UB Housing Selection

2025-06-09T17:02:58Z

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Housing selection at the University at Buffalo is a structured process in which current and incoming students secure on-campus housing for the upcoming academic year. This process involves assigned time slots for students to select their dormitory rooms or on-campus apartments through an online portal. Key factors influencing selection order include student status (such as returning residents or new freshmen) and membership in certain priority groups such as the Educational Opportunity Program (EOP) or the [[UB Honors College|Honors College]]. UB offers both dormitory housing and apartment-style living, each with its own eligibility criteria. The selection process typically opens in the winter for returning students and later in the spring or summer for new students, and it is often a source of excitement as well as frustration for students due to competition for preferred housing options.

== Selection Process and Timeline ==
UB's Campus Living office assigns each student a housing selection time window during which they can choose their room online. Students first must submit a housing application (and usually a $300 housing deposit) to be eligible.<ref>https://www.reddit.com/r/UBreddit/comments/1i582i5/housing_application_appointments/#:~:text=Should%20be%20around%2010am%20that%27s</ref> Returning students (primarily those already living on campus) generally apply early in the Spring semester - for example, housing applications for current residents typically open in January with room selection occurring in early March.<ref>https://www.buffalo.edu/campusliving/for-current-students/residential-calendar.html</ref><ref>https://www.reddit.com/r/UBreddit/comments/1hyimjs/20252026_housing/</ref>

Each student is emailed a specific self-selection start time, at which point they can log into the UB Housing Portal to pick a room or apartment (depending on eligibility). It's extremely important to log in well in advance of the assigned time to be ready for the exact second the selection time opens without issues, because spaces fill up extremely quickly, especially for highly competitive housing such as [[Greiner Hall]] and single-bedroom apartments.<ref>https://www.reddit.com/r/UBreddit/comments/us9b7l/i_am_a_masters_student_at_ub_who_has_applied_for/#:~:text=The%20way%20housing%20selection%20typically,early%2Flate%20your%20housing%20window%20is</ref> Incoming first-year students who pay their tuition and housing deposits by the stated deadlines are guaranteed a housing placement (though it may not be in their preferred or most desirable choice).

Students who apply or deposit late may be placed on a housing waitlist, as UB housing can reach full capacity - UB publicly notes that due to high demand, once all spaces are filled, any additional applicants must wait for vacancies.

== Housing Eligibility and Priority Groups ==
Certain groups of students receive priority or special consideration in the housing selection process. Returning residence hall students (continuing students currently in dorms or apartments) historically have the first priority for the next year's housing. UB's housing policies note that returning students "normally select most available single rooms and two-person rooms in the Ellicott Complex," as one year's housing handbook noted.<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20070211032331/http://www.student-affairs.buffalo.edu/housing/handbook.txt</ref>

Additionally, members of special programs often have guaranteed housing or reserved spaces. Educational Opportunity Program (EOP) students, for example, are typically assured a spot in on-campus housing for their first year as part of the program's support, and UB even defers the housing deposit for EOP participants (billing it later so they don't pay upfront).<ref>https://admissions.buffalo.edu/accepted/eop.php#:~:text=Please%20note%20that%20students%20enrolled,these%20charges%20at%20this%20time</ref>

[[UB Honors College|Honors College]] students also have dedicated housing options - UB sets aside Honors Living Learning Communities (for example, first-year Honors students in the [[North Campus#Governors Complex|Governors Complex]] honors housing, and second-year Honors students in [[Greiner Hall]]).<ref>https://www.buffalo.edu/honors/student-life/housing.html</ref> These Honors residences ensure that Honors scholars can live among others who are in the program, and spots in those are guaranteed for students in the program who opt in.

Generally, first-year students (typically freshman) are required to live in the residence halls (dorms), whereas university apartments on campus are reserved for upper-level students. UB has multiple apartment villages (including [[Flint Village]], South Lake Village, [[North Campus#Hadley Village|Hadley Village]], and [[North Campus#Creekside Village|Creekside Village]]) that are open to upper-level students in their third year and beyond (typically juniors, seniors, and graduate students).

