Residence

Room Assignments

Who, when and where

Room assignment is a big deal. We know. We spend lots of time and effort considering the preferences of over 2,200 students and finding the best possible solutions.

Requests are managed on a first-come, first-served basis. So the sooner you apply, the better chance you have at getting the space of your choice.

When do I find out about my room assignment?

The room assignment process for September applicants begins in late May. For January applicants, it begins in early December. Once your room has been assigned, you'll receive a room assignment letter by email to your Dalhousie email account. Check this email often for updates. If you have any questions or concerns after reading your room assignment letter, please feel free to contact Residence.

You might also be wondering...

Can a first year student have a single room?

Yes. The key is to apply early. The sooner you apply, the better your chances of being placed in the residence of your choice—as well as in your preferred room type.

What does "all gender" mean?

Dalhousie University offers a variety of all-gender options including all-gender by room, as well as by apartment. All-gender by room means that people of all genders live on the same floor, but only people of the same gender are assigned as roommates. All-gender by apartment means that individual apartments are gender-specific, but the building houses people of all genders. Our residences have a combination of shared all-gender washrooms and gender-specific washrooms

What do regular and quiet areas mean?

There are two noise levels to choose from in Residence: quiet and regular. In the quiet areas, there are 21 hours per day of quiet hours. Relaxed hours are from 7 p.m.-10 p.m. daily. Areas with the regular noise level have quiet hours from 10:30 p.m.-8 a.m. Sunday through Thursday and from 1 a.m.-8 a.m. Friday and Saturday. Please see Rules & Responsibilities for more specific details about quiet hours.

Roommates

I'm in a double room. Can I contact my roommate before arriving?

The residence application gives all students the option of authorizing residence staff to release your name and email address to your assigned roommate prior to move-in day. If your roommate has given us permission, we will gladly pass this information on to you. We can also change your application if you didn't check this box and would like to now. Contact Residence to learn more.

How are roommates assigned?

Unless you specify someone you’d like to share a room with, we will do our best to match you with someone based on your responses in your residence application. The three questions asked in the application regard sports, music and the time you typically go to bed. For instance, if you like to stay up past 11 p.m., we will do our best to match you with someone who also goes to bed after 11 p.m. We will also try to match up roommates based on their academic program, age and interests (e.g. sports, music).

Specifying a roommate

If you’ve applied for a double room and would like to share it with someone you know is going to Dal, please let us know! You can specify who you’d like as your roommate when you’re completing your residence application. You’ll need to enter your preferred roommate’s full name and their Banner Number in the space indicated. Make sure you both specify that you'd like to live with one another.

If you’ve already submitted your residence application and then later decide who you’d like to have as a roommate, email us with your preferred roommate’s name and contact information. Please ask your requested roommate to do the same. We’ll then verify your request and advise you of room availability if we’re able to accommodate.

How are roommates assigned in suite-style units?

Roommate assignment in suite-style residence looks a bit different. Suite-style rooms typically go to returning students who request to live with one another. For example, if four students put in applications and all list each other as preferred roommates in their residence application, we will aim to put them together in a four-bedroom suite. If a four-bedroom suite is not available, we look to place students as close together as possible, for example, 2 two-bedroom suites close to one another.