Housing Selection Process | Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Housing Selection Process Overview

Housing Selection Overview
How to Submit a Housing Application
WPI does not guarantee housing for Upper-Level students.
The process was designed to maximize opportunities for as many students as possible.
Each class year has priority to certain locations on campus.
Students must use WPI credentials to log in.
The housing application is available beginning Tuesday, December 3rd at 8am: https://WPI.starrezhousing.com/StarRezPortalX.
All actively enrolled undergraduate students will have access to the housing application.
The deadline to complete the application and verify a roommate group is Thursday, March 6 at 11:59pm.
All Upper-Level housing is gender-inclusive - this means that you may form your group with any other eligible Upper-Level students, regardless of system labeled gender
Everyone must make a group to participate in housing selection, even if a group of 1 person.
The maximum group size is 4 people.
Selection times/building options will be based on the class year of the group leader.
Selection times within class year will be completely random.

Timeline for Housing Selection for 2025-2026

Application Opens – Tuesday, December 3
Accommodated Documentation Deadline to the Office of Accessibility Services – Wednesday, February 5
Advanced Placement requests due Wednesday, February 5
Placements made for accommodations and Advanced Placement Requests - Week of February 10
Application Closes – Thursday, March 6 at 11:59pm.
Selection Times Sent – Week of March 10
Housing Selection Week – March 17 – 21

Roommate Meet & Greets

Female-Identifying Students	Thursday, January 23, 6pm-7pm	Atwater Kent - 232
Male-Identifying Students	Monday, January 27, 6pm-7pm	Fuller Labs - 311
All Students	Tuesday, February 4, 6pm-7pm	Kaven Hall - 204
All Students	Thursday, February 13, 6pm-7pm	Olin Hall - 126
All Students	Tuesday, February 18, 6pm-7pm	Kaven Hall - 204
All Students	Monday, February 24, 6pm-7pm	Olin Hall - 126

Residence Hall Availability & Group Sizes

Tips & Tricks for Rising Juniors & Rising Seniors

Subject to change based on incoming class size.

All class year distinctions are based on the group leader.

The following locations are available to Rising Sophomores through Advanced Placement (explained below).  If space allows, groups of 3, 2, and 1 will select from the remaining bedrooms.

The following locations are available to students of all class years in groups of 2 or 3. Priority will be given to Rising Sophomores, followed by Rising Juniors, then Rising Seniors.

The following locations are available to Groups of 4 during general selection; Groups of 4 select in the order of Rising Juniors, then Rising Seniors, then Rising Sophomores. If space allows, groups of 3, 2, and 1 will select from the remaining apartments (with remaining beds in partially filled apartments being available for other groups).

The following location is available to Groups of 3 during general selection; Groups of 3 select in the order of Rising Senior, then Rising Juniors, then Rising Sophomores. If space allows, groups of 2 and 1 will select from the remaining apartments (with remaining beds in partially filled apartments being available for other groups).

WPI Townhouses

Any open double or triple bedroom will be available to Groups of 2 during general selection; Groups of 2 select in the order of Rising Senior, then Rising Juniors, then Rising Sophomores. If a Group of 2 selects a triple bedroom, the remaining bed will be available for a group of 1 to select.

Any open bed will be available to Groups of 1 during general selection; the order for Groups of 1 is entirely random (not based on class year). Groups of 1 are strongly discouraged, as there are almost no locations designed for only a single student.

What is Advanced Placement?

Advanced Placement Explained

Advanced Placement is the opportunity for groups to be pre-placed into a housing assignment in either South Village (all class years), or Ellsworth and Fuller Apartments (Rising Sophomores only).

