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Room Selection for Current Students

Noble Hall room

Room in Noble Hall

Continuing Student Room Selection

This page contains information for students currently enrolled at WCU. If you are a not currently enrolled at WCU, please see our New Student Room Assignments Information.  Any student not currently enrolled at WCU, including those who had previously been enrolled and are now returning to WCU, will be assigned a room through the New Student Room Assignments process.

As of February 27, 2024 Residential Living has reached capacity for students not required to live on campus per WCU Policy 96.  Any student not required to live on campus per WCU Policy 96 who pays a Continuing Student Housing Deposit will be directed to add themselves to the waitlist until further notice.  For more information, see the section about the waitlist below.

Steps to Select a Room

It is a three step process to select a room on campus for the 2024 - 2025 academic year.  You must complete all three steps to secure a room on campus.

  1. Pay the $150.00 non-refundable housing deposit online through your MyWCU account or pay with cash or check at Student Accounts in Killian Annex. Make sure you choose the 2024 Fall Continuing Student Housing Deposit. Note that your deposit must be paid in order to complete the Residence Hall Agreement.
  2. Complete your Residence hall Agreement.

    You must complete the 

    agreement online. Log into the housing portal  using 

    your WCU credentials, and click on the 2024 – 2025 Residence Hall Agreement and 

    complete the agreement.  Note that this step is currently not available to any student not required to live on campus per WCU Policy 96.  Students not required to live on campus will be directed to complete a Waitlist Agreement instead.  

    You do not need to print the completed agreement but you might want to print or save a copy for your records.
  3. On the appropriate date (see Selection Dates below), visit the housing portal and follow the instructions to select your room.

Room Selection Brochure

Download the Room Selection Brochure for all of the information on room selection for continuing students including proposed housing rates for the 2024 - 2025 academic year as well as proposed meal plans.

Important Dates in the Room Selection Process

Here are the important dates in the Continuing Student Room Selection process.

This is the date you can go into your MyWCU account or go to Student Accounts and pay the $150.00 non-refundable Continuing Student Housing Deposit.  You must pay the deposit in order to participate in room selection.

Students who are not subject to WCU Policy 96 and pay their deposit by this date will be eligible to access the agreement in the first batch of students on February 27.  Note that paying by this date does not guarantee access to a housing agreement nor a space on campus.  A limited number of continuing students not subject to WCU Policy 96 will be able to complete Residence Hall Agreements and select a space on campus.  We do anticipate a waitlist for on-campus housing for students not subject to WCU Policy 96.

The Residence Hall Agreement will be open for students not subject to WCU Policy 96 who paid their deposit by February 15, 2024.  Access times will be sent to the student's catamount email address on February 26, 2024.

The Residence Hall Agreement will be open for students subject to WCU Policy 96 who have paid their deposit.  Access times will be sent to the student's catamount email address on February 27, 2024.

Starting March 5, 2024 the = Waitlist will be available to all students who have paid the housing deposit.  Note that students subject to WCU Policy 96 will not be waitlisted and will have access to the Residence Hall Agreement upon payment of the Continuing Student Housing Deposit.

This selection is for all continuing students who are eligible to and want to keep their current room for the 2024 – 2025 academic year.* This selection level takes place between 7:00 am and 4:00 pm on March 12, 2024. There is not a specific log in time for this selection.

*Some students will receive emails in January informing them that they are unable to participate in this selection. Rooms may not be eligible to be reclaimed for a variety of reasons including but not limited to planned usage of thespace/building (i.e. dedicated first-year or honors buildings), needing to hold the space for accommodation requestsor change in configuration of the space/building.

This selection is for students who have completed Same Room Selection and now wish to pull in a roommate or suitemate. This selection will be held on March 13, 2024 from 7:00 am – 4:00 pm. You must have your preferred roommate or suitemate(s) WCU ID number(s) and meal plan preference(s) in order to pull them into your room. They must have also paid the non-refundable housing deposit and submitted a signed 2024 – 2025 Residence Hall Agreement. There is not a specific log in time for this selection.

