After listening to feedback from students and the community, Purdue University Residences has implemented new and upgraded processes for students to reapply for housing for the 2025-26 academic year.
As in previous years, we anticipate having more demand than beds available. Due to this high demand and the university guarantee of space for incoming freshmen (fall 2025) who meet the deadline to sign up for housing, University Residences will have approximately 8,400 beds available for returning students out of a projected population of approximately 17,000 residents. The on-campus population included 986 new beds that will be added upon the completion of a new residence hall, opening in fall 2025 at the corner of Third Street and McCormick Road. The addition of new beds will allow many rooms to be de-densified with a goal of 1/3 less density of residents, allowing students greater comfort in their spaces.
The housing reapplication process for 2025-26 has been revised based on co-design with student representatives, who have provided student feedback for new housing selection methods. To ensure an equitable experience, the reapplication process will be a lottery system. All students living in University Residences will have the chance to apply and all students who are selected in the lottery will be able to choose a room from available inventory, which will include rooms that accommodate different living situations and budgets. Approval of the housing rates from the Purdue University Board of Trustees on October 4 ensures students will be able to make decisions in accordance with their budget. Students must opt into the lottery to select a room this fall.
Students can opt into the Housing Reapplication Lottery from October 14-22 and will be notified of their lottery status on October 28. Everyone who opts in will have an equal chance at being selected in the lottery regardless of when they opt in during the October 14-22 window. The room selection process for upper-division students will take place from November 1-8, with current first-year students following from November 13-25. Roommate groups can enter the lottery as a single unit and will be weighted accordingly to not give an unfair advantage.
Upper-division students (rising juniors and seniors) will have a higher proportion of apartment spaces available, while current first-year students will have a higher proportion of residence hall spaces. Room types have been proportionally allotted based on feedback from focus groups that supported prioritizing traditional spaces for current first-year students and apartment spaces for upper-division students. Beds identified for each group will be available within that room’s selection phase.
This year, University Residences has worked with Star Rez to double portal capacity and room selection time slots have been allotted to ease burdens on the Housing Portal. Groups of 500 students will have the portal open to them in six-hour windows. The increased capacity and allotment of selection windows are expected to enhance portal stability, reduce sluggish response times in the portal and reduce the need for students to access the portal multiple times.
Students who opt into the lottery and are not selected may be offered open space if it becomes available in December or have the opportunity to join a waitlist in January. Binding contract dates have been moved up from a traditional deadline at the end of February to November 11 for upper-division students and December 3 for current first-year students. Moving up the contract date supports students by enabling an earlier timeframe to offer space to waitlisted students.
Following the conclusion of reapplication, University Residences will solicit feedback during the spring semester to gauge effectiveness and continually improve processes.
Please note: There is NO FEE to enter the housing lottery for reapplication.
Visit the Reapplication web page and FAQs to learn more about the process.
About University Residences
University Residences is the official Purdue University department that is responsible for assigning and managing all University-owned housing facilities, including traditional residence halls, apartments and master-leased properties. More than just a place to sleep, University Residences offers numerous employment opportunities, clubs, programs, learning communities, cocurricular educational opportunities and retreats that serve as a catalyst for personal and professional growth. University Residences programming provides opportunities for students to build treasured relationships as well as leadership and professional skills that will last a lifetime.