First-Year Housing

A place to hang your top hat.

Here you’ll find a residential experience where you can thrive socially and intellectually alongside your peers within a secure, comfortable, inclusive and engaging learning community.

You’ll find information on how roommates are assigned, answers to other frequently asked questions, who’s who and more about the Office of Residence Life and Housing.

Living on campus is where the memories are made. This is where you belong. From all of our staff to you, welcome home!

First-Year Housing Assignments

During your first year, you will typically live in one of our communities on South Campus. 

You will be assigned to one of these communities at random. As such, students are not asked or able to indicate preferences. 

New students may be assigned to a single or double room based on their preferences and availability. Note that students assigned to single rooms are charged at the single rate.

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First-Year Roommates

First-year roommates are assigned randomly by the Office of Residence Life and Housing based upon the lifestyle questions on your housing application. 

This roommate pairing process is reflective of the University’s commitment to helping incoming students get to know individuals different than themselves. As a continuing student, you will be able to select your community and choose your own roommate(s).

We have found that students who have the same smoking preferences, study habits, noise tolerance, and sleep schedules tend to have positive experiences living together. 

While no one can guarantee a “perfect roommate,” we find that pairing students based on these behaviors offers a starting point from which students can develop a rewarding roommate experience. 

It is important that you answer each question on the housing application honestly so that we can best match you with a roommate. 

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Residency Requirement

Wake Forest has a six-semester residency requirement and is committed to providing eight semesters of on-campus housing for residential students in good standing. Students are expected to fulfill the residency requirement consecutively, barring time away from the University (e.g. CES, withdrawal).  

Students may request an exception to the residency requirement if they meet certain criteria by submitting a written request to Residence Life and Housing at housing@wfu.edu. 

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Disability-Related Housing or Dining Accommodations

Wake Forest University views living on campus as integral to a liberal arts education and the Wake Forest experience. As such, the University has a six-semester (three-year) residency requirement. In support of students with disabilities, the Office of Residence Life and Housing has a wide variety of housing and dining options on campus that can accommodate the vast majority of disability needs.

Students who would like to request a disability-related accommodation should visit our housing and dining accommodations page. Students should provide documents for disability-related accommodations by July 1.

Important note: if you have a documented disability and used accommodations in high school, be sure to complete the housing and dining accommodations request form. Some students want to try college without those accommodations and later discover they wished they’d had the accommodation from the beginning. In addition, our ability to meet a student’s needs is much more limited after housing assignments have been made, so we strongly encourage students to request accommodations by the July 1 deadline.

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All-Gender Housing

Wake Forest University offers an All-Gender Housing offering for incoming students desiring to live in a mixed-sex living environment. For incoming students, this will be rooms/suites clustered together in an area of a residence hall with private bathrooms (toilet and shower areas).

As a part of this process, students will be asked to complete additional questions on their Housing and Dining Application. Students who request All-Gender Housing will then be contacted by staff from the Office of Residence Life and Housing to discuss the best way to accommodate their housing needs. During the process, no student will be asked to disclose their sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression.

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Room Types

As a new student, your room will be assigned based on your responses to the Housing Application. New students may be assigned to a single or double room based on their preferences and availability. Note that students assigned to single rooms are charged at the single rate.

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Room Furnishings

Each residence hall room includes an extralong twin bed (36″ by 80″), a dresser, a desk and a desk chair. All rooms have window blinds and a closet or wardrobe unit. You may bring your own floor rug or purchase it upon your arrival to campus. Because each space varies, sometimes greatly, we encourage you to wait until you arrive on campus and see your exact space before purchasing items. By coordinating with your roommate(s) on these items, you will avoid purchasing duplicates.

Each room also has a MicroFridge® appliance (combination microwave/refrigerator-freezer unit), so there is no need to buy or rent a refrigerator. The microwave has a capacity of 0.7 cubic feet and a turntable for even heating.

Approved small appliances may be used or stored in residence hall rooms. Please refer to our Guide to Community Living for details.

Residents in each residence hall have access to community kitchens featuring full-size appliances.

