Freshmen and Transfer Students
To provide the opportunity for new students to meet new people and build new friendships, Stanford does not give freshmen and transfer students the option of requesting a particular roommate.
You will learn who your roommate is, and your room number, after you arrive on campus. Stanford does not provide this information in advance because we have found that roommate relationships are more positive and successful when they start out with face-to-face interaction, rather than on preconceived notions based on fragments of information or online communications.
We realize this policy may create temporary inconveniences, but year after year, experience tells us this is a winning way to handle roommate assignments.
When determining freshman housing assignments, the housing staff tries to make each residence a microcosm of the freshman class, balancing factors such as home state, academic interest, gender, and ethnicity.
Coordinators try to pair students who not only share common interests, but who also have differences that enable them to learn from one another. A student from California is likely to have a roommate from another state. Two varsity athletes in the same sport won’t be put together. A student interested in physics might be paired with a history buff, but both might be avid jazz fans.
Learn more about residence and roommate assignments for new undergraduates in Approaching Stanford.
Returning Undergraduates |
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Autumn Quarter |
If you are moving in for Autumn Quarter, you will most likely chose your room and roommate(s) during the spring in-house draw. If you were assigned housing over the summer, however, your residence staff or Front Desk Supervisor may have paired you with another student. Please note that even if you received a room assignment during your in-house draw, it may have been changed over the summer due to last-minute medical accommodations or other special circumstances. If you are living in a co-op, your house may not make room and roommate assignments until the start of Autumn Quarter. |
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Winter and |
If you are moving in for Winter or Spring Quarter, your residence staff or Front Desk Supervisor will assign you to a room based on available vacancies in your residence. When fully-vacant rooms are available, they will try to pair you with your Waiting List group member(s), if any. |
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Summer Quarter |
If you are moving in for Summer Quarter, your room and roommates were most likely decided during the spring in-house draw. However, your assignment may be changed later due to last-minute cancellations, medical accommodations, or other special considerations. If you were unable to attend your in-house draw, or if you are a visiting student, your room and roommate will be assigned based on information on your housing application and available vacancies. |
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Graduate Students |
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Shortly before classes begin, a Front Desk Supervisor will assign you to a specific apartment based on the spaces that are ready for occupancy at the time you are scheduled to move in. You are not directly notified of your room or apartment number prior to your arrival. For Autumn Quarter, you can contact the Housing Front Desk (at most residences) in late in August to learn about your tentative address. For Winter, Spring, and Summer Quarters, specific room/apartment numbers are available only at check-in.
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Single Student Roommates |
If you are a single student assigned to a shared occupancy room or apartment, you will have one or more roommates. Whenever possible, you will be assigned to the same room or apartment as the other member/s of your group if you entered the Lottery as part of a group. If you did not apply in a group, you will be matched with a roommate based on the preferences you entered on your housing application in Axess. Because of late assignment changes, you will learn the name/s of your roommate/s at the time you move in. |
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Couples without Children |
Couples without children are generally assigned to the same buildings within Escondido Village, although there are some mixed buildings and neighborhoods housing both couples and single students. |
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Students with Children |
Students with children are generally located together in one of several neighborhoods within Escondido Village. When making apartment assignments, our staff members try to assign students with children of similar ages near each other whenever possible. |
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