UB Housing Selection

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 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. 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.

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. 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.

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).

Honors College students also have dedicated housing options - UB sets aside Honors Living Learning Communities (for example, first-year Honors students in the Governors Complex honors housing, and second-year Honors students in Greiner Hall). 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, Hadley Village, and 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 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 Creekside East, the only apartment-style units available for second-year students, each having four bedrooms with two people living in each room.