This selection is for students who members of the Brinson Honors College who would like to select a room in Balsam or Blue Ridge. This selection will take place on March 15, 2024 from 7:00 am – 4:00 pm. During this selection you are also permitted to pull in a roommate or suitemate at the time you select your room. If you are selecting a room in Balsam your roommate must be in the Brinson Honors College. There is not a specific log in time for this selection.

This is the deadline to submit a request for a Judaculla Suite. There must be 4 students in the group and all 4 students must have a signed 2024 – 2025 Residence Hall Agreement and have not selected a room prior to this date. Requests are due by 5:00 pm on this date.

Check your catamount email for the link to the request form.  It will be sent out approximately March 14.

Students will be notified if they were allocated to a suite in Judaculla.

This selection is for any student who would like to select a room and has not yet gone through selection. This selection takes place on Saturday, March 23, 2024 starting at 9:00 am. Students will receive a log in time based on a random lottery assignment. During this selection you are also permitted to pull in a room-mate or suite-mate at the time you select your room.

Roommates and Suitemates

Every student must pay a non-refundable housing deposit and complete a Residence Hall Agreement to reserve a room for the following academic year.

Doubles and Connecting Privates
Continuing students who want to room together in doubles in any building, or connecting privates in Allen, Balsam, Blue Ridge, Judaculla, Noble or Norton must pay the non-refundable housing deposit and submit a Residence Hall Agreement to Residential Living. Only one of the students will need to visit the housing portal to complete the selection process. That student will need the WCU ID number of the roommate or suitemates, as well as their meal plan preference. Please make sure you click on “add roommate/suitemate” during your process, otherwise you will not have the ability to add your roommate or suitemate(s).

Suitemates in Judaculla
Continuing students who want to live together with the ability to add more than one roommate/suitemate can do so in Judaculla. You will only be able to select roommates/suitemates who have paid the non-refundable housing deposit and submitted a Residence Hall Agreement. Only one of the students will need to visit the housing portal to complete the selection process. That student will need the WCU ID number of the roommate/suitemate(s), as well as their meal plan preferences.

Incoming First-Year or Transfer Student Roommates
Please email housingquestions@wcu.edu with the name and WCU ID number of the incoming student you would like to live with at least three days before your selection process. They must also have paid their enrollment deposit, submitted a Residence Hall Agreement and requested you as their roommate on their preferences. Make sure that they also have your WCU ID number. You will be able to pull them in during your selection process just like you would be pulling in a current student. However, if they have not paid the deposit, completed a Residence Hall Agreement and requested you as their roommate, you will not be able to pull them in.

Selecting a room without a roommate preference
You can select a room without a roommate choice. However, all double rooms will be filled by two students. If no other student selects your room during the room selection process, then Residential Living will randomly assign someone else with you.

Room Selection Changes

Once you select a room during any part of the room selection process, you will not be able to make a change until all continuing students have had an opportunity to select a room. We anticipate this to be approximately April 1, 2024. Students will be notified via their catamount email when the system opens for room changes to 2024 - 2025 housing assignments. Once open, you may log in and change your room assignment and/or roommates until June 1, 2024. After that, no changes will be made until the room change period begins during the fall semester. Room changes can be made online or by coming to the Residential Living office in Brown Hall.

New for 2024 - 2025

The room selection process for continuing students is updated each year as we work to manage residence hall occupancy and improve the process for students.  Below are some important updates to be aware of for this year's process.

The Fall 2024 Continuing Student Housing Deposit will open on February 1, 2024. All students who want to participate in Continuing Student Room Selection must pay the $150.00 non-refundable housing deposit. The deposit can be paid online in your MyWCU account or at Student Accounts.  Be sure to pay the Fall 2024 Continuing Student Housing Deposit!

