Resources

When you have been admitted to the University of South Florida, you will be able to apply for housing online in the Housing Portal. Please review the housing application steps before applying.

You must be admitted to the university to apply for campus housing. Students are assigned on a first-come, first-served basis. We encourage you to complete your application early in order to secure a room in your hall of choice. The online application for the fall semester is usually available by October or November of the previous year. Applications for Spring Only are usually available by September of the previous year. Applications for Summer are usually available in March or April of the agreement year.

More info: Application Process

All FTIC (first time in college) students must sign up for a meal plan. If you are beginning your on-campus stay in the summer, you must sign up for a meal plan for the summer and for the fall/spring. Non-FTIC residents are welcome to sign up for a meal plan on a strictly voluntary basis.

More info: USF Dining Services

Yes, you must be enrolled in at least one course each semester to live on campus. Exceptions apply to residents with a 12-month agreement residing in Greek Village. Greek Village residents do not have to take courses during the summer term to live on-campus.

The $50 application fee is required for all students interested in living on campus. You can submit a request to defer the application fee in the Housing Portal. After logging in, select “Requests,” then “Application Fee Deferment Request.” Select the term for which you would like to request a deferment, then complete and submit the request.

Athletes attending USF need to contact their coach about the housing sign-up process. Those who plan to live on campus will be required to fill out a housing agreement on our website.

Do not sign up for Greek Housing until you have been admitted into a fraternity or sorority. When you are admitted into a Greek organization, we will take your agreement through the process of transferring it over into a Greek agreement.

More info: Contact the Greek Village RLC

We are committed to providing reasonable accommodations to students with disabilities. For an accommodation, please submit your request and supporting medical documentation in writing via the housing portal. Once Housing & Residential Education reviews your request to determine any reasonable and appropriate accommodations, we will notify you of the decision via your USF email account. Please note that this request is only for housing accommodations, any academic accommodations must be requested with Student Accessibility Services.

More info: Student Accessibility

All requests to cancel must be done in writing via the Housing Portal. Not all requests to cancel are granted. It is your responsibility to cancel your housing agreement before cancellation deadlines to avoid charges if you decide not to attend USF. To cancel your agreement, please log into the Housing Portal and select Requests, then Cancel Application. Then fill out the appropriate cancellation form. Please refer to the terms and conditions of your agreement for cancellation deadlines and cancellation fees that may apply. Please note that your housing application is not automatically cancelled when you inform other offices that you will not be attending the university. For further information on cancellations, please contact us at 813-974-0001.

Sí, estamos disponible lunes a viernes, de 8 a.m. a 5 p.m. Si tiene dudas por favor contáctenos al 813-974-0001. También puede enviar sus preguntas a nuestro correo, housing@usf.edu.

After submitting their housing application, students will have an option to participate in Room Selection. Only those who have completed the first 3 housing application steps will be able to select a room during room selection. The room selection process for fall/spring housing agreements usually ends in late June. After room selection ends, housing applicants who have completed the first 3 housing application steps but did not select a room will be contacted by our team to review placement options.

Those students participating in an LLC may have different assignment processes. Please refer to your LLC for more information.

Your housing assignment can be checked in the Housing Portal. Log in and select My Account, then My Assignments. From here you can view your housing assignment, roommates, suitemates.

The 3-letter code indicates the building designation. Click here for a listing of building codes.

Have you completed the housing application steps? If so, then you are ready to participate in room selection. If you did not participate in room selection, and the process has closed, you will be contacted by a team member to assist you in finalizing an assignment or cancelling your application. If you do not respond to the staff member, this will result in your application being cancelled. Cancelled applications will require a request to reinstate in order to be assigned at a later date. Receive personalized assistance by calling us at 813-974-0001 or emailing us at housing@usf.edu.

More info: Housing Application Process

Residents choose their rooms using the room selection process in the Housing Portal. Those residents who do not select a room during the room selection process will be assigned to an available space once they are eligible to be assigned. One becomes eligible by completing the first three housing application steps. Options are limited for those students that do not participate in room selection.

More info: Housing Aplication Process

After submitting their application, students will have an option to participate in Room Selection. Only those who have completed the first 3 housing application steps will be able to select a room during room selection.

During this period, students can form Roommate Groups in the Housing Portal. You can learn more about roommate groups for new residents on this page.

The room selection process for fall/spring housing agreements usually ends in late June. After that, Housing & Residential Education staff will assign all remaining students who have not selected a room based on preferences added to the housing application. Students are matched based on the information provided in the Personal Information section on the housing agreement. Students with comparable responses to the six-point questionnaire are placed together. This questionnaire is the only data used when matching roommates; as such, we encourage you to carefully consider your answers when responding.

Roommate matching and assignments for LLCs are generally handled through the individual coordinator of the LLC.

