Before you can select a room, you must complete the first three housing application steps. If you are a current student or current resident, you have likely already completed step 3. Spaces fill quickly and we encourage students to select a room at the earliest possible opportunity.
Living Learning Community Note: Only students accepted to the Honors LLC will participate in room selection. Students accepted to all other LLCs will receive a room assignment and will not participate in room selection. If you are accepted to an LLC after having selected a room, you will be automatically reassigned to a space in the LLC's block of rooms.
Develop a list of possible buildings you wish to live in. As beds are limited in each building, you should create a list that includes multiple options in ranked order. If you have decided to live with friends, make sure you have planned out who will live in each room if you choose a suite or apartment-style hall. Explore hall options and view hall rates.
Please note: first-year students will not be eligible to select apartment-style rooms.
Remember, you will not be eligible to participate in room selection or create a roommate group until you complete your housing application, submit the $50 housing application fee, and register for orientation. Once you complete these steps, you will be able to select a room from the available spaces using the Housing Portal. After room selection ends, housing applicants who have completed the first three housing application steps but did not select a room will be contacted by our team to review placement options.
Processing Time
As you complete the housing application steps prior to room selection, please note that payments take 1 business day to process.
Application Terms and Fees
Remember that each of the terms listed below represents an individual housing application and application fee. For example, if you start at USF in the summer B term, you will complete a summer B housing application (and pay the $50 application fee) and a fall/spring housing application (and pay the $50 application fee). You only need to reserve a single Orientation session. Please review the housing agreement for full agreement and terms.
With roommate groups, it's easy to place your friends in a room, suite, or apartment with you. Before you can join or form a roommate group, you must complete the first three housing application steps. This section explains how it all works. If you have any questions along the way, email us or call 813-974-0001 and we will be happy to assist!
Please note: Students are unable to use the roommate group manager tool for summer terms.
What is a Roommate Group?
A roommate group is a feature in the Housing Portal that allows you to create a group of roommates before selecting a room. By creating your group in advance, you can keep track of who is in your group and ensure that everyone is together on the day the room, suite, or apartment is selected.
How do I create a roommate group?
Before you can create or join a roommate group, you must complete your housing application and submit the $50 housing application fee.
Once these steps are complete, log into the Housing Portal and select "My Account" and then select "Roommate Group Manager." If you already have a group, it will show that group at the bottom of the Roommate Group Manager page. If you don't, you'll only see the "Create Group" button. If you create a new group when you are already a part of a group, you will automatically leave the group of which you are currently a member.
How do I invite people to a roommate group?
Before you can create or join a roommate group, you must complete your housing application and submit the $50 housing application fee.
Once these steps are completed, you can form and manage your roommate group. You can only invite people to a group if you're the leader. If you are a member of a group, you will need to ask the leader to do the inviting. If you are the leader, select "Invite." When the search menu appears below, you can use three criteria to search for your roommates: USF ID#, First Name, or Last Name. The more information you provide, the easier it will be to find the right person. Once you invite them and select "Finish," they will receive an email notifying them of their pending invitation. In addition, every other member of the group will get an email notifying them that someone else was invited.
How do I respond to an invitation to join a roommate group?
To receive an invitation to a roommate group, you must complete your housing application and submit the $50 housing application fee.
Once these steps are completed, you can receive and respond to a roommate group invitation. To respond to an invitation, you will log into the Housing Portal, select "My Account" and select "Roommate Group Manager." At the bottom of the Roommate Group Manager page, you will see your group, its members, and each member's status. To the left of your name, you will see two buttons: Accept and Reject. Note that whichever option you choose, the other members of the group will receive an email notifying them of your choice.
What if I never reply to an invitation?
While we encourage you to make a decision on every invitation, you may choose not to reply. If you do not reply, other members of the group will see that you have not responded when they check the group status. In addition, if you do not reply, you will not be considered a member of the group, so if the group selects a room before you accept, you will not be assigned with them. We encourage you to make a decision so potential group members know if you wish to be included or not.
What if I don't want to be a part of my group anymore?
If You Are the Group Leader
Log into the Housing Portal, select "My Account" and then select "Roommate Group Manager." At the bottom, you will see a red "Leave" button next to your name. The group members will receive an email informing them that you left the group. If you leave the group, the entire group will be disbanded and the rest of your group will need to start over if they wish to be in a group together.
If You Are a Group Member
Log into the Housing Portal, select "My Account" and then select "Roommate Group Manager." At the bottom, you will see a red "Leave" button next to your name. If you leave the group, the rest of the group will receive an email notifying them that you left the group.
How does room selection work with my roommate group?
Once you have completed the first three housing application steps and successfully formed a roommate group, any member can select for the entire group. When you log in to select a room, on the second page, you will see all of the roommates in your roommate group. If you click the next button to take you to the third page, you will only see room options that are large enough to accommodate your entire group.
Once you have selected a room/suite/apartment, you will be asked to identify which roommate lives in which particular room. After placing each roommate in a room, select "Finish," and you will be assigned. You and each of your roommates will receive an email notifying you that you have been assigned.
What if it says there are no rooms available for me?
If you see a message that says no rooms are available, there may be no rooms left that can accommodate your entire roommate group. For example, you may have 4 people in your group, but there may only be suites available with three or fewer open spaces. In this instance you would need to consult with your roommate group on how to split your group up. To do this, you can go back to the second page of the room selection template and click the red "X" next to the roommates you do not wish to assign at this time. Then, when you move forward, you can select a room for only you and some of the group. The rest of the group can assign themselves together elsewhere during their selection time.
Any roommate in your group that you do not assign will receive an email indicating that you did not assign them with the rest of the group. We do not recommend clicking the red "X" next to someone's name unless you tell them you're going to do it in advance.
Will my Roommate Group stay the same every year?
No. You will need to recreate your Roommate Group each year you choose to live on campus.
What if my roommates and I didn't end up together?
Our system can only assign people as directed by you. If you and your roommates were not assigned together, then the student who selected the space for your group removed one or more of your roommates before selecting a room. The system will not mistakenly separate students. Be sure to let the roommate selecting the room for your group know that they should always call the Central Housing Office at (813) 974-0001 and ask questions if they need any assistance with this process.
What if I want to live with a roommate who is already assigned to a room?
If Room Selection is still open, you may be able to live with them. However, you will not be assigned with them automatically. If you know where your friend is living, you can try to select a bed space in their room, suite, or apartment. However, once one member of a group is assigned, they will not show up in the group for Room Selection again, so it won't be automatic.
Once Room Selection has ended, however, and the Housing Assignments Team is assigning students to rooms, you will not be able to live with a specific student who has already been assigned. We recommend waiting until the Room Change and Room Swap Period opens after the start of the semester.
Does my Roommate Group matter if I'm not selecting my own room?
Yes! Even if you miss the Housing Selection process and the Housing Assignments Team is manually assigning you, your Roommate Group can still be used to help make your assignment. Please note that your Roommate Group cannot be guaranteed at that point. It will depend on the size of your group and the availability of rooms on campus. The Housing Assignments Team cannot break up your group for you. If you have a four-person group and there are no four-person suites/apartments available, all four people will be assigned separately.
If you have any questions, please email us at housing@usf.edu or call 813-974-0001 Monday - Friday, 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. and we will be happy to assist you!
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