We have set a priority payment deadline of February 15, 2024 for any student not subject to WCU Policy 96.  Students not subject to WCU Policy 96 who pay the housing deposit by this date will have first access to the Residence Hall Agreement when it opens for them on Feburary 27, 2024.  Note that paying the deposit by this date does not guarantee access to the Housing Agreement nor does it guarantee a space on campus.  Students must complete those two steps in addition to paying the deposit in order to secure on-campus housing for 2024-2025.

Students will be assigned an access time to complete their Residence Hall Agreement.  Access times will be randomly assigned.

Students not subject to WCU Policy 96 can access the agreement starting February 27 as long as they paid their Housing Deposit by February 15, 2024.

Students subject to WCU Policy 96 who have paid their housing deposit can access the agreement starting February 28.

Starting March 5, 2024, the Housing Agreement or waitlist will be available to all students that have paid the housing deposit.

Priority for Judaculla Suite Requests and Open Room Selection will be determined by a random lottery. All students who have a completed Residence Hall Agreement and have not selected a room for 2024 – 2025 by March 20, 2024 will be randomly assigned a lottery number by ourn housing software program. This number will determine their priority for Judaculla Suite Requests and Open Room Selection.

There will be limited space available on campus for students not subject to WCU Policy 96. Students not subject to WCU Policy 96 may be waitlisted. Students not subject to WCU Policy 96 should log in and attempt to complete their Residenc Hall Agreement as early as possible. Residence Hall Agreements will be available on a first-come, first-serve basis until we reach our maximum capacity. After this, students not subject to WCU Policy 96 may be waitlisted for on-campus housing. Students subject to WCU Policy 96 will not be waitlisted.

Groups of 4 students who have not already selected a room are able to participate in the Judaculla Suite Request process. This was piloted last year and based on the success of that process we are continuing it for room selection for 2024 – 2025. Groups of 4 students will have the opportunity to submit a request for a fully open suite in Judaculla. The suites will be awarded prior to Open Room Selection. Only groups of 4 will be considered and all members of the group must have a completed Housing Agreement for 2024-2025 and not have previously selected a room for 2024 – 2025.

Balsam Hall remains the dedicated home to the Brinson Honors College. Blue Ridge Hall serves as overflow and provides space for members of the Brinson Honors College who have non-honors roommates. With the rise in the number of Honors College students, spaces in Balsam and Blue Ridge will, in large part, be reserved for members of the Honors College and their roommates.

Reynolds Hall will not have room assignments for the 2024-2025 academic year. Students currently residing in Reynolds will not be able to reclaim their rooms for 2024-2025.

Albright Hall, Benton Hall, Black Rock Hall, Harrill Hall, Shining Rock Hall and Water Rock Hall will again be reserved for new, incoming students. All students residing in these buildings will not be able to reclaim their rooms for 2024 – 2025.

Other Important Information

On-campus living is an integral part of campus life. The experience of living in the residence halls and the support of the staff provided by the Department of Residential Living enhance the intellectual, personal and social development of our students. Accordingly, WCU requires new undergraduate students to live on campus in the residence hall for a specific period of time based on how a student is classified at enrollment.

In general terms, first-year students enrolling at WCU are required to live on campus for two academic years and new transfer students for one academic year.

For details, we encourage you to review WCU Policy 96 in full.

Students subject to WCU Policy 96 who maintain their enrollment at WCU must either live on campus or receive a residency exemption.

WCU Policy 96 allows for Residency Exemptions for students to receive a waiver of the on-campus living requirement.  Qualifying exemption reasons include:

  • Students enrolled exclusively in a distance learning program.
  • Students enrolled exclusively in extension courses.
  • Students enrolled in less than 6 total hours a term.
  • Non-degree students unless participating in a program that requires on-campus housing.
  • Students over 21 upon initial enrollment - by August 1 for fall entry or December 1 for spring entry.
  • Married students.
  • Students with dependents.
  • Students living with a parent or legal guardian in one of the following North Carolina counties: Haywood, Jackson, Macon, Swain or Translyvania.
  • Military veterans with 18 months of active duty.
  • Students who have earned 90 or more hours towards graduation.

