Housing Selection- Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Updated March 2025

What housing options are available for juniors and seniors?

Juniors and seniors are housed in traditional halls, suites (McCarthy Hall), or apartments.  Generally, the probability of students getting their first choice of housing goes up with class year, assuming that students have complete roommate groups (see “Roommates” section for more information on “complete groups”.)

• Complete senior groups have the greatest probability of getting their first choice.
• Each year we have some junior groups who do not receive a 6-person apartment and choose either a 6-person McCarthy suite or break up to form groups to fill a 4-person apartment. 
• Depending on the demand for 6-person apartments and suites, there have been years when we have not been able to accommodate junior groups of six students looking to stay together in an apartment or suite.  In these situations, the Office of Residence Life has supported these students in working to fill 4-person suites or apartments.
• See “Probability” section for more information on the popularity of different housing options.

What options are available for students studying abroad?

Please see our website regarding the housing selection process for students studying abroad.

Are there price differences among the housing options?

Yes.  This is a very important conversation for students to have with their families before choosing housing.  The cost of room charges can rise by over 55% when students move from a traditional hall to an apartment.

• Traditional halls are the least expensive housing option while apartments are the most expensive option and McCarthy Hall suites and Shanley Hall semi-suites fall in between.
• Students in traditional halls, Shanley Hall, and McCarthy Hall are required to have a meal plan while students in apartments can opt out of the meal plan.  However, many students in apartments still choose to have a meal plan.
• Please consult the Bursar’s Office webpage for more information on room and board charges.

What buildings require a meal plan?

During the 2024-2025 academic year traditional residence halls for upperclass students (Guzman, Koffler, St. Joseph, and Sullivan) all were required to have a minimum 19-meal plan.  Shanley Hall required a minimum 14-meal plan and McCarthy Hall required a minimum 165 block meal plan.  Apartment buildings did not require meal plans.

What are squatting rights?

Squatting Rights are when a student wants to stay in his/her current room for the next academic year. The room, apartment, or suite must be filled to occupancy for the full year. For example: If a student is currently living in Davis 202 (a 4 person apartment) then he/she can request to live in Davis 202 next year if the apartment is filled with at least four students. Please email Kevin Hillery, Associate Director of Housing at khillery@providence.edu to claim your squatting rights or if you have questions.  The deadline to claim squatting rights is March 1, 2025. Students cannot claim squatting rights in Aquinas, McDermottt, McVinney, Meagher, or Raymond Halls or in Resident Assistant (RA) rooms, apartments, or suites. 

Roommates

What does the term “complete group” mean?

A complete group is a group of roommates that can fill all available beds in both semesters.  Examples: 1) Six students studying at Providence College for the entire academic year is a complete group of roommates for a 6-person suite or apartment 2) Two students studying at Providence College for the entire academic year, two students studying abroad in the fall semester, and two students studying abroad in the spring semester is a complete group for a 4-person suite or apartment.

I am having trouble finding roommates?  What can I do?

The Office of Residence Life works with students every year who are in search of roommates.  We maintain a roommate seeking list which many students use each year to successfully find roommates.  To be added to the roommate seeking list, please complete this form.  Many students have also had success finding roommates using social media or by speaking with their RA or other residence life staff members.  Students can also elect to be placed in housing after the housing selection process concludes and choose a placement from a listing of available beds.  This process typically begins after the last sophomore housing selection day.  For more information on this option, students can email Kevin Hillery, Associate Director of Housing at khillery@providence.edu.

Can I voluntarily create a roommate group at maximum occupancy (i.e. commonly referred to as voluntarily overcrowding) for a room, apartment, or suite?

Bedford, Cunningham, Davis, DiTraglia, Mal Brown, McCarthy, and most traditional hall rooms have an ideal occupancy and a maximum occupancy.  The maximum occupancy allows one additional student to be added to the room, apartment, or suite. 

• There are no financial rebates for choosing maximum occupancy.
• Having a maximum occupancy group does not provide an advantage in the housing selection process.
• Maximum occupancy groups are typically approved in cases where a friend group of a particular size wants to try to stay together (i.e. a group of five friends in a 4-person suite or a group of seven friends in a 6-person apartment). 
• In general, Cunningham, DiTraglia, Mal Brown, and McCarthy bedrooms tend to have more space for maximum occupancy groups while Bedford and Davis bedrooms are slightly smaller.

My roommates and I did not get our first-choice housing and now we have to split up to fit into another housing option.  What do we do?