First impressions are important, but using social media to make complex generalizations about those with whom we live, work, and commune is not the best way to make your first impression. We encourage you to connect with your new roommate before attempting to change rooms. It is good to find out what you have in common and what can be learned from each other. If you remain uncomfortable and room selection remains open, you can feel free to submit a room change form that will allow you to switch to another room.

We want you to have the best experience possible while living on campus. Before you decide to change rooms, please consider that roommate issues may persist even in a new environment. We recommend contacting your RA and/or RLC for further assistance. Your Residence Life staff has been trained to help you talk about issues affecting you and your current roommate.

More info: RLC Contact Information

Everything is included when you live on campus, and everything is right outside your door. National research shows that students who live on campus for at least a year graduate at higher rates, and sooner, than those who don't. That's what it's all about! The campus experience connects you in a way no other living option can. When you live on campus, you get the full college experience. When you live off campus, you don’t.

The residence halls on campus are clustered in two areas of campus: northeast ("north campus") and southwest ("south campus"). USF is a large campus, but almost everything is within a 15-minute walk of everything else. If you would like to get around campus faster, bicycles and longboards are also popular among students.

More info: Campus Map

Many of our residents bring cars with them to campus. There are designated lots around campus for resident students. Each car must have a valid permit on display to park on campus.

More info: Parking & Transportation Services

For a list of items to bring/avoid, please read through our move-in checklist.

 More info: Pinterest

There is always something to do on campus!

• Every floor has a bulletin board with flyers for events.
• Ask your RA about joining RHA (Residence Hall Association) or Hall Council.
• You can learn more about USF's student organizations here.
• Check out the Center for Student Involvement! They can help connect you to whatever you're most interested in.
• Talk to classmates and other residents. Who better to get advice from than other students?

Safety and security are always important at USF. We proudly have one of the most effective police departments in the state of Florida.

Other safety measures include:

• SAFE Team, a nighttime golf cart service offered by Student Government.
• The USF Bull Runner buses run on most weekday evenings. You can view the Bull Runner hours of operation here. 
• Guardian, a 'precautionary timer' for traveling across campus, which can be operated from a mobile phone.
• USFTip, a 911 texting service by USF PD. The number to text is 67283.
• Emergency blue lights around campus, which call USF PD if pressed.

More Info: Safety and Security

For the security of our residents, all residence halls entrances are equipped with card readers. Your USF student ID will be activated upon move-in for the hall in which you reside. Guests and residents from other halls must be accompanied by the resident at all times.

If your card does not work for your hall, please contact either the Holly M (813-974-7000), The Hub (813-974-2246) or Juniper-Poplar (813-974-0800) service desks to have your card access checked.

If your card has been lost, please contact the USF Card Office (813-974-2357) to have it deactivated and a new one issued (replacement fees apply).

More info: USF Card

If you do not have your room key, please visit your service desk. Service desk locations are listed below.

North Campus: Beta Hall, Castor Hall, Cypress Suites, Cypress Apartments, Holly Apartments, Kosove Hall, Maple Hall
Holly M | 813-974-7000

South Campus: Juniper-Poplar Hall and Magnolia Apartments
Juniper-Poplar Lobby | 813-974-0800

The Village: Beacon, Endeavor, Horizon, Pinnacle, and Summit Hall
The Hub | 813-974-2246

More info: Contact your service desk

Most halls close between semesters - about four weeks in December, one week in May, and about four weeks in July/August.

To learn about which buildings will be open for the next winter break period, please visit the Fall Residence Hall Closing page.

Please refer to each LLC's page for their location, as they can vary from year to year.

More info: Living Learning Communities

Resident Assistant (RA) applications for each year begin towards the beginning of the fall semester and are normally due at the end of the fall semester. It is suggested to have lived on campus for at least a year before applying, although first-year students may also apply to be an RA during their second year. It is also suggested that prospective RAs get involved with their community by joining RHA and Hall Council. Any students who are interested should email questions to raselect@usf.edu.

More info: RA Selection

All of the rooms in the residence halls are fully furnished with a bed, dresser, desk, chair, trash can, and closet for each resident. Detailed information regarding the dimensions and basic layout of each room can be found under the description of each housing style available.

More info: Housing Options

Beta Hall and Castor Halls have Twin beds. All other residence halls have Twin XL beds. Residents in most halls may request for their bed to be changed to another size by submitting a work request.

There are a variety of bed types on our campus. The only beds that can be lofted are those in the Greek Village, Juniper Hall, Poplar Hall and The Village. The beds in these halls are designed to be raised to 60 inches high, which is the height most consider to be lofted. For more information on the bed type in your community and how to request a change, review the Bed Height Request Processs. If you are an incoming resident, please enter the work request prior to moving in.

Kitchens in apartment style housing will have a refrigerator, oven with range, and a sink with a garbage disposal. Communal kitchens located in non-apartment style housing will have a sink and an oven with a range.

