Residency Requirement
As a residential college, Cornell requires students to live in campus housing for the equivalent of eight fall and spring semesters. Students who intend not to live on campus must either meet one of the exceptions of the residency policy or must go through the off-campus lottery. Exceptions to the residency policy start with the Residence Life Office and may include coordinating with other offices.
Housing billing terms
The housing agreement to live in the residence halls is for the full academic year. The academic year housing agreement cannot be terminated early except for specific exceptions. Within those exceptions, some will allow for immediate termination while others only allow termination based on specific dates (i.e. between semesters). Exceptions do not result in a financial refund for housing agreement time prior to the approval of the exception (i.e. retroactive refunds).
Summer housing has its own terms.
Exceptions to the residency policy
The following students may request exception to the residency policy and should refer to our information on off-campus housing process to learn about the process to request an exemption:
- Students who live at the primary, permanent residence of their parent or guardian within a 30 mile radius of Mount Vernon.
- Married students.
- Students who have their child or children living with them.
- Students who have lived in college housing the equivalent of eight fall and spring semesters (supporting documentation is required for transfer students).
- Students who have served in the armed forces.
- Students who are 23 years of age or older by September 1 for that academic year.
- Students who have been authorized to live off campus when sufficient space is not available to house all students in the residence halls. Seniors are given preference through the off-campus lottery. If spaces remain, a junior off-campus housing lottery may be conducted. Refer to our information on the off-campus lottery for more details.
- Students with needs for off-campus housing due to a disability, as verified by a doctor's completion of the Documentation of Medical/Psychological Conditions form and recommended by the Coordinator of Disability Services. Residence Life makes the final decision.
Fifth year seniors and other exemptions
Students who complete the equivalent of eight semesters of on campus housing are no longer eligible to select a room to live on campus. The College also reserves the right to withhold assignment capability for any student who meets one of the above criteria until all other required students are housed. This is to ensure sufficient space for those students required to live in College housing. Decisions regarding space availability for the upcoming academic year are typically made in late July.
For example, these students may need to wait until the office has placed all required students in the halls before being assigned an avaialble room by the office. This list is not exhaustive:
- A student approved to move off campus but later returns because they could not find preferred housing
- A student returning to campus for a ninth or later semester
- Students aged 23 or older
Local address
Any student approved to live off campus is required to maintain his or her local address with the Office of the Registrar (the process and deadlines will be provided by Residence Life). This address must reflect the student's place of residence while attending classes at Cornell College. Any student whose local address changes during the academic year must update that address with the Office of the Registrar and must notify Residence Life immediately; in these cases, the student may need to reapply for an exemption to the residence policy.
Updated documentation
Housing exemptions are provided for the academic year only. Students who have been given an exemption must resubmit their request annually (during the room selection process held each spring). They must also be prepared to resubmit updated documentation as requested by the Residence Life Office. You must notify us if the circumstance surrounding your initial reason for the exemption has changed.
Housing and dining for part-time or continuing education students
Students who meet one or more of the following criteria will be charged housing and dining for the full semester:
- Students who are required to live on campus per the terms of the residency requirement;
- Students who select a room during the room selection process; and/or
- Students who are in housing three or four blocks a semester.
Students not meeting one of the criteria above and who wish to live on campus for one or two blocks may be eligible for College housing provided they are a registered student during the semester they are wanting housing and provided space remains in College housing. Students who live on campus one or two consecutive blocks a semester will be charged housing and dining for those blocks that they live on campus provided they make those arrangements with residence life before selecting a room. For these students, billing will be based on full blocks only, and so a student who moves in or out in the middle of a block will be charged housing and dining for the entire block. Housing on a block-by-block basis for two non-consecutive blocks a semester is not permitted.