Students who believe they qualify for an exemption should submit a request along with any requested supporting documentation.  The Residency Exemption Request should be submitted to housingquestions@wcu.edu.  Residency Exemptions must be applied for each academic year that the student is subject to WCU Policy 96.

Students who are not required to live on campus per WCU Policy 96 may be directed to add themselves to the waitlist once we reach capacity for students not required to live on campus.  Students will be provided a Waitlist Agreement with important information about what the waitlist means for them.  Included here is a summary of that information.

What joining the waitlist means
Placement on the waiting list means that we will try our best to accommodate you; however, we may, or may not be able to assign you to a room for Fall 2024.  As space becomes available, those on the waiting list will be assigned.

Knowing your position on the waitlist
Students who complete a Waitlist Agreement can contact Residential Living to find out their current position on the Waitlist.  The best way to do this is by emailing housingquestions@wcu.edu.  Keep in mind that as students remove themselves from the waitlist or as assignments are made from the waitlist a student's position on the waitlist will change.

Getting moved off the Waitlist / Prioirty for On-Campus Housing
Students will be assigned off of the waitlist based on the date they paid their non-refundable housing deposit and submitted a Waitlist Agreement.  Be aware that gender, as well as graduate/undergraduate availability will also factor into assigning from the wait list.

When to expect updates
Residential Living will provide updates to all students remaining on the wait list on the following dates:
May 1, 2024
June 5, 2024
July 17, 2024
August 1, 2024
Students should check their catamount email and voicemail messages regularly for updates.  Please note that the above dates are when updates will be sent to all students.  You may receive a notice/update outside of these dates and will need to respond in a timely manner.

Removing yourself from the waitlist and having housing deposit refunded
If a student who is on the wiating list decides they are no longer interested in on-campus housing they may request a refund of the $150.00 hosuing deposit prior to being assigned a space.  They can make the request by submitting a Housing Cancellation Request to housingquestions@wcu.edu.  Once an assignment is made, the deposit will not be refunded.  In addition if a student completes a 2024 - 2025 Residence Hall Agreement and cancels after June 1, 2024 they would be subject to the $1,000 Housing Cancellation fee.

Where to start looking for off-campus housing
Since we cannot guarantee a space for a student on the waitlist, those with waitlist agreements are encouraged to look into other housing options.  The Student Affairs Off-Campus Housing Website is a good place to start.

Housing Accommodations and the Waitlist
Housing Accommodation Requests, included an approved Housing Accommodation Request does not impact a student's position on the waitlist or priority for on-campus housing.

Western Carolina University is committed to providing equal access to housing for all students living on campus with qualifying disabilities. Toward this goal, WCU provides accommodations in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Fair Housing Act, and other applicable laws.
Requests for a housing accommodation are reviewed and approved through the Office of Accessibility Resources (OARs).  Please refer to their Housing Accommodations page for information about the process and how you can submit your request.  Students should submit requests by the following dates:
Academic Year Assignments (Occupancy starting in Fall) - June 1
Spring Room Assignments (Occupancy starting in Spring) - November 1
Summer Housing - May 15
Housing Accommodations must be applied for each academic year.  

Continuing students who decide not to live on campus after completing a Residence Hall Agreement and/or selecting on-campus housing for the following academic year have until June 1 to request a cancellation of their agreement and/or housing without being subject to the Housing Cancellation Fee.   Cancellation of the Residence Hall Agreement after June 1 will be subject to a Housing Cancellation fee of $1,000.00.

The Housing Cancellation Request should be submitted to housingquestions@wcu.edu

The room selection process offers most students the opportunity to retain their room from one year to the next.  Certain rooms, however, cannot be retained.  Students impacted are notified in January each year.  Some reasons a student may be displaced and unable to retain their room for the following year include:

  • The room is located in a building designated for first-year students.  Each year the department identified buildings for first-year student housing.  Students living in buildings designated for first-year students for the following academic year are displaced.
  • The room is designated for special use.  These include rooms held for Resident Assistant staff, approved Housing Accommodation Requests, and theme or living learning communities.

