Coordinator for assistance.
I need to update the official campus record of my gender designation—how do I do that?
You can view and update your gender designation through MyUCSC.
If you need to update your gender designation, be sure to do this well before the lottery. Changes made on MyUCSC can take 24 hours to show up in the Housing Portal.
Gender values maintained in MyUCSC are:
|
Value |
Definition |
|---|---|
|
Female (F) |
Female | Trans Female | Trans Woman |
|
Male (M) |
Male | Trans Male | Trans Man |
|
Nonbinary (X)* |
Nonbinary | Genderqueer | Gender NonConforming | Different Identity |
|
Unspecified (U)* |
Unspecified | Decline to State | Unreported |
|
*In the Housing Portal this value is represented as Nonbinary/Different Identity |
|
Housing Assignments
How will I know if I’ve been assigned housing?
If you are assigned housing, a message will be sent to your UCSC email to confirm that your application is now a legally binding contract for the 2024-25 academic year.
The email only contains confirmation of having an assignment. Specific housing assignment information, including information on any roommates, will be available in the Housing Portal in mid-August.
Waitlist
Should I look for off-campus housing if I am on the waitlist?
Yes. Though you are welcome to keep your application on the waitlist in case a space becomes available, we strongly encourage you to also actively pursue off-campus housing. A good way to begin this process is by completing the online Renters Workshop training that can help optimize your rental search and provide valuable tips for first-time renters.
I’m on the waitlist, how can I stay informed?
As long as your application is on the waitlist it represents your interest in being assigned housing. If housing staff need to contact you it will be via UCSC email.
- Closely monitor your UCSC email and/or set up email forwarding to have your UCSC email forwarded to another account you check regularly.
- Mark or flag housing emails as Important/VIP/etc. Housing emails will primarily be sent from housing@ucsc.edu or the email address of the community where you applied.
Cancellation Policy
I’m no longer interested in university housing, how can I cancel?
It is your responsibility to promptly cancel your application via the Housing Portal if you are accepted into an exchange program, have found other housing, or do not plan to attend UCSC.
There is no fee for canceling a waitlist application.
There is a fee for canceling an assigned housing space.
| Cancellation Date | Cancellation Fee |
|---|---|
| On or before July 1 | $150.00 |
| July 2 through August 1 | $250.00 |
| After August 1 | $350.00 |