2023-2024 Housing Selection for Returning Students

We have enjoyed having you on campus this year and encourage you to think about your housing plans for next year. Please read the following information and contact the office of Residence Life and Housing if you have questions.

Housing Selection Process

The terms and conditions of the housing contract change annually. Please carefully review the housing contract before you sign and complete your housing application questions so that you are familiar with the terms and conditions.

In addition to this webpage, we have developed supportive resources that we hope will be helpful to students: 

• Housing Selection FAQs
• Housing Selection Application and Process Guide
• Renters Insurance (optional, but recommended)
• Housing Selection Roommate Matching & Group Formation Guide
• Housing Selection Room Selection Guide

Housing Selection Priority

The priority order for housing selection is:

1. on-campus rising seniors,
2. abroad/off-campus rising seniors,
3. on-campus rising juniors,
4. abroad/off-campus rising juniors, and
5. on-campus rising sophomores.

All returning students are assigned a randomly generated start date and time for use in the housing selection process.

Housing Selection 2022-2023 Timeline

Residency Requirement

First year students attending PNCA, Willamette University’s Portland Campus, are required to live in university housing. First and second year students attending Willamette University’s Salem campus are required to live in university housing.  The university grants exceptions to the live-on requirement when appropriate.  

Students with circumstances matching the following criteria prior to the start of the academic year may be exempt from the housing requirement:

• Students living within 25 miles of the university campus who will commute from a parent or legal guardian’s residence (proof of residency with a parent or legal guardian may be required);
• Students who are married, in a civil union, or in a domestic partnership (must provide documentation);
• Students with dependents under their care;
• Students who have been declared as independent or are over 21 years of age;
• Veterans of the military;
• Transfer students who have more than two years of college experience;
• Students with a disability or medical condition that prevents them from living in on-campus housing must provide documentation and gain approval from the Accessible Education Services Office;
• Students participating in a study abroad program;

Students seeking an exception to the live-on requirement may submit a request through the WU Housing portal. 

Students who are required to live on campus and fail to complete the housing registration process during their class housing selection will be assigned to a space after the housing registration process is complete.

Renew Existing University Placement (RE-UP) Option For Rising Juniors and Seniors, and Returning Students

Rising juniors and seniors who currently reside on campus, and would like to stay in the same living space next year may elect to Renew their Existing University Placement (RE-UP) for the next academic year. Not all spaces are available for RE-UP.  Students will be contacted prior to the RE-UP process if their living space is no longer eligible for the RE-UP process. 

The RE-UP Housing Agreement will be available in the WU Housing Portal beginning March 6, 2023. RE-UPing is an option, not a requirement. Students who do not wish to RE-UP will have the opportunity to participate in the regular housing selection process at their designated start date and time.

Some living spaces have stipulations that must be met in order to RE-UP.  These stipulations also apply to any student wanting apartment style housing:

• Kaneko 2-bedroom apartments need at least 1 current resident to RE-UP, plus a new/existing resident to fill the unit.
• Kaneko 4-bedroom apartments need at least 2 current residents to RE-UP, plus the new/existing residents to fill the unit. 
• UAP double occupancy apartments need at least 1 current resident to RE-UP, plus the new/existing resident to fill the unit.
• "Double occupancy as a single" spaces are not eligible to RE-UP.

If the student(s) who secured an apartment decides to cancel their housing contract prior to the Fall semester, the new residents who were invited in to fill the unit may not retain it and will be reassigned. The unit will be made available to the next group on the wait list.

In a double occupancy living space, if both residents want to RE-UP but do not want their current roommates, the residents have two choices: 

1. Decide between themselves who can keep the room or
2. Both residents go through the housing selection process after the RE-UP deadline.

Housing Contract Cancellations

A student who desires release from the housing contract, will be charged a cancellation fee

Important Housing Selection Notes:

• All students must carefully review and sign their contract
• Students who wish to be roommates must mutually request each other - that is, agree to live with one another
• If you don't know who you want to live with, search for compatible roommates during the roommate matching and group forming phase of the process
• Triple Kaneko suites are only assigned to three mutually requested roommates during housing selection
• Students who sign up for a triple suite will be moved to a double room if a roommate cancels during the summer
• Once you have selected your space, no changes will be considered until the end of the second week in the fall semester with the approval of the Residence Life Coordinator

2023-2024 Rates

Rates for 2023-2024 are now posted on our website. Students living in a residence hall are required to participate in a meal plan. Meal plans are optional for residents in apartments.

Single rooms cost more than multiple occupancy rooms. See Rates for pricing.

Important Apartment Information

Annual lease rates include a furnished apartment and utilities. 

Campus apartments are available in Doney 1st floor north, Kaneko B/C wings, and at University Apartments.

• Apartment occupancy is for the entire term of the agreement
• The office of Residence Life and Housing will fill vacant beds in the apartment from the waiting list at their discretion.

Optional Meal Plans for Apartment or Off-Campus Residents

Students living in campus apartments or off-campus may purchase any of the Willamette meal plans by contacting the office of Residence Life and Housing.

Personal Property Insurance

Willamette University is not responsible for the loss or damage of personal property and advises all students to cover their belongings under their own insurance. When completing the returning student housing application, students will be provided the opportunity to sign up for renters insurance through GradGuard.