Frequently Asked Questions

We will continue to update this page as we receive new frequently asked questions. Please visit this page early and often. 

How do I find a roommate? 

• Attend the Roommate Meet-Up event on Tuesday, March 26 from 5-6pm in Sharples Commons or the Roommate Speed Friending event on Tuesday, April 2 from 7-8pm in Sharples Commons.
• Update My Info for Fall 2024 in your Housing Portal and once the roommate match period opens search for other students with a similar living style.
• Talk to your friends to see if they know anyone who is looking for a roommate.
• Ask your RA if they have an leads. 

Can't the Housing Office match me up with a roommate? 

Sorry, but no. Now that you are on campus with access to friends, clubs, and other social networks, we do expect you to find your own roommate. 

How do I indicate who my roommate is?

Beginning the the first week in April, log into your Housing Portal. On the left menu, pick Room Selection ⇒Select Roommates. Be sure you change the term to Fall 2024. Go down to Search for Roommate. Enter their name and select them. Once selected, they will be asked to confirm they want to live with you. If someone has selected to live with you, you will see their request under Pending Roommate Request. If you want to live with them, select the three dots by their name, and click match.

Roommate selection runs through the end of room selection. 

I want a single. Do I still have to select a roommate?

You are strongly encouraged to select a roommate even if you want a single. Please visit Typical Housing by Class Year to get a sense of your chances of getting a single. During room selection if there is a single available when your time comes, you can pick it even if you've selected a roommate. You would simply unmatch from your roommate. Your roommate match would then be able to select something for themselves at their own time.

Conversely, if when your selection time comes there are no singles left you will need to quickly try to match with a roommate. You can only select rooms you can fill to capacity. Matching with a roommate involves the other person agreeing to match with you. Of course if you are together or on a text chain when that happens, it can be quick. However, if you have to wait for them to see you are requesting to match, someone else may pick the space you were eyeing.

How will my selection time be determined? When will I get it?

Your number will be randomly generated by class year. Class years are pulled from Banner. Selection times will be available in your Housing Portal after April 3.

If you have accommodations and are participating in preselection, you will receive a selection time on Friday, April 5. You will have both a preselection time and a general selection time. You can decide which process to participate in, but you can only participate in one process. I

How long will I have to select my room?

Once your time slot arrives, you will have one minute to select your space before the person after you is able to log in. You can take more than one minute, but other students will begin getting access to the portal so they may select a room you were considering. The portal will then remain open until 9am the next morning. Once you select a room, you cannot change your selection. 

Think of it kind of like a restaurant. If your reservation is at 4:12, you can look at the menu ahead of time and start thinking about what you want to order. You can keep looking at that menu up until your reservation at 4:12. At 4:12 the restaurant lets you in. When you get inside there might already be 12 people still eating, but some may have finished and left the restaurant. Another person will be let into the restaurant at 4:13. Everyone in the restaurant can stay until 9am the next morning if they are having trouble deciding what to eat. However, the menu options will diminish as you wait. Once you start eating something, you can't change it. 

Can this system handle so many people picking at the same time? 

Yes. We use a program called The Housing Director, which is part of Adirondack Solutions. This system is used by many schools across the country to manage their housing inventory. Swarthmore has been using it for five years. Adirondack is used to run housing selection at schools such as UCONN for approximately 12,000 beds, Syracuse University for about 8000 beds, Ohio University for approximately 7500 beds, and Vanderbilt University for about 6000. We feel confident it can manage Swarthmore and our approximate 1600 bed selection. In an abundance of caution, we would advise against all 400 students in a class year logging in at one time.

What does the selection interface look like? Will I be able to find a room I want quickly?

The interface is very simple to navigate. You can search the room list by building and/or room type. If you want to see all the rooms available in Worth, you'd simply select Worth. If you want to see all the singles available at your time, you'd select single. If you want to see the singles in Worth select both. You will only be able to see rooms you are eligible to pick. If you don't see a room listed, it means someone has picked it already, you are not eligible to pick that room, or you cannot fill that room to capacity based on the number of roommates with whom you have matched. For example Willets is limited to first year students. NPPR blocks are limited to seniors. The more you prepare and prioritize your wants, the faster the process will be for you.

Click here to see screen shots of the process.

How can I pick a different room if I change my mind about the one I already selected?

You have access to the portal until 9am the day after the start of your class year selection. Once you select a room, it's yours for the duration of the process. You aren't able to make changes. If you want to guarantee you are near certain friends, you should wait until the latest time your friend group has to select and all pick at that time. That's the best way to ensure no one swoops in between your time and your friends' times and fills up neighboring spaces.

