Welcome to Junior Year Housing

You’re halfway through your journey at IC—and with that comes new housing options, more flexibility, and the ability to shape your ideal living setup.

Upper-Year Housing Options Begin

Aerial shot of Apartments

As a rising junior, you’re now eligible to apply for on-campus apartments in the Circle and Garden Apartments. Apartment selection is based on group seniority (average semesters completed), and spaces are limited—apply early and have a backup plan.

Apartments are one option—there are also great upper-year housing choices to explore:

  • Residence Halls : Juniors can live in upper-year halls like Terraces, West Tower, Clarke Hall, and Emerson (air-conditioned).
  • Block Housing : Gather a group of 3–6 students and request to live in the same hall and building—great for friend groups who want to stay close.
  • Residential Learning Communities (RLCs) : Still available to upper-year students, including identity- and interest-based options.

Setting Up Your Housing

Individuals or roommate groups may submit housing preferences to be considered for a Residence Hall room in the Quads, Terraces, Towers, or Emerson. Single rooms as well as all spaces in the Towers and Emerson are competitive and not all upper year students are guaranteed to live in singles or these locations.

Students interested in a residence hall room should:

  1. Submit Housing Preferences.
    • Assignments are prioritized by semester standing.
  2. Create a group on the Housing Portal if applicable.
    • You are not required to have a roommate group to be assigned to a double room. Students without a requested roommate will receive an assigned roommate.

Rising Junior and Senior Groups or individuals may set up housing preferences to be considered for an on campus apartment in either the Circle and Garden apartments. In order to select an apartment, the apartment must be fully filled with no vacancies. Group requests will be considered before individual requests, and only rising juniors and seniors are eligible for apartment selection. Apartment selection is competitive and not all rising juniors and seniors are guaranteed to live in apartments.

Groups interested in an apartment should:

  1. Create a group on the Housing Portal.
  2. Submit Housing Preferences indicating your apartment preferences with your group.
    • Assignments are prioritized by semester standing. The group's average number of semesters will the order of assignments.
  3. When a specific type of apartment or all apartments are taken, groups will be assigned to residence halls with an attempt to keep the group together as best as possible. 

individual Students interested in an apartment should:

  1. Submit Housing Preferences indicating your apartment preferences.
    • Assignments are prioritized by semester standing.
  2. Create a roommate group if you are interested in a double room in a Circle Apartment.
  3. When a specific type of apartment or all apartments are taken, students who are unable to secure an apartment will be assigned to a residence hall. 

Continuing students may submit one or more applications on the Housing Portal to live in a RLC or Special Housing area. You may apply to multiple communities and may be assigned to live in any of the RLC communities that you were accepted into.

Block Housing is a process for continuing students who are interested in living in the same residence hall building with a larger group of 3-6 peers. Group members who receive a Block Housing placement will be in the same building but not necessarily the same wing/floor. This process does not apply to apartments.

  • Block Housing requests require a supplemental request form. To apply:
    • One member of the group (now the designated block housing group leader) completes the Block Housing request form located on the Housing Portal.
    • In the form, the group leader invites all other members to the block housing group.
    • All invited members of the group will receive an email prompt to accept or decline membership in the Block Housing group. (Important: this is different than your roommate group.)
    • All request forms and Block Housing groups must be complete no later than the published deadline.
    • Groups of less than 3 members or more than 6 members will be invalid and not reviewed for housing placement consideration.
  • All valid, on time request forms will be prioritized first by the average semester standing of the group and then by random priority number.
  • Each person may only be part of one Block Housing Request.
  • The supplemental Block Housing request form does not guarantee placement in a single or double room. Each individual student's Housing Preferences (submitted on the Housing Portal) will be used as a reference point for room types.
  • Students who want to live together as roommates (sharing a double room) must also complete their group through the "Build/Manage Group" tool on the Housing Portal.

Ithaca College has an open housing policy under which you may choose to live with a student of the same or a different gender identity. If you are interested in living with a person of another gender you may do so through creating a roommate/apartment-mate group or by letting us know on your housing preferences.

We offer several housing accommodation processes if you have a specific need when setting up your housing. Learn more about each process and submit requests on our Special Accommodations page.