Supplemental Housing
What is Supplemental Housing?
The University uses supplemental housing space to offer more students the opportunity to enjoy the on-campus living experience. Supplemental housing rooms are located within University housing and offer students all the amenities of a regular room - bed, desk, drawers, hanging space for clothes, Wi-Fi, Microfridge, etc. - but since the room is larger, the room can accommodate more students. Some students may also be assigned to share a double-occupancy room with a Resident Assistant (RA). Students living in supplemental housing have access to all the programming and activities in the building.
As students are assigned to rooms, at some point the regular space reserved for first-year students is filled. Once that happens, the remaining students are assigned to supplemental housing. As students decide not to attend Penn State before or after the semester has started, the cancellation will create a vacancy in regular housing. Students who are assigned to supplemental housing may then be reassigned, based on the amount of space available, before the fall semester begins.
Students who are assigned to supplemental housing, including those located in a regular double room, will automatically be considered for reassignment to a regular room as space becomes available before the beginning of and during the semester.
Both first-year and upper-class students may be assigned to supplemental housing rooms (in separate rooms).
Many students may be anxious about the prospect of living in supplemental housing. However, over 95% of students who are assigned to supplemental housing opt to stay in the room when offered the opportunity for reassignment. Why? They enjoy the additional square footage, having a discounted room rate, and the friendships that they have developed with their roommates.
Room Rate
The room rate for supplemental housing is a reduced room rate, relative to the housing area where it is located. If a student assigned to supplemental housing is reassigned to another room type, the room rate will be prorated and the additional cost will be charged to the student's LionPATH account.
Moving to Regular Housing
Prior to the beginning of the semester, students who are assigned to supplemental housing will automatically be considered for reassignment. If a student is reassigned, an email notification of the new assignment will be sent in plenty of time to prepare for Arrival.
For students interested in being reassigned out of supplemental housing, the amount of time that a student remains in this room assignment will vary. The number of students who can be reassigned depends upon the overall occupancy and when/where a vacancy exists. As regular housing space becomes available, staff will determine which student living in supplemental housing will be reassigned. This determination depends upon many factors, including where the vacancy exists, the type of student currently living in the vacancy, how many students are currently living in the supplemental housing room, and the preferences indicated by the student on the reassignment survey. Housing and Food Services makes every effort to keep a student in their current assigned building or housing area. Students will be notified that their room assignment has changed and can prepare to move. Students should plan on being moved within 4 days of the notice, and complete the actual move within a 24-hour period.
Supplemental Housing Room Information
Supplemental housing rooms are available in Capital Village. Each room offers similar amenities as regular rooms, and each student will have their own "space" within the room.
If you are assigned to supplemental housing, you can learn more about room furnishings, dimensions, room diagrams, and photos by visiting the Capital Village page to locate building information.