If you decide you do not want the room you selected, we can cancel it after your selection, but you will go at the very end of the queue for a new room. That will likely mean being on a waitlist into the summer and a lottery penalty for the next fall selection (being at the end of your class year).

What's the deal with blocking? 

Blocking is a way to create additional suites outside of NPPR. As always, most spaces in NPPR will be available for blocking. There are additional blocks in Mary Lyon, Pittenger, and Worth. To select a block you must match with the same number of roommates as there are spaces in a block. The person with the best selection time will be your block captain and select the block pulling all their matched roommates into the block with them. Be sure you and your roommates know who wants which room within a block. You will not be able to select a block if your group cannot fill it to capacity. 

Students participating in preselection cannot block. 

How can I pick a single near my friend? 

You will need to be strategic and prioritize your wants. If you want to live near your friend and want a single, you'll need to be thoughtful about which building you pick. If you pick the last single in Alice Paul, your friend with a later selection time will not be able to pick a single in AP to be near you. If you see there are a lot of singles left in Worth, and it is important to you to live near your friend, you should both pick in Worth. Conversely, if you prioritize AP and decide a walk to another building to visit your friend is ok, then go ahead and pick that last single in AP. The same is true for doubles near each other. To be absolutely sure you can live near your friends, you should all select rooms at the last selection time among your group of friends. That way no one can swoop in and pick rooms between your selection times.

Why did I receive a time but not a lottery number?

The times given are your lottery number. If the selection is scheduled to begin at 4:00 PM and you receive the time of 4:46 PM, there are 47 people in front of you. If your time is 6:30 PM, there are 150 people in front of you, and so on and so forth.

What happens if I miss my selection time slot?

Time slots will stay open until 9am the next morning so you can log on until 9am and select a room. 

What happens if I am unavailable to select during my selection slot?

If you are picking with a roommate, you should work with them to arrange when you will pick the room. If you are trying to get a single you will have to reach out to housing@swarthmore.edu to request a proxy by noon EDT on the day of your selection. Include a list of rooms you would like us to pick from. If none of the rooms you list are available, we will not select a room for you. The longer the list, the better.  As your proxy a member of the Residential Communities team will login at your time and select a space for you based on the preferences that you share with us. Requests for proxies after noon on your selection day will not be accepted. 

I'm abroad, and my selection time is the middle of the night? My internet connection is not stable. I can't seem to VPN into the housing portal.

You are encouraged to check your connection well before your selection time. If you have any issues, please see the answer above about being unavailable during your selection time slot.

What are my chances of getting a single? Into Alice Paul or David Kemp? Getting AC?

We encourage you to have several options in mind and prioritize. If your first choice is to have a single, it might have to be in Mary Lyon if you are a rising sophomore, but even those spaces are limited. If you really want a room with air conditioning, it might have to be a double or triple. Check out the Typical Housing by Class Year page to help you get a better idea of which class years got which spaces. Remember that you should look at the class above yours to see your chances. For example the Class of 2027 should look where the Class of 2026 lives now. 

My graduation year in Banner is inaccurate. How can I get a selection time for the right year?

First, you should work to get the correct year in Banner. If you are in an unusual situation such as a December finisher, please reach out to housing@swarthmore.edu to review solutions.

My gender identity does not match the sex listed in Banner. I want to live in a gendered space like Kyle or Parrish East or West. What can I do? 

Contact housing@swarthmore.edu. We can get you all squared away. 

I'm going abroad in the fall. How do I get a room for spring? Can I pick one now and have it held for me?

You cannot hold a room for a semester when you won't be on campus. Students going abroad in the fall will be contacted in November to participate in a spring selection for spaces that are available at that time.

My friend is going abroad in the fall, but they got a really good selection time. Can we swap times?

Students going abroad or on a leave should not pick a room. They cannot swap times with someone else. They should not try to pick a room that they will then try to give you because they have a better selection time than you do. They will be penalized the next time they select a room with a later selection time. You will have to go on the waiting list for an assignment in the summer. 

What if I decide not to pick a room? 

Students who want housing but decide not to select a room in room selection will be added to the waiting list. Once we have placed all incoming first year students, we will begin placing students from the waiting list in class and selection time order. This will likely be in late July. Students will be randomly assigned to rooms from the waiting list. There is no guarantee waiting list students will be able to stay with their roommates. 

What if I don't like my selection? Will there be a room change waiting list?

Yes, we will open a room change waiting list during the summer. Please be on the look out for an email regarding this waiting list in late July. 

When can I ask more questions about housing selection?

Pop into the OSE (Sharples 170) or email housing@swarthmore.edu.