Preparing for another year in SPU housing? This list of tips will help you get ready.
Will I be required to live on campus?
As a part of the strategy to facilitate student success, students are required to live on campus for their first two years at Seattle Pacific.
Students will be assigned to housing unless they graduated from high school two or more years before the start of the current academic year, unless their registration drops below eight credits for the quarter, or unless they’ve received a housing exemption to live at home.
Students may petition to live at home, but will need to have completed the housing registration first.
You can read more about the Residential Living Requirement here.
What will residential density look like in the fall?
Starting in Fall of 2025, there will be fewer Campus Apartments available for students in their third, fourth, or fifth years.
Emerson Hall will continue to be a ‘hybrid’ building of sorts, housing second year students, but also offering distinctive opportunities and programming for third, fourth, and fifth year students.
Can I sign up for a triple room?
Yes, we are allowing triples in Arnett and Emerson.
Where am I able to sign up?
If you graduated from high school in 2024, you are eligible for Arnett or Emerson Halls. If you graduated in 2023 or earlier, you are eligible for Emerson or the Campus Apartments. Note: If you include someone in your group who is not eligible for Emerson/Apartments, you will not be able to verify your group or receive a time slot.
How can I confirm the high school graduation year you have for me?
Your high school graduation year is displayed on the "Home" page in the housing portal under "My Details".
How many people can be in a group?
A group can consist of one to six members, depending on the type of unit they want to reserve. A student who wants to reserve a single is a group of one. All members must 1) be returning students (residents or commuters), 2) be eligible for the desired area, and 3) fill each space in the unit they are trying to reserve (e.g. a group of three will only be able to select a three-bed unit).
What kinds of units are available for sign-up?
A chart of available units can be found at spu.edu/housingsignup. (Click on "Available Units".)
How are time slots assigned?
Campus Apartments: Within each unit type (two-person, three-person, etc.) eligible groups are categorized as follows and then randomly assigned a timeslot:
- Each group member has a high school graduation year of 2022 or earlier.
- One or more group member has a high school graduation year of 2023.
Halls: within each unit type (pods, double, triple, etc.) Eligible groups are randomly assigned a timeslot.
Time slots are assigned five minutes apart. The first time slot assigned is 12 p.m.; the last time slot will depend on the number of groups (no time slot will be later than 7 p.m.). You may take as much time as you need to select a unit, but every five minutes a new group enters the portal. Time slots are deactivated at 9 a.m. the next day.
What happens if our group misses out time slot?
If it's the same day, you can still log into the portal to see what options are available. Time slots are deactivated at 9 a.m. the next day.
What if I have a conflict with out group's assigned time slot?
Your group leader is the only one who needs to be available to make a selection for your group. If you are the group leader, email housing@spu.edu from your SPU email account to switch group leader status to another person. Please do not miss class or work to sign up for housing.
Is there a benefit to verifying our group early?
No. While you want to give yourself plenty of time to verify by the deadline, verifying early does not increase your chances of an earlier time slot. You should verify only when you have finalized the members of your group. Group members cannot change after verification without contacting Housing.
What if I select the wrong unit during the reservation process?
Once you click Reserve Beds, you will be unable to backtrack and change your selection. It is important to research your options before your time slot and choose carefully during the selection process.
What if I reserve one kind of unit and decide I want a different kind?
Please be certain of your group and unit type before you reserve a unit. Once you do, you take that unit out of selection for everyone who enters the portal after you. Regrouping or changing unit types disadvantages other students and is not permitted. If you have an exceptional situation, email housing@spu.edu. Requests will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis after housing sign-up ends.
What are my meal plan options?
New meal plan options have been created to add flexibility. The specifics of each plan can be found online.
How do I sign up for a meal plan?
Meal plan selections are made in the portal. If you’re on the Assign Me to a Unit track, the meal plan options page will be available after you receive your assignment. If you’re on the Select a Unit track, the page will be available after your group leader selects your unit. See spu.edu/mealplans for plan details.
Where can I find housing and meal plan rates for next year?
Go to spu.edu/rates.
What if I want to live off campus?
Students will be given a housing assignment unless they graduated from high school two or more years before the start of the current academic year, or unless their registration drops below eight credits for the quarter.
Students may petition for an exemption to live at home, but will need to have completed the housing registration first. Exceptions are rare. If you have a situation that warrants special consideration, complete the Residential Living Exemption form in the housing portal.
Students who graduated in 2023 or earlier are not required to live on campus, but certainly invited to do so!
What if my roommate is living off-campus spring quarter?
Just give them your group name and password, and they will be able to join your group remotely!
What if I want to live with someone who will be gone Autumn Quarter?
Unfortunately, we cannot assign a student who will not physically be on campus Autumn Quarter. However, you can try to find another student who will be a resident Autumn Quarter only, in whose space your friend can return Winter Quarter. Students have done this by placing an ad on Switchboard or through word of mouth.
What if I need to withdraw after our group has reserved a space?
Email housing@spu.edu from your SPU email account. Cancellations result in the forfeiture of you $300 housing deposit (paid when you first applied to housing).
If my roommate withdraws, can I find someone to take their place?
Contact Housing to make this request. Our ability to accommodate it will depend on whether we have another student slated to fill the space; therefore, it is helpful to make your request at the same time your roommate withdraws.
How do I sign up without a roommate?
If you prefer that Housing match you with a roommate, complete your application (spu.edu/housingapp) and select the Assign Me to a Unit track (available May 25). If you apply by June 10, you will be matched with other returning and incoming students and notified of your assignment on July 15. (Note: These assignments are made after sign-up is complete; therefore, not all areas may be available. For best choice of units, follow the Select a Unit track.)
What if I want to live with a new student?
Returning students can live with incoming transfer students, but not first-year students since they are only eligible for first year halls. To live with a transfer student, follow the Assign Me to a Unit track and select them in the mutual roommate step.
What if we're a group of three and want a four-person unit?
You have two options: 1) find a fourth person to select a four-person unit during the selection process or 2) follow the Assign Me to a Unit track, request your other two roommates, and we will do our best to assign you together with a fourth student during the summer assignment process (dependent on availability).
What is the Emerson Experience?
Similar to 2024-25, students who graduated from high school in 2023 or earlier and who choose Emerson Hall will have distinctive opportunities and programming as a part of their living experience. These include:
- The ability to stay in their housing placement during Christmas and Spring Breaks
- Separate floors with adjusted visitation guidelines and schedules
- Reserving a “pod” of rooms as a group (four students signing up to share a bathroom space)
Will Emerson’s housing rates be adjusted as well?
Students in their third or fourth/fifth years who choose to live in Emerson will be able to do so at a reduced rate, one that is a lower annual housing rate than students living in the Campus Apartments.
How will these rates be attributed to my account?
Students will be charged the standard Emerson rate each quarter, with a credit added to their student account during Spring Quarter to reflect the annual savings.
- Students in their third year (graduated from HS in 2023) will receive a Spring Quarter credit of $1000
- Students in their fourth and fifth years (High School graduates earlier than 2023) will have $3000 credited to their account during Spring Quarter
What if I’m graduating or not going to be here in Spring Quarter?
Unfortunately, only students who live in Emerson for all three quarters are eligible for these credits.
Will Emerson students still have to have a meal plan?
Because the kitchen spaces in Emerson Hall were not designed to be regularly used by large numbers of students for meal preparation, meal plans are still required for all students who live there. Emerson housing rates have been adjusted in part out of consideration of this additional cost for third, fourth, and fifth year students.