Assignments 101

University Housing has an on-campus residential population of 6,400 students and receives and processes approximately 10,000 Housing contracts every year.  Before entering into a contract with University Housing, it is very important that you understand the Terms & Conditions and the manner in which Housing Assignments are made.

Terms and Conditions

A complete listing of the Terms and Conditions can be found here.

Students who sign a Housing Contract enter a legally binding agreement with University Housing. By signing this agreement and submitting the Contract, students are financially obligated to live on-campus within University residence halls.

Students who choose not to enroll at Florida State University, and notify University Housing, will receive a partial refund of their Housing department.  Depending on when University Housing is notified, students will receive a partial refund of their housing deposit.  If written notification is received by University Housing by May 1, $175 from the initial $225 deposit will be refunded. If a cancellation is received May 2 through July 1, a $150 refund will be allowed. Any cancellations made after July 2 will receive a $125 refund. If the student does enroll with Florida State University, they will be financially obligated to our residence halls.

We encourage students who would like to live on-campus to sign up for Housing as soon as they are admitted (see priority numbers below). Even if a student chooses not to enroll at FSU, it is well worth it to receive a preferential priority number.

Our process does not permit for “holding” of rooms. Once a student has submitted a Housing Contract and has decided to enroll at FSU, they should cease looking for other living arrangements. Signing a lease with an off-campus agency and trying to break the contract with University Housing will often lead to a student being financially liable for both the Housing Contract and off-campus rent payments. Once a Housing Contract is submitted, students should plan on living in University Housing.

Priority Numbers

When students sign-up for Housing, they will be assigned a priority number. This priority number will be used to determine in what order students are placed in the residence halls. A numerically lower priority number means that a student is more likely to be placed in one of their preferred halls. For numerically higher numbers, we will place the student where there is still space available on campus.

Though a student’s priority number may appear high, there is no reason to worry. Remember that every contract signed generates a new priority number. If a prospective student with a better priority number chooses not to enroll at FSU, they will be skipped.  Though your student’s priority number does not change, they are actually “closer” to the front of the line than they were before!

A student’s placement is also impacted if they list a “roommate” preference as opposed to a “hall” preference. Please see the Hall vs. Roommate Preference section below for more information.

Hall vs. Roommate Preference

When submitting a Housing Contract, students will be asked to preference either hall or roommate. If your student has a roommate they would like to live with, both students must submit their application with a preference for roommate, they must list one another, and they must select the same four hall preferences in the same order. Failing to complete any of the aforementioned steps may cause the students not to be placed with one another.

The numerically-higher (or “worst”) priority number will be used for hall assignments. Therefore, if a student’s intended roommate has a very high priority number, it is likely that they will be placed together but possibly not in one of their preferred halls, regardless of the first student’s priority number. This should be taken into consideration before students agree to live with one another, and students should be open and honest about their Housing preferences.

Wait List

In some instances, students who are later housing applicants may be placed on a wait list for campus housing. While this can be concerning for them, the wait list is not necessarily an indication that they will not receive housing on campus. Historically, a number of students who have signed Housing Contracts will make decisions throughout the summer to cancel their admission or attend another institution, thus opening up spaces for students on the housing wait list. University Housing will carefully consider trends from previous years and will communicate with wait-listed students throughout the summer with status updates. In the event that cancellations are not occurring as expected and we are NOT able to offer housing to certain students, we will communicate that information in writing by mid-July. Placement on the wait list does not remove obligation to the Housing Contract.

Overflow Housing

An overflow room assignment may be thought of as a mid-point between the housing wait list and a regular permanent room assignment. Overflow rooms are rooms within the residence halls that are usually used for study lounges or common areas that have been converted to student rooms. They are equipped with locking doors, beds, clothes hanging and dresser space, desks, and internet access. Some even have kitchens. As permanent spaces become available through admissions cancellations, etc., students in overflow rooms are assigned to those spaces in priority number order. While it is possible that a few students might remain in a overflow room for a longer period of time, most students initially assigned to a overflow space are reassigned to permanent rooms before hall move-in occurs. Assignment to a overflow room does not remove obligation to the Housing Contract.