Apply for Housing: First-Year Students

NOTE: A $150 non-refundable prepayment is required to start the application. Please take this into consideration prior to starting your application.

2024-2025 Housing Application Process

All first-year students are required to live on campus unless they are commuting from their primary guardian's permanent address within a 50-mile radius of campus. 

First-year students are eligible to reside in Walton, Putnam, Phelps, Sellers, Wise, and Downing. Double room options are available in all of these locations. First year students that require a single room for medical reasons must work with the Disability Resource Center as early as possible in order to be granted approval for this room type.  

Students who participate in dual-enrollment programs or ECA while in high school are considered first-year students

                                               

Application Access

  • Please log-into our online application portal using your emich user name and password. You will also have to dual-authenticate with DUO in order to enter the application.
  • Students cannot access the housing application if they have a hold on their student account. Once holds are removed from a student's account, they take one business day to update in our system.
  • Students must use Firefox, Chrome or Safari; Internet Explorer is not compatible with our system.
  • Make sure to clear your cache prior to logging into the application. You should do this each time you log in to ensure proper performance.

Application Portal

First-year students on campus

Dates & Deadlines

The application will open for first-year students on January 24, at 10 am. The first-year application process is a three-step process, and all student should note these important dates and deadlines. Please note this is an overview of the process and more details on each step can be found below in the Housing Application Basics and General Information sections. 

  • January 24, at 10 am. – First-year housing application opens for all new, incoming first-year students. 
  • January 24 through Thursday, March 28 – Step One - Application collection phase. Student will apply, sign their Housing & Dining Contracts, and create their roommate matching profiles for the next step.
  • Monday, April 1 – The roommate section of the first-year application opens. 
  • Monday, April 1 through Friday, May 3, at 5 pm. – Step Two -Student need to review and communicate with potential roommates, and ultimately form a group of two with the person they want to be roommates with. Students in verified groups of two will have priority to select a room during our lottery room selection process over those who do not form a group of two. 
  • Friday, May 3, at 5 pm. - First-year housing application fully closes in preparation for our lottery room selection. No further applications will be taken until room selection is over. 
  • Monday, May 13 through Friday, May 17 – Step Three – Students eligible to participate in our lottery room selection will be assigned a date and time to enter the housing application to reserve a room for themselves and their verified group member, pick meal plans, and finalize their housing application. 
  • Monday May 20, at 10 am. – The first-year housing application reopens for late applications to start and finish the application process. Students who apply May 20 and after do not have the ability to request roommates or form a group of two. 
  • Friday, June 21, at 5 pm. – The first-year housing application closes for Fall 2024 billing. The application process may or may not reopen in July and is dependent on availability at that time. 
  • $150 Housing Prepayment Expand dropdown

    All students, regardless of scholarship/financial aid status, are required to submit a $150 non-refundable prepayment at the start of the housing application. This prepayment cannot be waived or charged to the student account.

    The housing application accepts credit cards and debit cards provided they also function as a credit card. The system will not accept debit only cards or prepaid credit cards.

    Making the prepayment via the housing application gives students instant access to proceed. If a student chooses to mail their prepayment, they MUST follow the directions to do so listed within the housing application. Mailed prepayments will take significant time to process.

  • Housing & Dining Contract Expand dropdown

    Students who are 18 years of age or older will complete an electronic version on the Housing & Dining Contract within the application process.

    Student who have not yet reached the age of 18 at the time of application are required to have their parent or legal guardian co-sign the contract before being able to proceed with the application process. The application process prompts students to enter contact information for their legal guardian, and email a copy of the blank co-sign contact to both parties.

    Students and their guardians need to read through the contract together. We asked that legal guardians help ensure that their student understands what they are agreeing to, and that the student will be held accountable for the terms and conditions listed in the contract. If there are any questions, we recommend that you contact us at [email protected] with your questions before signing and submitting this legal document!

    Once the co-signed contract has been signed by the students and legal guardian, students scan the document as a PDF and upload it into the application. Directions on how to complete this are available on the corresponding application pages.

  • Roommate Matching Questions Expand dropdown

    The application contains roommate/suite-mate matching questions. We recommend that students answer these questions as honestly as possible, and do not let fill out the answers on your behalf. These questions, and how students answer them, help students find and match up with another student to form a group of two.

    In addition to the matching questions in the housing application, EMU Housing & Residence Life has partnered with Residence Life has partnered with RoommateFinder to offer you a scientifically-backed, data-driven process to pair you with a roommate who better aligns with your lifestyle and values.

    Your top matches will be emailed to you the week of April 1, when the Roommate Group section of our housing application opens up.

    Please note that Roommate Finder is only available to students who submit their data to Roommate Finder before March 25. If you want to participate, a link will be provided to you within the housing application. 

    EMU Housing & Residence Life encourages you to reach out to your matches before creating your group of two in the housing application. If you don't want to use RoommateFinder, or are not happy with these matches, you can also use the matching and search features in the housing application to find and connect with potential roommates.

  • Personal Description Expand dropdown

    All students are required to write a short personal description. Even if you know who you want to live with, this description is used by other students who may be potential suite-mates.

    The maximum number of characters, including spaces, for your description is 500. We recommend writing your description in a word processing document so that you can keep an eye on your count. You can then cut/paste what you write into the text box.

    Things to include: likes and dislikes, interests, hobbies, or anything else that might be important to you that you would want potential roommates to know. Another important item to list here is if you are interested in a specific Living-Learning/Theme Community! If you are looking to live in one of our communities, this is the best way for you to let others know about your preference.

    We have found that students who list where/how to find them on different social media accounts are highly success in this process.