Reminder: All Upper-Level housing is gender-inclusive - this means that you may form your group with any other eligible Upper-Level students, regardless of system labeled gender

To participate, please follow these few steps:

Step 1 - Create and verify a roommate group for the size bedroom you desire and the students you wish to be in your bedroom

Ellsworth/Fuller 7 person apartments - groups of 3 students/2 Students/2 students (to fill a triple/double/double in the same 7 person apartment, each bedroom group must have a rising sophomore group leader)
Ellsworth/Fuller 5 person apartments - groups of 3 Students/2 Students (to fill a triple/double in the same 5 person apartment, each bedroom group must have a rising sophomore group leader)
Oak House 5 person space - triple room/double room with a shared bathroom - groups of 3 Students/2 Students
Double or triple room in South Village houses - available to all classes for groups of 2 or 3 students.
WPI Townhouses - Rising seniors may now request Advanced Placement into a 6-person Townhouse. (Students must form - groups of 3 students / 3 students to fill single/single/triple/triple). Depending on availability and number of requests, some groups may be placed into adjacent 3-person Townhouses.

Step 2 - Email the Housing & Residential Experience Center (housing@wpi.edu) with your desired TOTAL group and location with ALL group members CC'd. (If you wish to live in a 5 or 7 person space, make sure all 5 or 7 students are CC'd on the email).

If you are a group of 2 or 3, please include your top 2 South Village house preferences
If you are a group of 5 or 7, please include if you prefer Ellsworth, Fuller or Oak House
The Housing & Residential Experience Center will do our best to accommodate your preferences, but understand demand may be larger than availability

Step 3 - The Housing & Residential Experience Center will place your group BEFORE housing selection times are assigned

All requests must be received by 11:59PM on Wednesday, February 5.
By requesting an assignment through advanced placement, you understand and accept that your housing contract will become active and financially binding upon being assigned housing by a WPI H.R.E. Center staff member.
The Housing & Residential Experience Center will confirm your assignment with a confirmation email.

If the demand for the Advanced Placement Process is larger than the availability of space, the Housing & Residential Experience Center will randomly generate a placement order to assign groups. Any groups that are not placed will still have the opportunity to participate in the general selection process.

Frequently Asked Questions

You may participate as long as you are currently a full-time enrolled WPI undergraduate student that will be returning to WPI in the Fall.

This includes students that need an additional year to complete their undergraduate studies, as well as students participating in a BS/MS program.

We recommend that these students not be group leaders.

If you would like to discuss housing options, please contact the Housing & Residential Experience Center at housing@wpi.edu.

The Group Leader is the person chosen by the group to select housing for the entire group.

The Group Leader is someone the entire group trusts to make the decision for housing for everyone.

Any full-time enrolled WPI undergraduate student.

All accommodation requests and documentation must go to the Office of Accessibility Services. We work together to place these students in locations that meet their needs. Accommodated housing placements are done prior to and separate from the general selection process.

Selection days and times will be assigned based on the class year of the group leader.

You should create a few different plans for your housing just in case the room or building you want is not available when your group leader logs in to select housing.

Your group should also discuss if there are any circumstances in which you would not want to select housing.

In order to participate in the housing selection process, everyone must sign a housing contract.

The housing contract becomes binding when a group leader selects housing for their group or a student is assigned housing by a H.R.E. Center staff member at the student's or their group leaders request.

If your group leader does not select housing during the assigned time window, then the individual students from the housing group can sign up for the housing standby list to be offered housing at a later date after the selection process is completed.

Nope! A common misconception is that there is not enough housing on campus for Upper-Level students. In the past few years, we have been able to offer a placement to everyone on the Housing Standby List before the end of the summer.

Students who are on a LOA are able to join groups and participate in the housing selection process. All documentation for returning must be submitted to the Registrar's Office by July 1 to maintain placement.

The HRE Center will continue to hold assignments on a Leave of Absence until July 1. After July 1, if the HRE Center has not received confirmation from the Registrar that the student has re-enrolled for the Fall, then their housing assignment may be cancelled and offered to someone from the Standby List.

The Housing & Residential Experience Center will be hosting Roommate Meet & Greets for current students to meet potential roommate for next year. Check the University Calendar and filter by Housing & Residential Experience Center to find out when and where they will be held.

In the Housing Portal, you will also be able to view a list of students who have completed the housing application and see how compatible you are based on how you both answered the lifestyle questions in the portal.

The Standby Housing Application is similar to a waitlist. Students who missed the application deadline or are dissatisfied with their assignment, can apply to the standby list.

We work to place students from this list throughout the summer so make sure that you are regularly checking your WPI email.