Room Selection

Returning Student Housing Application

Students who wish to participate in the room selection process for 2024-2025 must complete the online housing application. The housing application is available in the housing portal. After logging in using College computing credentials, the application will be posted under the Contracts and Applications section when it is available.

To participate in the online selection process, applications must be completed by Sunday, March 17, 2024  at 11:59 pm Central Time. Please carefully review the application before signing. The application is legally binding and covers the entire 2024-2025 academic year.

REMINDER: Students who are participating in an off-campus program in Fall 2024 should not complete this housing application. If you are returning to campus in Spring 2025, you will sign the housing application during the Fall 2024 semester.

Room Types

Returning students will have the option of selecting double, triple, and quad rooms in the following buildings:

• Deerpath
• Cleveland Young (by separate application)
• Lois
• Harlan
• Blackstone
• Moore
• Nollen (basement rooms)
• Campus Apartments
• Arrive Apartments

We strongly encourage students to review the full list of room types to understand what rooms are available in which buildings. 

Room Selection Times

Selection times for all Room Selection processes are determined by cumulative completed credit hours as determined by the Registrar. Credit hours in progress are not considered; however, credit hours that are transferred in do count toward the total.

Students with the same number of credit hours will be assigned a selection time according to a random, computerized placement. Students will be emailed when selection times are available in the My Housing portal - typically 1-2 days before selection begins.

Room Selection

In order to select a room, students must be in a matched roommate group that is able to completely fill said room. For example, if a student would like to select a double, they must be in a matched roommate group with one other person. When they login to select a room, they will only see rooms they are qualified to select. In this example, they would see any double rooms that are available.

Residency Requirement

All first, second, and third-year students are required to live on campus unless they meet one or more of the stated exemption requirements:

• Live at home with parent/guardian within 30 road miles of the College;
• Age 23 or older;
• Have dependent children;
• Are married;
• Active members of the armed forces; or
• Have completed 24 Lake Forest College credits or more (not including AP or IB credits).

If you wish to apply for exemption from the residency requirement, you will need to complete a Residency Requirement Exemption Request form and submit it to reslife@lakeforest.edu. Please be aware that the residency requirement may only be appealed before a housing application is signed.

Cleveland-Young International Center

Students who are interested in the opportunity to participate in the living experience in Cleveland Young International Center should contact the Office of Residence Life for more information. A separate application is needed in addition to the general housing application. The Cleveland-Young International Center application will be available on the My Housing portal and must be submitted by  Friday, March 17, 2024 at 11:59 pm Central Time. 

Roommate Selection & Matching

The roommate matching process begins in early March. Students are able to request specific roommates or create an online profile to search for a compatible roommate based on living preferences.  Roommate requests must be mutual in order to be honored. 

Students are permitted to pull other students into a room with them. The group should plan to use the best selection time in the group (the earliest selection time is the best). Because room selection can be unpredictable in terms of what rooms and halls will fill up first, you are encouraged to make several plans before your selection time. This includes how a roommate group will divide if a particular space is not available. Information about selecting roommate groups online will be emailed.

Gender-inclusive housing is available to students through the room selection process based on mutual requests. Roommate groups may be gender inclusive, which will allow mutually-selected groups to identify their preferred living space on campus. There are no additional steps required to request a gender-inclusive housing situation.

Accommodations Process

Students with certain approved residential accommodations have the opportunity to be pre-assigned space on campus by the Office of Residence Life. Students must meet the following criteria:

• Have a completed housing application on file for the upcoming academic year
• And have an approved residential accommodation on file for a specific room type, bathroom access, air conditioning, or mobility need.

All eligible students will be emailed by Residence Life after the housing application closes. If a student does not wish to participate in this pre-assignment process, they must opt out by submiting an email to Residence Life indicating this choice.

Students seeking an approved accommodation should visit the Office of Accessibility Services web page. 

Room Rates

Lake Forest College uses differential pricing for housing costs. This means that your cost of living will more accurately reflect the room type in which you live.

2024/2025 Academic Year. Room Rates Per Semester: