Once leave plans become final, the student forfeits their space in the residence hall. If a student who plans to go on leave changes their plans, housing is not guaranteed and that student will be placed on a waiting list.

Students on leave for the year who want to go through the housing lottery in the spring are able to participate in the lottery as it is completed online and can be done from any location. To participate, all students must be cleared to return to campus and have no holds on their account. Please see our housing lottery page for more information on the lottery process.

Break Housing for Students on Leave

Students who are going on any kind of leave may not stay for any break period immediately before or immediately after their leave. For example, if a student is studying abroad for the Fall semester (August - December), they are not eligible to return early for Intersession in January and are only able to return on the designated hall opening date just prior to the Spring semester in mid-January. All dates when the halls open and close are available on the Open and Close Dates page. This same policy applies for all break housing time periods including December Break, Intersession and Summer.

The reasoning for this is simply one of logistics. Students who are returning from leave or new spring admits need to be assigned to the spaces that students going on leave are vacating. We cannot make sure a room is empty and cleaned for the new student if the student vacating to go on leave is still in the room. For summer housing, the reasoning is that those spaces are prioritized for students who will be returning in the fall.