Housing Renewal
2025-2026

Room Selection Timeslots

Update: Room Selection timeslots will be posted by end of day on Tuesday, May 6

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Eligibility

Housing renewal is reserved for current campus residents with matriculated student status. To apply, fill out the 2025-2026 academic year housing application in MyHousing. Renewers must maintain their renewal eligibility for the remainder of the current academic year. While all current campus residents are eligible to apply for renewal, housing is not guaranteed. If you do not fulfill the terms of the Housing Agreement, your housing renewal will be cancelled.

Note: Current residents doing a study abroad or internship for spring quarter may be eligible for housing renewal. Contact University Housing for more information.

  • New incoming freshmen and transfers for fall 2025; if you are an incoming or transfer student, please follow the incoming student housing timeline.
  • Current residents who have not been granted formal admission to Western.
  • Current residents attending other colleges.
  • Students currently living off campus.

Renewal Stages

Please note that this timeline may be subject to change. Check your Western email regularly for updates and deadline reminders.

1. Apply for Renewal Feb 1 - Apr 1

To apply for renewal, fill out the 2025-2026 academic year housing application in MyHousing. The application includes selecting building & room preferences, creating a roommate profile and accepting the Housing Agreement. All on-time applications are entered into the lottery draw. Late applications are placed on hold pending space availability. If offered housing for fall, you will need to submit a $250 housing prepayment to secure your spot.

2. Renewal Lottery Posted Apr 4 at 5 pm

Housing randomly selects 1,000+ renewal applicants for the eligible pool to make up a percentage of fall room spaces and places the remaining applicants on the waitlist. Any applicant chosen in the lottery becomes eligible to use Roommate Manager to search for and create a roommate group. Late applications are placed on hold pending space availability.

3. Submit $250 Prepayment by May 1

Applicants who are drawn in the lottery will receive notification of an offer for fall housing. In order to secure your spot, submit your $250 housing prepayment in MyHousing. The $250 credit will be applied to your fall quarter student account balance. Please note you must submit your prepayment in order to access Roommate Manager, which is open Apr 5 - May 1. We recommend submitting your prepayment ASAP.

4. Create Roommate Group Apr 5 - May 1

Eligible applicants who have submitted their $250 prepayment to secure their spot will have access to the Roommate Manager tool in MyHousing. Room Selection priority is given to residents who create roommate groups, and then by priority date.

5. Room Selection Time Posted May 6

Room Selection priority is given to residents who create roommate groups, and then by priority date. Renewers in roommate groups will select rooms in order depending on group size. Those not in a group will follow groups in the room selection process.

6. Select Your Room May 7 - May 26

Renewal Room Selection phases:

  • Phase A, May 7-11: Roommate Groups of 3+
  • Phase B, May 12-18: Roommate Pairs
  • Phase C, May 19-22: Free Selection
  • Phase D, May 23-26: Last chance to change rooms

Please note: If you do not select a room during Room Selection, your Renewal Application will be cancelled. 

Cancellation Deadline is May 31

Cancellation fees:

Fall Quarter Cancellation DateCancellation Fee
June 1 – 30$0 + forfeit of $250 prepayment
July 1 – 31$200 + forfeit of $250 prepayment
August 1 – September 18$400 + forfeit of $250 prepayment

To cancel, email housing@wwu.edu with your name, W# and request to cancel.

Room & Board Rates

For room and board costs, refer to the rates for the current year. Please note that meal plans are required in residence halls and optional in Birnam Wood apartments.

Housing Options

Check out our community pages to get a feel for the different communities on campus. Renewers receive priority for Birnam Wood, our apartment-style option.

Super Single Rooms

Renewers receive priority for upgrading to a super single room on a space available basis. If you're interested in a super single, please indicate your interest on the application. 

Housing Appeals

University Residences provides an avenue for students who experience contractual difficulties (Housing Application on hold due to space availability, disagreement with a housing charge against their account, etc.).

Renewal appeals should address extenuating circumstances that require you to live on campus and receive a place in the lottery ahead of other renewers.

Housing Appeals

Plan Ahead

Pick Your Room

Be aware of other factors that may impact your room selection:

  • High-demand buildings are typically Birnam Wood, Buchanan Towers and BT East.
  • Single rooms are scarce and do not exist in Birnam Wood. Half of the 80 singles on campus are reserved for disability accommodation.
  • About 10 percent of rooms are withheld from the room-selection process to reserve space for live-in staff and disability accommodation for students.
  • University Residences reserves the right to consolidate partially populated suites or apartments to equalize gender availability and make space for roommates and suitemates.
  • During room-selection you get to choose the room you want, and if you have a confirmed roommate, you will pull them into the room.
  • Special program communities can only be selected by students approved to participate in those programs:
    • Black Affinity Housing: A Living Learning Community in Alma Clark Glass.
    • Pride Housing: An LGBTQ+ Living Learning Community in Alma Clark Glass.
    • La Comunidad: A Living Learning Community in Alma Clark Glass.
    • Honors Housing: Edens Hall, Edens North and parts of Higginson are reserved for students enrolled in the Honors Program. 