  • Find A Roommate Expand dropdown

    First-year students are limited to requesting one (1) other person to live with. This student will be your roommate.

    There are multiple ways for you to find someone to live with:

    • Use the matching filters within the housing application to determine suitable candidates, and contact them using the internal messaging system.
    • Submit your information to RoommateFinder, who offers you a scientifically-backed, data-driven process to pair you with a roommate who better aligns with your lifestyle and values. Please note that Roommate Finder is only available to students who submit their data to Roommate Finder before March 25.
    • Join our First-Year Roommate page on Facebook, and interact with other students who are also looking for a roommate.
  • Create a Group of Two Expand dropdown

    Students need to review and communicate with potential roommates, and ultimately form a group of two with the person they want to be roommates at some point between Monday, April 1 and Friday, May 3, at 5 pm.

    There is no rush to form a group of two – take your time and use the different search methods.
    Students in verified groups of two will have priority to select a room during our lottery room selection process over those who do not form a group of two.

    Once a student has determined who they want to live with, both students need to discuss where they want to live and who will be responsible for picking the room. The person who will pick the room and book both students into bed spaces is called the Group Leader.

    The Group Leader is the individual who must create the group within the housing application, invite the other student to the group, and verify the group once the second student accepts.

  • Reserve Your Room Expand dropdown

    Students eligible to participate in our lottery room selection (Monday, May 13 through Friday, May 17) will be assigned a date and time to enter the housing application to reserve a room for themselves and their verified group member, pick meal plans, and finalize their housing application. 

    The Group Leader is responsible for assigning themselves and the other member of their group. We highly recommend that students talk with their group member about where they want to live well in advance, and have back-up options in case those areas are sold out.

    If you are NOT the group leader, it is extremely important that you do not advance in the application before the Group Leader makes your assignment. This will cause errors in your application and your assignment.

    After the Group Leader has made a housing assignment for both students, both students need to log into the application and pick their meal plan for the academic year.

  • Pick Your Meal Plan  Expand dropdown

    After the Group Leader has made a housing assignment for both students, both students need to log into the application and pick their meal plan for the academic year.

    Meal plans are the primary way that students pay for food and beverages while on campus. Our meal plans are comprised of meal swipes and Flex dollars, all of which are loaded onto your Eagle ID card.

    First-year residents pick from the following meal plan options:

    • Anytime @ the Commons
    • 3 Per Day
    • 2 Per Day

    For all three of the plans above, students can elect to purchase more Flex when selecting their meal plan within the housing application.

    Meal Plan Pricing & Info

  • Review Assignment Information Expand dropdown

    The Assignment Summary page is the last page of the housing application that students can reach at this time. This page displays the meal plan selections and room reservations details made by the student. We want to make sure all students end on this page of the application, as we will ask you to return to this page in August to complete your move-in items.

  • What housing types are available?

    Expand dropdown

    First year students are eligible to reside in Walton, Putnam, Phelps, Sellers, Wise, and Downing. Double room options are available in all of these locations. First year students that require a single room for medical reasons must work with the Disability Resource Center as early as possible in order to be granted approval for this room type.                                                  

    The majority of our first-year spaces are double room suites. A suite consists of two rooms, connected by a bathroom or other living space.

    A double is a room that you will share with a roommate, and share common spaces like a bathroom, with another set of two students. This means that four students are assigned to each double suite - two students per room. Please see the residence hall options for floor plans and what comes in each space.

    Wise Hall is the only residence hall that is a little different. All rooms in Wise are double rooms. Students do not have suite-mates in Wise due to the community bathroom. Students who select Wise will share the bedroom with another student, and share the community bathroom with the floor. Please see the Wise Hall page for floor plan information and what comes in the space.

  • What if I apply before the May 3 deadline, but don’t form a roommate group of two?

    Expand dropdown

    If you are unable to find a roommate and form a group of two during the allotted time (Monday, April 1 through Friday, May 3, at 5 pm), you will be contacted via email the week of May 6 regarding our room selection lottery.

    While you will still be able to participate in our lottery room selection, you will not have priority to select a space and will not have the ability to request a roommate at a later date.

  • When will the application reopen for late applicants?

    Expand dropdown

    The first-year housing application fully closes in preparation for our lottery room selection on Friday, May 3, at 5 pm. No further applications will be taken until room selection is over. 

    The first-year housing application reopens for late applications to start and finish the application process on Monday May 20, at 10 am. Students who apply May 20 and after do not have the ability to request roommates or form a group of two. 

    On Friday, June 21, at 5 pm, the first-year housing application closes for Fall 2024 billing. The application process may or may not reopen in July and is dependent on availability at that time. 

  • I am in TRIO, Brotherhood Scholars, or Sisterhood Scholars. Is there anything I need to do?

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    Living in the TRIO, Brotherhood, or Sisterhood Scholars communities require that you apply for those programs and be accepted into them in order to be assigned housing in those areas.

    If you plan on being in any of these programs, Housing recommends that you apply and make your prepayment as soon as possible, and then communicate this to your program.

    You should NOT reserve a space or create a roommate group. Please complete all pages of the application through the personal description. At that point, log out and let your program know that you have applied for housing. Housing will reach back out to you to complete the application once your program makes your assignment.

  • I am a Division I Student-Athlete. Is there anything I need to do?

    Expand dropdown

    Student-athletes need to apply, make your prepayment and complete all pages of the application through the personal description. At that point, log out and let your coach know that you have applied for housing. You should NOT reserve a space, look for a roommate, or form a group of two.

    Athletics makes your assignments over the summer, and then communicates this to housing. Once housing has been given an assignment for you, we'll let you know via email and provide further directions for completing your application.

    All questions about student-athlete housing should be directed to your coach.