== University Dorms vs University Apartments ==
The dorms are student residence halls that are primarily targeted towards first-year and second-year students (typically freshmen and sophomores). They provide furnished shared rooms (doubles, with some singles, triples, and quads) and communal facilities (such as shared kitchens and bathrooms), and are located in complexes including [[North Campus#Ellicott Complex|Ellicott]], Governors, and [[South Campus]] Halls, along with Greiner Hall for second-year students. Dorms are typically lived in for the academic year.

In contrast, the on-campus apartments are apartment-style units with personal kitchens and bathrooms, private bedrooms, and an overall larger area, mainly intended for upperclassmen and graduate students seeking more independent living - except for [[North Campus#Creekside Village|Creekside East]], the only apartment-style units available for second-year students, each having four bedrooms with two people living in each room.

== References ==
<references />

One World Cafe

2025-06-09T17:00:01Z

2A09:BAC2:A1D2:428:0:0:6A:78: Linking

One World Cafe is an international eatery located in [[North Campus#Capen Hall|Capen Hall]] that began construction in 2019 and opened in January 2022. The food options consist of Mediterranean, Indian, Asian, and an American grill. The cafe also includes pre-made options similar to what is found in the Capen Cafe, outside 1Capen. A unique selection of international snacks and beverages along with Kosher options can also be purchased.<ref name=":0">https://www.ubdining.com/locations/unit/owc</ref>

== Initial Plans ==
[[File:One world cafe rendering cannon design.jpg|alt=Rendering for dining area in One world Cafe|thumb|The original rendering, by CannonDesign, for the dining area inside One World Cafe]]
One World Cafe began as part of a $37.8 million investment in improving the campus. <ref name=":1">https://www.buffalo.edu/news/releases/2022/03/035.html</ref> The intention was to provide additional dining options focused on international students. Construction began in May 2019. The name "One World Cafe" was chosen by a contest in 2018, and was entered as a suggestion by an aerospace engineering major who graduated in 2019. Original plans were to have the Cafe open for January 2020.

The original designed were done by architects at Cannon Design, Turner Construction Co. handled the construction, and Manning Squires Henning was the general contractor.<ref name=":1" />

== Opening ==
Due to delays in construction and shutdowns caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, One World Cafe did not open officially until March 2022, with only two stations - "Kali Orexi", the Mediterranean station, and "Tikka Table", the Indian station - opening initially. The remaining stations - "The 1846 Grill," "Pan Asian," and "The Noodle Pavilion" - would open by Fall 2022.

The initial setup for One World Cafe included kiosks for ordering from the grill and Noodle Pavilion, which would later be removed. Self-checkout kiosks were included to allow for quick and easy checkout. These would also later be removed.

== Reception ==
Initial reception of the One World Cafe was mixed. It provided more food options and well as plenty of seating and study area for students. However, the food was not as spectacular or traditional as students expected. Food quantity and cost were also common complaints among students.

Theft became common during busy lunch rushes, due to staff not being able to catch everyone leaving the self-checkout registers without paying. The amount of theft (and its monetary value) was never specified. However, in reponse, UB removed self-checkout from One World Cafe in 2024 and added cashiers.

Students additionally became unahppy in 2023 when the kiosks for "The 1846 Grill" and "Noodle Pavilion" were removed in favor of using the Get mobile app for mobile orders only. Per a Reddit thread from a now deleted account, people were mixed on this change. <ref name =":2">https://www.reddit.com/r/UBreddit/comments/12kv2mn/one_world_cafe_who_did_they_ask_because_this_sucks/</ref> Most undergraduate students did not mind the change since it didn't affect them. However, graduate students and professors found it to be irritating since they do not typically use student ID, meal plans, or the mobile app. Wait times and unavailability on the app has also become a common complaint of One World Cafe.

== References ==

UBWiki - User contributions [en]

UB Housing Selection

One World Cafe