Applying for Housing

Returning from Study Away or a Leave of Absence 

The deadline to apply for housing for Spring 2010 is October 31, 2009.  We will continue to accept late applications through opening in January 2010.  Late applications will be given the lowest priority in the assignment process. The deadline to apply for the off-campus lottery is October 7, 2009.

As you know, students are required to complete three years (six semesters) of on-campus housing. To determine if you are still required to live on-campus, count how many semesters you have been a full-time student in Durham, living in on-campus housing. Include the Fall 2009 semester as complete if you are currently on Study Away. Do not count semesters spent on Leave of Absence. 

• If you have six or more semesters, you are eligible to live off-campus. Should you choose to live off-campus, you do not need to complete any forms. If you want to live on-campus, complete a housing application (Deadline October 31, 2009).
• If you have five semesters, you may enter the off-campus lottery (Deadline October 7, 2009) or complete a housing application (Deadline October 31, 2009).
• If you have four or fewer semesters, you must complete a housing application (Deadline October 31, 2009).
  

Assignments will be emailed to Duke email accounts in mid-December. We appreciate your patience in waiting for written confirmation of your assignment. Please note that all assignments are final.

Because of the timing of the assignment process, it is possible that your housing charges will not appear on your December Bursar statement.  Expect to see these charges on your January statement.

If you are interested in the Wellness on West Community, there is a separate acceptance process. You should still do your Spring housing application- be sure to note on it that you have applied for Wellness on West.

Dining Plans 

All students living on-campus are required to participate in one of several dining plans offered by the Duke Dining Services. Dining plans will be processed after check-in. Dining plan information is available on the Dining website. If you do not submit dining plan information, Dining Services will select a plan for you. If you have trouble submitting your dining plan information, please contact dining@notes.duke.edu. 

Special Housing for Medical Needs

Students with medical needs requiring special housing consideration already on file with Housing Accommodations should simply make note of the medical need on the Spring 2010 Housing Request Form. Special housing requests must be approved by Student Health to be considered. If you have a new medical need that may impact your housing assignment, you must submit an application for special housing consideration to Student Health.

So, What Beds Will be Available?

We expect the following options to be available for Spring 2010:

• Very few opportunities for roommate pairs to be placed together.  Limited availability for this will primarily be on Central Campus.
• Single rooms on West Campus, scattered in various quads.
• Scattered spaces in doubles and triples on West and in other apartments on Central.
• Possible one or two four-person (three-bedroom) apartments on Central.
  

Unfortunately, we cannot predict exactly which beds will be available for assignment to students returning in the spring.  It simply cannot be determined how many of each will become available or what your possible outcome in this process might be. We simply ask for your patience as the process unfolds.

The Reality

It will not be possible to meet the housing preferences for all students returning to Duke this spring. While the Housing Accommodations staff would be thrilled to meet every request, history shows that this simply isn't possible. We will do our best to honor as many preferences as possible, however, it may be that no preferences are available for some students.  We encourage roommate pairs who feel strongly about being placed together to consider the off-campus lottery as your best option for living together.

Selective Living Group Members

Selective Living Group (SLG) members are provided first priority to return to vacant beds in their own SLG. The Housing Accommodations Office works with each SLG to determine what beds, if any, are becoming available at the end of the fall semester. Each SLG is given the opportunity to assign returning members to the available empty beds and to determine roommate pairings. If there are not enough beds to meet the number of students returning to campus, the extra members are included in the unaffiliated lottery for alternative assignment. More information on SLG member expectations are available in the Communities section of this website.

Unaffiliated Students

As you will note on the Spring 2010 Housing Application, you will be provided the opportunity to indicate your housing preferences. Your preferences may include roommate, room/apartment type, and location. If you have additional preferences that you would like considered, simply add them to the final section of the request form. This might include a particular room that is becoming available. Please note, however, that simply knowing about a possible vacancy doesn't give you an advantage on receiving the assignment.

A lottery utilizing seniority will be conducted to determine the assignment order. Each student's preferences will be taken into consideration when making assignments, so please take the time to indicate your preferences. Housing Accommodations would rather know your preferences than have to guess! We will guarantee the assignment of a student returning and mutually requesting to live with a student currently on campus that either has a vacancy in their room or is losing their roommate at the end of the fall semester. Please make sure that your on-campus preferred roommate responds promptly to information that will be emailed to them during the fall - they need to submit a request to have you as a roommate!

Sophomores

If you are returning to Durham and will be enrolled in classes for the spring semester, you will be required to live on-campus.  Per normal assigment practices, you are guaranteed space on West, and you may elect to go to Central.

Seniors

(Students who have completed six semesters of on-campus housing)
As you are not required to live on-campus, you are not bound to apply for Spring 2010 housing. We request that you be considerate of your fellow students and only apply for on-campus housing if you plan to live on-campus. Once assigned, you will not be able to cancel your housing for Spring 2010.  All assignments are final.

Off-Campus Lottery

We will accept applications from eligible students to be released one semester early from the on-campus living requirement.  Applications will be accepted from mid-September through October 7, 2009.  The results of the lottery will be available on October 14th.  Students who are not lotteried off will be instructed to complete a Spring Housing application.

Process

Please read the information in this notice carefully and then complete the appropriate form by the stated deadline.  Some of you will need to act quickly to return this information.

It is clear that some of you are located in remote parts of the world, so it may be difficult for you to complete and return the request form in a timely manner.  It is your responsibility, however, to ensure that the form is completed and returned as requested.  Please contact us at housing@studentaffairs.duke.edu if you have questions about submitting your application.