Your Second Year Living Options

As a sophomore at Ithaca College, you'll continue to experience our vibrant residential community while building on the connections you made during your first year.

Understanding the room selection process is key to securing your preferred housing:

  • Housing is prioritized by semesters completed, not by credits completed
  • Single rooms are typically more difficult to secure as a sophomore than during your first year
  • You must register for housing during the designated selection period to maintain your guaranteed housing status

Your housing choices as a sophomore include:

Student on Campus
  • Traditional Residence Halls - Continue your on-campus experience in our traditional halls with double and limited single rooms
  • Residential Learning Communities - Join or continue in a themed living environment with other students who share your interests
  • Emerson Hall - A popular option featuring suite-style accommodations with private bathrooms
Notice

Sophomores are not eligible for on-campus apartments. These spaces are reserved for juniors and seniors.

Planning to study abroad during your sophomore year? Be sure to contact Residential Life about your housing status upon return.

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.

To request to live with a specific roommate, you must create a roommate group on the Housing Portal. You must create your housing preferences before you can create a roommate group.


The Group Leader creates the group and sends the group invitation to group member(s).

  1. Log into the Housing Portal. Scroll down to and click on “Fall 20xx Section ”.
  2. To create a Roommate Group, select “Build/Manage Group ”.
  3. To add a group member, select the green “Create Group ” button. The Group Leader, your, information will automatically be added to the group.
  4. Then select the green “Invite ” button to add a group member.
    • After selecting the “Invite ” button, search for group members by their preferred first, preferred last name or their Ithaca College email address.
    • After entering a name or email, select “Search ”, and then “Select ”. The member will populate in the group table.
    • To add additional members, repeat these steps in #4.
  5. Select “Submit Group ” in order to finalize the group invitation.
    • You must hit "Submit Group " after adding members to the group, or the group will not be formed.
    • After selecting “Submit Group”, a group roster will display with the leader and group members listed, as well as their group status.
    • At that point, the invited person/s will receive an email prompting them to accept the invitation.

Important Note: It is only after all of the invited group members have formally accepted their group invitation that the roommate group will be complete for housing selection.

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.