Create a Roommate Group

To create a fall roommate group, Renewers must do the following:

  1. Both you and your roommate(s) must apply for housing during the application period.
  2. This enters your application into the Renewal Lottery. Applicants will either become eligible for Room Selection or be placed on the Renewal waitlist.
  3. Renewers who are become eligible for Room Selection may use Roommate Manager to search for and/or create a roommate group using the tool.
  4. All eligible Roommate Manager users may pair up with anyone else in Roommate Manager (i.e. with new freshmen or transfers).
  5. In order to invite someone, one of you must be the group leader - meaning they will create the group, give the group a name and choose a password.
  6. You will need to contact your roommate(s) and share the group name and password with them so they can log in to the portal and join your group to confirm the group.
  7. You must request and have your roommate(s) confirm your group by the deadline.
  8. Once confirmed, your MyHousing Dashboard should reflect your roommate group status.
  9. Group leaders can dissolve their own groups using the Cancel Group button that appears at the bottom of the main page (down below profile info).

Substance-Free

Look for substance-free room types in room selection if you want to live in these communities.

Desired Roommate Currently Lives Off Campus?

It is not likely the two of you could be roommates on campus next year. Unlike new students (who are guaranteed housing), current off-campus students wanting on-campus housing for next year are considered on a space-available basis in August or September. Since off-campus students are not eligible for renewal, you cannot add them to your room.

Disability Accommodation 

Current Housing Accommodations: If you have approved housing accommodations this year (like a single room) and are drawn in the renewal lottery, you will likely be assigned to the same room again for next year. If you have any questions or concerns about your housing assignment, please email housing@wwu.edu. If you need to update your housing accommodations, please contact your DAC access manager. Once you receive notification of your assignment (look for an email in early May), you will need to log into the MyHousing portal to review & accept your assignment.

New Housing Accommodations: Some rooms are held for students with housing accommodations. If you need housing accommodations, complete the accommodation process with the Disability Access Center by February 15. If you meet all deadlines and you are selected in the lottery draw, you will be assigned to a room that meets your needs. Once you receive notification of your assignment (look for an email in early May), you will need to log into the MyHousing portal to review & accept your assignment.

Accepting Your Room Assignment: You'll receive an email when your room assignment is ready to view. Accept your room assignment in MyHousing by May 26, 2025. If you have any questions or concerns about your housing assignment, please email housing@wwu.edu. If you need to update your accommodations, please contact your DAC access manager.

FAQs

All on-time Renewal applicants are entered into the Renewal lottery. 1,000+ applicants are randomly drawn in the lottery and sent a housing offer for fall. The remaining applicants are waitlisted pending space availability.

Due to space constraints, we are unable to guarantee all renewal applicants a housing offer. However, in previous years we have been able to offer spots to all waitlist applicants. Offers are sent out as spaces open, so keep an eye on your student email! Please email housing@wwu.edu if you have any concerns about being on the waitlist.

Renewal applicants must receive and accept their renewal housing offer and have submitted their $250 housing prepayment in order to access Roommate Manager. 

  • If you try to add another student to your roommate group who has not yet received an offer, you won't be able to add them to your roommate group.  
  • If you are wanting to room with an incoming student, you should be able to add each other to roommate group as long as you both you have both accepted a housing offer and submitted your prepayments.

Yes! To cancel your on-campus housing for fall, email us at housing@wwu.edu with your name, W# and request to cancel by May 31. Please note that cancellations received after June 1 will result in penalty fees.

Current Housing Accommodations: If you have approved housing accommodations this year (like a single room) and are drawn in the renewal lottery, you will likely be assigned to the same room again for next year. If you have any questions or concerns about your housing assignment, please email housing@wwu.edu. If you need to update your housing accommodations, please contact your DAC access manager. Once you receive notification of your assignment (look for an email in early May), you will need to log into the MyHousing portal to review & accept your assignment.

New Housing Accommodations: Some rooms are held for students with housing accommodations. If you need housing accommodations, complete the accommodation process with the Disability Access Center by February 15. If you meet all deadlines and you are selected in the lottery draw, you will be assigned to a room that meets your needs. Once you receive notification of your assignment (look for an email in early May), you will need to log into the MyHousing portal to review & accept your assignment.

Accepting Your Room Assignment: You'll receive an email when your room assignment is ready to view. Accept your room assignment in MyHousing by May 26, 2025. If you have any questions or concerns about your housing assignment, please email housing@wwu.edu. If you need to update your accommodations, please contact your DAC access manager.

For more information on the disability accommodation process, visit Disability Accommodation. 

Renewers will receive priority for upgrading to a super single room on a space available basis. Interested in a super single room? Be sure to indicate your interest on the renewal application! If space allows, we will email renewers who marked interest on the application with an offer to upgrade. For information on cost, review Room & Board Rates for the 2025-26 academic year.