First-Year Students

Conference & Camp Housing

First-Year Students

First-year students at Penn State are required to live on campus.

Nineteen residence halls are reserved exclusively for first-year students in East, South, and Pollock Halls. Once you send in your acceptance fees you must then submit the appropriate Housing and Food Service Contract(s) so that we can assign you to a room.

Here's How:

1. Send in Your Acceptance Letter and Fees
   When you are admitted to Penn State, you will receive a packet with an Acceptance Letter from the Admissions Office. To activate your eligibility for your Housing and Food Service Contract(s), you must first send your Acceptance Letter and fees to:
   
   Office of the Bursar
   The Pennsylvania State University
   103 Shields Building
   University Park, PA 16802-1276
   
   Rooms are assigned in the order that acceptance fees are received, so it is to your advantage to send in your fees as soon as you decide to attend Penn State. Although all first-year students are guaranteed on-campus housing, the later you send in your fees, the greater your chance of being assigned to supplemental housing rather than to a regular room.



2. Submit Your Housing and Food Service Contract(s)
   Approximately five to ten days after you send in your Acceptance Letter and fees, your contract(s) will be available through Penn State’s eLiving Housing Contract System. You will have two weeks to log on to eLiving to submit your contract(s).
   
   All contracts must be submitted through eLiving. You will not receive a paper contract.
   
   The number of contracts you will need to submit depends on when you will be entering Penn State:
   
   Summer Session: If you will be entering in the summer session, you will be required to live on campus for both summer session and the following academic year. This means you must submit two Housing and Food Service Contracts: one for the summer session and one for the following academic year, which covers both fall and spring semesters.
   
   Fall Semester: If you will be entering in the fall semester, you will be required to live on campus for the entire academic year. This means you must submit one Housing and Food Service Contract, which covers both fall and spring semesters.
   
   Spring Semester: If you will be entering in the spring semester, you will be required to live on campus for spring semester, which means you must submit a Housing and Food Service Contract for spring semester. You will not be required to live on campus for the following academic year, but if you choose to do so, you will be guaranteed housing and will automatically receive a Contract Offer through eLiving in early January. To secure your housing, you must accept this offer within the specified time frame.

When submitting your contract(s), you will be asked to indicate:

A Meal Plan Choice — All students living in the residence halls are required to purchase an A-La Board meal plan. Several different plans are available. (Learn more about A-La Board.)

Residence Hall Area Preferences — First-year students are housed in five different residence areas on campus: East, North, South, West, and Pollock Halls. Be sure to review the information on the specific areas before making your residence hall selection.

Roommate Preferences: You and your roommate(s) must choose each other to be assigned as roommates. If you do not choose a roommate, we will assign you one based on your semester standing and area of academic study. All first-year students will be assigned to live with another first-year student.

Special Living Option (SLO) Preference: If you are interested in joining a particular SLO, please indicate your preference on your Housing and Food Service Contract. (Learn more about the different SLOs.)

You will also be asked to rank your preferences (residence hall area, roommate, and SLO) in order of priority. We will take these rankings into consideration when assigning you to a room. We will try to give you at least your first preference, but the number of preferences we will be able to honor will depend on space availability at the time we process your contract. Contracts are processed in the order in which students’ acceptance fees are received.

Submitting Your Meningococcal Vaccination Certification Form
All students living on campus are required to either receive the meningococcal vaccine or submit a waiver indicating that they have read information about meningitis and are making the decision to waive the inoculation. If you do not complete and submit a Meningococcal Vaccination Certification form, you will not be permitted to move into your residence hall room.

For more information visit Penn State's Meningococcal Vaccination Information website.

Getting Your Housing Assignment
Your housing assignment—along with your roommate’s name, home telephone number, and Penn State e-mail address—will be available on your eLiving log-in page a few weeks before you are scheduled to move into your room. It’s a good idea to contact your roommate before move-in day so you can introduce yourself and discuss what you each plan to bring.

Not happy with your housing assignment? We allow students to switch rooms either before or after they arrive on campus. (It’s called a Direct Room Exchange.) Only students who have active regular room Housing and Food Service Contracts are eligible to do a Direct Room Exchange.

• Find out what types of rooms you’ll be eligible for when you’re a sophomore, junior, or senior.