Although this situation can happen to students in any class year, it is a situation most commonly experienced by rising sophomores.  Approximately 35% of the sophomore class is expected to live in traditional halls.  A group of four students who hoped for a 4-person suite, semi-suite, or apartment may be asked to re-form their group to fit into triples in our traditional halls. 

• Although this situation can be initially stressful, the Office of Residence Life has built in time to the housing selection timeline to allow students to prepare alternative options.  We have allowed over two weeks between the sophomore suite/semi-suite/apartment selection day and the tradition hall triple selection day. 
• We recommend groups who are asked to re-form their groups after the first sophomore selection day join the roommate seeking list.  Many peers are in the same situation and will be looking for roommates to complete their new groups. For example, three groups of four students who did not receive their first housing choice may join together to form four triples and request to be placed on the same residence hall floor.

How do I request a single room?

Single rooms (available mostly in Sullivan and Koffler Halls) are very limited and not part of the housing selection process. Most singles will be assigned to students who have used “squatting rights” or students who have been approved for a single as an accommodation through the Dean of Students Office. Students who are interested in living in a single room should contact Kevin Hillery, Associate Director of Housing at khillery@providence.edu to discuss the process prior to February 28, 2025.

Probability

Can the Office of Residence Life share with me my chances of getting my preferred housing?

The Office of Residence Life does not predict a student or group’s likelihood of getting a particular style of housing. Demand and trends for housing differ each year. The likelihood of getting your first choice of housing increases with class year with complete senior groups having the greatest probability of getting their first choice.  Although Residence Life cannot predict chances, here are some patterns we have observed in recent years:

• 6-Person Apartments (Cunningham, DiTraglia, Mal Brown): almost entirely seniors and juniors with preference going to groups who can fill the apartment both fall and spring semester
• 4-Person Apartments (Bedford, Davis): seniors and juniors with some sophomores
• 6-Person Suites (McCarthy): seniors and juniors with potential for some sophomores.  In recent years the demand for 6-person suites among juniors has risen, creating less of this option for sophomores.
• 4-Person Suites and Semi-Suites (McCarthy, Shanley): seniors, juniors, and some sophomores. Shanley Hall is only available to sophomores, while McCarthy Hall is available to all class years.
• Traditional Hall Triples: approximately 35% of sophomores will be housed in this option.

Can I overcrowd my apartment or suite to increase my odds of getting my first-choice housing?

No.  Students may inquire about overcrowding their roommate groups by one in an effort to keep the friend group together.  There are no other incentives to requesting to overcrowd your apartment or suite.

Accommodations

I think I may qualify for a housing accommodation.  How do I apply for an accommodation?

All requests for housing accommodations are reviewed through the non-academic accommodations process managed by the Dean of Students Office-Accessibility Accommodations.  For a request to receive consideration, students must apply online and have appropriate supporting medical documentation.  If a request is approved, the Dean of Students Office notifies Residence Life of the approved accommodation (i.e. access to a kitchen), but not the not medical condition.  Please visit the Dean of Students website for more information.

I have been approved for a housing accommodation, do I still need to participate in the housing selection process?

Most students who are approved for a housing accommodation choose to participate in the housing selection process with their preferred group of roommates.  If a student with an approved accommodation does not receive a housing placement through the housing selection process that meets their accommodation, the Office of Residence Life will place the individual student in a housing assignment that meets their accommodation.  Approved housing accommodations apply to the individual student who has been approved and not the entire roommate group.  Students may elect to stay with a housing group and decline an accommodation or accept an accommodation and be placed in a setting that best meets their approved accommodation. 

I have been approved for a housing accommodation for air conditioning, which buildings are air conditioned?

Almost all upperclass residence hall rooms on campus can accommodate a student approved for air conditioning. Bedford, Cunningham, Davis, DiTraglia, Koffler, Mal Brown, McCarthy, Shanley, and Sullivan Halls all have central air conditioning.  St. Joseph Hall and most Guzman rooms can be fitted with window air conditioners for students.

I have an accommodation for a kitchen, what buildings have kitchens?

Bedford, Cunningham, Davis, DiTraglia, and Mal Brown are all apartment style residence halls that have a kitchen shared among 4-6 roommates.  Guzman, Koffler, Shanley and St. Joseph Halls all have community kitchens.  Many approved accommodations are for access to a kitchen which can be met in any of our residence halls with apartment kitchens or community kitchens.