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First-Year Students

On this page you'll learn about the 3 simple steps to find your Home at AU for the 2023-2024 academic year.

On-campus housing is in high demand, so it is important that students submit their enrollment and housing deposits to the Office of Admissions as soon as possible to secure a space. If you have any questions regarding the deposit process, please contact the Office of Admissions through undergraduatedeposits@american.edu.

Your 3 Steps to Your Home at AU!

Step 1: Applying

The housing application will open at noon on Tuesday, April 4, 2023 for students who have already submitted a housing deposit with AU Admissions. You can apply through the AU Housing Portal. The application allows students to complete their Roommate Matching Questions and review and agree to the Housing License Agreement (HLA) HLA.

The housing application priority deadline for first-year students is Monday, May 8, 2023. Students who apply after the priority deadline will recieve a selection timeslot at the end of the process.

Step 2: Choosing my roommate(s)

Roommate matching begins at noon on Thursday, May 11, 2023. You can match with 1-3 rommmates through the AU Housing Portal. The vast majority of available first-year rooms are traditional double rooms. Traditional triples (3 students) and Centennial Suites (4 students) are limited and will fill quickly.

You'll have the option to match with someone you know or search for a potential roommate using the roommate profile questions collected in Step 1. If you are part of a Special Housing Community or you are participating in All-Gender Housing, you will only be able to roommate match with others with the same status.

Community Assignments Across Halls

The first-year residential community is housed across, Anderson, Letts, Leonard, Centennial, McDowell and Roper Halls. Each student has a community classification, which is visible to them in AU Housing Portal. Based on your community classification, you can expect to select your room in the hall below during room selection in June of 2023.

Housing options for returning students
Community Hall(s) and Floor(s)

 

All-Female McDowell floor 7

General Population FY

Anderson/Letts/Leonard/Centennial/McDowell

Black Affinity Housing Roper

Community Based Research Scholars (CBRS)

Anderson floor 3 (sharing a floor with Honors)

Honors Anderson floor 3 (sharing a floor with CBRS)

University College Cohorts

UC Cohorts are assigned a specific floor(s) in either Anderson, Letts, or McDowell

3-Year Scholars

Letts floor 6

Step 3: Selecting my Home at AU

You will select your Home at AU in early June. You'll be assigned a timeslot (the time you can begin to select your room) between June 5-June 14, 2023. The earliest timeslots are given to Early Decision students and then all regular decision students are randomly assigned a timeslot.

Using the AU Housing Portal, you'll select a room when your timeslot begins and must select a space by noon on Wednesday, June 14. Students who don't select by this date will automatically be assigned a space by Housing & Residence Life.

We'll share more about this exciting last step as we get closer. As you select, you'll be able to search for available rooms based on building and room-type (traditional or suite-style) and you can learn about your roommate(s) through the system so you can reach out and connect in advance.

Where where will I live?

Available Halls

First-year students will live together in first-year residence halls or on a first-year floor. For the '23-'24 academic year, Leonard, Letts, Anderson, Centennial, McDowell, and Roper Halls will be available to first-year students. You can explore each hall through a Virtual Tour, view photographs, and learn about amenities available to you on our Residence Hall webpage.

Where will I live?

  • If you're part of a Living-Learning Community (LLC), you will reside in either Letts, McDowell, or Anderson. Each community is assigned to a specific hall and floor. The specific hall and floor assignments will be shared in advance of Step 3.
  • If you're part of All-Female Housing, you will reside on a floor with other students who identify as female in McDowell Hall.
  • If you're part of Black Affinity Housing, you will reside in Roper Hall with sophomore and upperclass members of the community.
  • If you're not part of a special community listed above, you will be able to select from any available space when your timeslot begins across all First-Year buildings.
  • What about Centennial Hall? We want to provide you realistic expectations about Centennial Hall (the only suite-style hall available to First-Year students). All students should expect to reside in a traditional residence hall (Letts, Leonard, Anderson, McDowell or Roper). For the '23-'24 year, two of the six floors in Centennial will house sophomore students. Given this, a limited number of suite-style rooms will be available to first-year students. Housing & Residence Life expect all spaces in Centennial will be selected by Early Decision students. However, not all Early Decision students should expect to reside in Centennial based on special community membership and anticipated demand for the hall.
  • If you have an accommodation through ASAC or CDI, you can live across any of our halls. If you are part of a special housing community (ex. LLC or Black Affinity Housing) and your accommodation can't be met on the floor assigned to your community, you will be assigned a space nearby that meets your need.

Emails

A copy of each email sent to first-year students will be shared here.

Key Dates

Applications open: April 4 at noon

Complete the first 2 steps of the ASAC Process (optional): May 8

Complete the Gender Based Consideration Form (optional): To be annouced.

Priority Housing Applications Due: May 8 at noon

Roommate Grouping begins: May 11 at noon

CDI Priority Deadline: May 8

Room selection timeslots begin: June 5 - June 14

Room selection closes: June 16 at noon

Housing Charges added to Eagle Service: To be annouced.