Winter and Summer Housing

Winter Break Housing

The residence halls close during each Winter Break between Fall and Spring semesters. Students who wish to remain on campus for any portion of the break period must complete the Winter Housing Agreement which opens in mid October, in the MyHousing portal.

The Winter Housing Agreement contains all additional policies related to Winter Housing, but several important points are highlighted here:

• The Winter Housing period begins when the residence halls close and continues until the residence halls reopen the weekend before the Spring semester begins. 
• There is an additional housing cost for Winter Housing. The cost is $125 per week and includes two meals per day, seven days a week, in the Cafeteria. Charges are billed by the week, and cannot be prorated to the day. If a student lives on campus for one day of the week (defined Saturday through Friday) they pay for the full week.
• Two meals per day are provided in the cost of winter housing.

Summer Housing

Summer Housing is available to most students during the summer academic terms. Students who wish to remain on campus for any or all summer terms must complete the Summer Housing Application in the MyHousing portal when it is available. The Summer Housing Application typically opens in early April.

Summer Terms

Summer Housing is available on a weekly basis. When students complete their Summer Housing Application, they will select which weeks they are requesting summer housing. For Summer 2025, the move in and out dates are listed below.

• August: There are no August classes, however, students may apply to stay on campus after the July term, until fall move-in. There is an application for this housing term and only students who have no aternative housing will be approved.

Eligibility and Priority

During the summer housing period, students are all assigned to one or two residence halls on campus. For sumemr 2024, Blackstone, Harlan and one floor of Nollen will be utilized. Since there is often a fixed number of available beds, summer housing assignments are prioritized in the following groups:

1. Richter Scholars
2. Students registered for and attending Summer Session courses in person AND are returning to Lake Forest College in the fall or completing work for graduation during the summer
3. Students participating in a College-sponsored research on campus
4. Students participating in a College-sponsored internship or experiential learning program for credit
5. Students working ON CAMPUS for a minimum of 25 hours per week
6. All other students, who can verify ongoing enrollment at the College, based on space availability

Residence Life will verify participation in courses, internships, or other programs to ensure students are prioritized correctly. 

Summer Housing Costs for 2025

Summer housing will cost $132.50 per week. This does not include dining.

Summer Meal Plan Costs

Meal plan selection is optional during the Summer term. Students may select meals when they complete the Summer Housing Application, or they may decline to select mals when completing the application. If a student wants to cancel the meal plan, they must do it before the term starts. 

A 14 meals per week meal plan is available each week of the summer. The cost is $130 per week. The Caf will be open and accepting meal swipes for breakfast, lunch and dinner Monday through Friday, and on weekends when camps are on campus. Students may use meal swipes at Boomer's for to-go options on the weekends.

Spring to Summer Transition

Most summer residents may not need to move out when the residence halls close at the end of Spring semester. Instead, summer residents will be scheduled to move into their summer room assignment at a date shortly before their summer term begins. On the scheduled move in day, residents will pick up their new room key and begin moving into their summer space. 

August Housing

The Summer Housing period encompasses all of the academic terms - typically from mid-May to the end of July. The period between the end of Summer Housing and returning student move in in August is known as August Term Housing. The August Term Housing period is not a guaranteed part of summer housing, and is only granted via application to students who have demonstrated need to remain on campus. Residence Life typically only approves students who 1) have exhausted all other housing options and have no other options or 2) are employed by the College to perform essential duties as designated by the College. 

Students should prepare to move out of the residence halls at the end of Summer Housing. August Term Housing approval is not guaranteed.