Housing Guarantee

UC Santa Cruz offers a housing guarantee to new undergraduate students who 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.

Housing guarantee for students

Housing guarantee	New frosh	New transfer	New visiting
Standard housing guarantee	1 year	1 year	1 year
Regents Scholars	4 years	2 years	n/a
Sabatte Scholars	4 years	2 years	n/a

Fall admits: the standard guarantee includes all three quarters (Fall, Winter, and Spring) of the admitted year.
Winter admits: the standard guarantee includes the remaining two quarters (Winter and Spring) of the admitted year.
Regents Scholars and Sabatte Scholars who entered UCSC fall 2022 or later are eligible for the multi-year guarantee that corresponds to their student classification at the time of admission.
The housing guarantee is not applicable to Graduate Student Housing or Family Student Housing.

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 MyUCSC by the deadline issued by the Office of Admissions.

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.
After your SIR deadline and once you are affiliated with a college, submit a housing application in the Housing Portal by the deadline issued by Student Housing Services via UCSC email. A housing guarantee is voided if the student does not complete the housing application process by the deadline, or if the application is canceled.

Questions about your housing preference in your Statement of Intent to Register (SIR) or your SIR deadline?
Contact the Office of Admissions at admissions@ucsc.edu

Continuing Students: Submit a “Fall” housing application/contract in the Housing Portal during the annual Housing Application Period and participate in all required college/community room selection activities.

2) Maintain continuous residence in UCSC housing during the academic year (fall, winter, and spring quarters) in which the guarantee spans. Summer Session housing is not required to maintain guarantee status.

If a student elects to cancel an academic year housing application/contract, any existing housing guarantee will ordinarily be voided and the student will not have a housing guarantee if they later reapply for housing.

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 via UCSC email if a space matching a student’s application preference(s) is not available.
Alternate housing offers are made via UCSC email and the student is required to accept the offer via the Housing Portal within forty-eight (48) hours or the housing offer is void. Students are responsible for monitoring UCSC email for time-sensitive information.
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 waitlist

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

Learn more about Terms and Conditions of residence

Reinstatement of guarantee

A student may request consideration for reinstatement of a voided housing guarantee due to one of the circumstances below:

Successful readmission following a withdrawal, provided the student applies for housing for the first quarter they resume their studies at UCSC.
Return from a university approved leave of absence, provided the student applies for housing for the first quarter they resume their studies at UCSC.
Return from a UC study abroad or study away program, provided the student applies for housing for the first quarter they resume their studies at UCSC.
Other extenuating circumstances may be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Instructions for requesting guarantee reinstatement:

Submit a written appeal to Student Housing Services (housing@ucsc.edu)
Include in your email your full name and Student ID number, and all relevant context regarding your circumstances.
Attach supporting documentation regarding your successful readmission, your university approved leave of absence, or your UC study abroad or study away program.
If appealing for any other reason, provide details of the extenuating circumstances.

Decisions on guarantee reinstatement requests are sent via UCSC email within 2 weeks.

Frequently Asked Questions

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

Contact Student Housing Services (housing@ucsc.edu) to inquire whether you have a housing guarantee or not.

If I am a member of one of the groups listed above (e.g. Regents Scholar, Sabatte Scholar) does that mean I’m automatically guaranteed?

Yes, if you’ve met each of the housing guarantee conditions. If any guarantee condition was not met then it’s likely you do not have a guarantee, though you can continue to benefit from the other aspects of your scholarship.

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

Any eligible student – guaranteed or not – can apply for university housing. However, students with housing guarantees have priority. Each year we work diligently to house as many students without guarantees as possible. Nevertheless, we may not be able to accommodate all students without housing guarantees.