Bathrooms are cleaned daily in traditional style halls, weekly in suite style halls, and twice per semester in apartments. In apartments, our housekeeping staff will also clean the stove twice per semester during the same visit in which the bathroom is cleaned. Our housekeeping staff does not clean bedrooms or shared spaces within suites/apartments. Every residence hall space receives deep cleaning prior to move-in and after move-out.

Students requesting maintenance work in their room can do so by submitting an online work request. Requests are automatically emailed to the maintenance technician for your area and he/she will follow up on the order until it is complete. Be sure to include a valid USF email address for a correspondence request once the order is complete.

USF's internet service is provided by TW Telecom, Cogent Communications, and the Florida LambdaRail (via USF IT). All residence halls have Wi-Fi access. In addition, every resident on campus has an Ethernet connection in his or her bedroom (approximately 20-50 Mbps). Housing & Residential Education does not allow individual Wi-Fi networks to be established in the halls. If you are found hosting a network, you may have your network privileges revoked and/or be subject to disciplinary action.

Although there are 24-hour courtesy hours, USF does not impose a curfew on the residents.

In general, between 10 p.m. and 10 a.m. are quiet hours, to respect those who would like to sleep. During final exam weeks, we have 24-hour quiet hours, during which it is expected for students to be mindful of those studying around them.

Guests must be always escorted by a resident while in the residence hall. A guest is defined as someone who does not have a current room assignment in the hall they are visiting, whether a current student or a third-party. The resident escorting the guest is responsible for the behavior and actions of the guest. Guests/Visitors may visit overnight for up to three (3) consecutive days in a 30-day period.

Small fish kept in a tank of 10 gallons or less are allowed. No other pets are allowed in the residence halls.

Electricity
Extension cords are not allowed in the residence halls. Everything should be plugged into a surge protector, not directly into the wall. Please keep in mind that some appliances draw a lot of electricity (e.g., mini fridges and microwaves). To avoid overloading the circuit, please don't try to plug too much into a single surge protector.

Internet
The residence halls have Wi-Fi access, but also having an Ethernet cable (for faster speeds) is not a bad idea.

A hold on your housing account may be the result of disciplinary action and/or financial commitment. If you have been placed on hold for a disciplinary cause, please contact the Residence Life Coordinator for the hall to which you were most recently assigned.

If the hold is for financial reasons, it will not be lifted until you have secured a payment for the balance. In cases when unforeseen extenuating circumstances require a delay in payment, a payment plan can be established with the student. Please note that, upon establishing a payment plan, the hold will only be lifted for a finite period of time after receiving a down payment towards the outstanding balance. Please contact the Associate Director for Operations and Outreach to discuss whether a payment plan is a viable option in your situation.

Official move-in dates for each semester are posted on the Housing Calendar page when they are available.

In most cases, residents cannot move in early, prior to the start date of their housing agreement. The only exception is for those students who are members of a pre-approved group that has secured early move in. This is organized by the professional staff member responsible for the office, organization, or group. Move-in information for the fall semester is usually posted to our website in early May each year (rate information is included).

More info: Moving In

During residence hall opening and closing periods, carts can be checked out to assist with moving belongings. During grand opening for the fall semester, we have Bull Haul, in which student volunteers are located throughout the residence hall communities to assist fellow students with moving in and/or checking out carts.

Learn more and volunteer: Bull Haul

Bull Haul is an opportunity for residents to move in early at no extra cost, in exchange for assisting with move-in in the fall. It's a great way to make friends, become familiar with campus, and get settled before everyone arrives.

Learn more and volunteer: Bull Haul

You can learn how to make a housing payment on our Payment Information page. 

Housing & Residential Education does not offer automatic payment options.

Housing & Residential Education does not offer payment plans. Students have the ability to pay at any rate they feel is appropriate, however all rental charges for the term are due by the financial aid deferment deadline for the term in question.

More info: Payment Information

A student is not required to make rent payments prior to moving in, however all rent must be paid by the financial aid deferment deadline for the term in question. You can learn more about making a housing payment on our Payment Information page.

The 'dormitory' plan covers the cost of a standard, double-occupancy, air-conditioned residence hall room up to the highest priced standard double occupancy rate for the year in question. If your assigned hall is more expensive, you will need to pay the difference. The 'dormitory' plan can be used toward the cost of other on-campus housing, including some fraternity and sorority houses, and at select community colleges.

The University Cashier's Office will automatically apply Florida Pre-Paid Dormitory plans toward Fall or Spring rental charges. If you do not see your Florida Pre-Paid benefit applied to your account, contact the Cashier's Office.

More info: Cashier's Office

While we are often able to assist with general inquiries pertaining to financial aid, the Financial Aid office can best answer all other questions. Their phone number is 813-974-4700.

To appeal a fee, you will need to log on to the Housing Portal, select Requests, select Appeal, and complete the appeals form online. Appeals will only be accepted in writing, via the appeals form. Please be aware that Appeals could take up to 21 business days to process.