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Faculty Fellows

Look for your Faculty Fellow team in your residence hall! Faculty Fellows come from a diverse background of academic disciplines with something in common–they care deeply about helping students feel like they belong outside of classrooms, too. Faculty Fellows are faculty members who work in small teams with each first-year residence hall to build community. These faculty are exceptional examples of Wake Forest faculty-student engagement and mentorship; consider them expert neighbors here to help guide you around your new home. They certainly don’t do that work alone, but they are one more supportive group here to help you as a new college student find your people and places. 

Reach out to your Faculty Fellows if you have questions–especially academic ones! Look out for their outreach and events, and drop by. They plan on being in your hall at least once a week for in-hall programming including pop-up or planned meals or snacks, informal interactions and advising, and hall trips to on- and off-campus events.

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Residence Hall Association

The Residence Hall Association (RHA) provides a student voice to the University and the Office of Residence Life and Housing. The organization serves the residential student body in three primary ways: 

• making student-requested improvements to residence halls,
• advocating for the residential experience,
• and building community for the Wake Forest residential student body

It is a unique group of students that work together to improve the residential aspects of student life.

For more information or to get involved with the Residence Hall Association, contact your Community Director or Graduate Hall Director.

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Insurance

Wake Forest University (which includes the Office of Residence Life and Housing) does not assume responsibility for theft, loss or damage to your personal property. Most thefts occur when residents leave their room doors unlocked and/or their property unattended. Keeping your room locked at all times is your best defense against theft.

Additionally, the University does not cover property loss for damage due to facility incidents that may occur. Before coming to campus, you should determine what it would cost to replace belongings such as clothing, electronics — including cell phone, television, laptop — linens, etc.

As part of the housing application process, you will have the opportunity to purchase renter’s insurance from a partner vendor, GradGuard. Additionally, you may wish to check your family’s homeowners insurance policies. Many policies will cover loss or theft even if the policy is in your parents’ names and you are living on campus.

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Deacon OneCard

The Deacon OneCard is your official student ID. You will receive your card when you arrive on campus for New Deac Week, and you should carry it with you at all times. The Deacon OneCard serves as your access card to enter University buildings, your card for checking items out of the library and your “ticket” to many campus events.

The Deacon OneCard is also a payment card for three different purposes:

• Deacon Dollars
• Food Dollars
• Your meal plan

You must submit a photograph for your Deacon OneCard by June 5.

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Additional Information

If you have questions about any of the information below, please visit the Residence Life and Housing website for additional details or reach out to the RL&H team.

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Housing FAQs

• How do I apply for housing/dining?

  All first-year students will complete a Housing and Dining Application online by logging into our Housing Portal.

  The application will be available May 1 and is due June 5.

• How are roommates matched?

  Our assignment software matches roommates based on answers to a number of questions. Room and roommate assignments are made without regard to race, religion, sexual orientation or national origin, and we do not assign siblings or friends as roommates. Historically, we have had a low percentage of room change requests from first-year students.

• When will I find out who my roommate is?

  You will be notified when your room and roommate assignments are available in mid-to-late July via your Wake Forest email. You will need to log into the Housing Portal to view your room and roommate assignments.

  When you get your roommate assignment, please reach out so that you can start getting to know one another. When you arrive on campus, you and your roommate will complete a Roommate Agreement that will help define expectations for how you will use the room.

• Can I view the type of room I’ll be living in?

  You may learn more about our residence halls, review floor plans and view photos on RLH’s incoming students page.

• What can or can’t I bring with me to campus?

  More info about what you can and cannot have in your room can be found on RLH’s incoming students page.

• When can I move in?

  We anticipate welcoming our new students to campus on August 23. Students participating in Pre-Orientation programs, band, athletics or another approved group will receive instructions from the Office of Residence Life and Housing.

• What are the advantages of living on campus?

  Aside from the short commute to class every morning, living in Wake Forest’s residence halls has many advantages and places you in the center of the collegiate experience. In addition to having access to a variety of spaces and programs, you will be surrounded by a trained staff of helpful and caring individuals. The staff works consistently to answer questions, provide support and foster secure, comfortable, inclusive and engaging learning communities.

• Will I have access to laundry facilities?

  The Office of Residence Life and Housing is committed to providing students with the amenities necessary to make their living space a home away from home. One of those is the free laundry facilities available in each residential community.