How do I pay the $150 non-refundable housing deposit?
You can pay online with a debit or credit card through your MyWCU Account or you can pay with cash or check at Student Accounts in Killian Annex.

When can I complete the Residence Hall Agreement?
Access to the Residence Hall Agreement will be given based on your subjectivity to WCU Policy 96 and when you paid your housing deposit. Students not subject to WCU Policy 96 who paid the deposit by February 15, 2024 will get access beginning February 27, 2024. Students subject to WCU Policy 96 will get access beginning February 28, 2024. Students not subject to WCU Policy 96 who paid their deposit after February 15, 2024 will have access starting March 5, 2024. Students will get access times sent to their catamount email address the day before they can log in to complete the agreement.

Where do I complete the Residence Hall Agreement?
You must complete your agreement online! Log into the housing portal using your MyWCU credentials, and click on the 2024-2025 Residence Hall Agreement and complete the agreement. You do not need to print the completed agreement but you might want to print a copy for your records.

What if I pay the deposit, complete the Agreement and then don’t select a room?
If you do not select a room, then Residential Living may assign you to a room.

What if I don’t get the room I want, can I change it later?
If the building you want to live in is full when it’s your log in time, then we suggest you find an alternate room. Once all students have had an opportunity to select a room you will be able to log in and change your fall assignment until June 1, 2024. After June 1st, no changes will be made until room changes begin the second week of fall classes.

Will I have to pay the cancellation fee if I cancel before June 1, 2024?
If you’re not subject to WCU Policy 96 and wish to cancel your agreement you will not be charged a cancellation fee if you cancel prior to June 1, 2024. If you are subject to WCU Policy 96, be sure you understand your ability to cancel and the assessment associated with cancelling if you are in the second year of your residency requirement. Please remember that all cancellations must be in writing by either submitting the Housing Cancellation Form or emailing housingquestions@wcu.edu

How much is the cancellation fee if I decide after June 1, 2024 that I want to commute to campus?
The cancellation fee is $1,000.00 and will be applied to your student account once we receive your Housing Cancellation Form.

Do I get my $150 deposit back when I cancel?
The deposit is non-refundable.

If I live in a room designated for students with accommodationneeds will I be able to select it?
No. If you were assigned to a room based on an accommodation request or were placed in a room with accessibility features, then you cannot re-claim the room. If you have an accommodations request, you must re-apply and be approved each year.

If my roommate/suitemate pulls me into a room during their selection process do I also need to log in?
If your roommate/suitemate pulls you in, then they have completed the process for you. Please make sure you give them your meal plan preference. The system will give you an error if you try to log on after you’ve been assigned. You can view your assignment by clicking on the “Assignment Information" link.

Do I have to have a meal plan if I live on campus?
Yes, even students living in buildings with community kitchens or living in Robertson must have a meal plan.

If I select my double room by myself does that mean I won’tget a roommate?
Someone else could select it during their selection process or Residential Living will assign you a random roommate.

If I am participating in Open Room Selection, when will I receive my log in time?
Emails with your log in time will be sent to your catamount email on March 22, 2024.

Will I be able to keep the same mailbox number?
Yes, if you participate in room selection prior to June 1, 2024.

What if I want to room with an incoming freshman or transferstudent for fall?
Please email housingquestions@wcu.edu with the name and WCU ID number of the incoming student(s) you would like to live with at least three days before your selection process. They must also have paid their enrollment deposit, submitted a Residence Hall Agreement and requested you as their roommate on their preferences. Make sure that they also have your WCU ID number. You will be able to pull them in during your selection process just like you would be pulling in a current student. However, if they have not paid the deposit, completed a Residence Hall Agreement and requested you as their roommate, you will not be able to pull them in.

Will I be able to log back in once I complete the process and sign up for a room?
Once you have selected your room you are done. You will be able to click on the “Room Selection” link, however, you will be redirected. You can view your assignment by clicking on the “Assignment Information" link.

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