LiveOn with us for 2026-27

Eligibility to Request Housing is based on a student's residency and campus statuses:

Students who are eligible to participate in the LiveOn Housing Process:

• Students currently living on campus at University Park (during the 2025-26 academic year) 

• Students attending a Commonwealth Campus and plan to change to University Park

• Students who are new to Penn State for spring semester or deferred admission to spring semester will be eligible to add their name to the On-Campus Housing Waitlist once they have scheduled spring courses.

Students who are not eligible to participate in the LiveOn Housing Process:

• Incoming first-year students (they accept the HFS Contract through the admissions process)

• Students who currently live off campus at University Park

• Students who did not Request Housing during the LiveOn Housing Process timeline

• Students who were released from the HFS Contract

• Students transferring from another university

Students who are not eligible to participate in the LiveOn Housing Process or those who were eligible but did not Request Housing may still indicate their interest to live in University Housing.

The On-Campus Housing Waitlist will open at 12 p.m. (noon) Thursday, Nov. 20 in eLiving > Contracts > Waitlist

The Housing Assignment Office will continually review housing availability throughout the spring semester and summer. Students who were eligible to Request Housing will receive priority consideration for housing offers. Students who were not eligible to Request Housing may not be considered until later in the spring semester, depending on space availability. While we aim to accommodate as many students as possible, housing offers from the Waitlist are based on space availability and cannot be guaranteed.

If space is available, HFS Contract offers will be released on Monday afternoons to students between December and July. HFS Contract offers will be for a double room traditional residence hall. Once a student accepts the HFS Contract, they will have the opportunity to add their name to a Preferred Housing Option Waitlist to be considered for reassignment to a different housing option.

General Process Information

• Requesting Housing does NOT commit a student to LiveOn - the action of Request Housing simply puts the student in the LiveOn Housing Process to be considered for an invitation. This period allows the student additional time to explore housing options and decide what may work best for them before receiving an invitation.

• The invitation provides the student the opportunity to view available housing options before making a commitment to LiveOn. However, once a student has ACCEPTED the Housing and Food Service (HFS) Contract, they are officially committing to LiveOn. The HFS Contract becomes legally-binding after the student completes the multi-step acceptance process - indicating housing preferences, agreeing to the Terms, Conditions, and Regulations of the HFS Contract, typing their name, and clicking the "Accept Contract" button. Once the HFS Contract is accepted, the HFS Contract cannot be canceled so that the student can move off campus.

• Students who currently live on campus for the 2025-26 academic year, including first-year students, are eligible to participate in the LiveOn Housing Process for "upper-class housing". For the purposes of the LiveOn Housing process, all students are classified as "upper-class" for next year, ensuring equal access to housing options. The LiveOn Housing Process does not consider class standing for releasing invitations or offers.

• The Request Housing portion of the process is NOT first-come, first-served. As long as an eligible student submits their Request Housing during the established LiveOn Housing Process timeline, they will be considered for an invitation. There is no advantage to submitting the Request Housing on the first day versus the last day - what matters most is submitting the Request Housing during the established timeframe.

• Invitations to view and select a housing option are extended based on availability. As students receive invitations and make a selection, spaces within each housing option gradually fill. Students are encouraged to act promptly once an invitation is received to ensure access to their preferred housing option.  

• The LiveOn Housing Process is designed to support all students - whether they have a specific roommate request, do not have a roommate request, or are seeking gender-inclusive housing assignments. Our goal is to provide a welcoming and flexible housing experience to meet the diverse needs of our student community.

• Students with an approved medical accommodation will need to accept an HFS Contract and will be assigned to a space that meets their specific needs, regardless of the housing option that they select. For instance, if a student with an approved single-occupancy room accommodation is not able to select a single because all available space was already selected by other students, that student can select another housing option and still be assured their single room accommodation will be met. When the Housing Assignment Office processes room assignments, the student will be assigned a space that fulfills their approved accommodation.

• Eligible students who are a part of a Living Learning Community (LLC) that offers a return-to-living environment will need to Request Housing during the LiveOn Housing Process timeline. LLC members will receive a direct offer for a Housing and Food Service (HFS) Contract for their specific LLC, ensuring continued engagement in the community.

Attend an information webinar to learn more about the 2026-27 academic year LiveOn Housing Process. At the end of the presentation, staff will answer your questions live! Hosted through Zoom; registration is required. 

LLC students who are eligible to return to their LLC should participate in the Oct. 17 webinar. 

These in-person information sessions provide an overview of both on- and off-campus housing options and processes, and is held during Family Weekend. Staff will be available for questions after each session.

Upper-class student housing options:

• Double Room, Traditional Residence Halls (you and 1 roommate)
  Double rooms are located in South (Atherton, McElwain, Simmons), and West (Hamilton, Irvin, Jordan, Thompson, Watts) 

• Triple Room, Traditional Residence Halls (you and 2 roommates)
  Triple rooms are located in South (Atherton, McElwain, Simmons), and West (Jordan, Thompson, Watts) 

• Single Room, Traditional Residence Halls (no roommates)
  Single-occupancy rooms are located in South (Atherton, McElwain, Simmons), and West (Hamilton, Jordan, Thompson, Watts)

• Double Room, Renovated Residence Halls (you and 1 roommate)
  Double rooms are located in South (Chace, Cooper, Cross, Ewing, Haller, Hibbs, Hoyt, Lyons, and Stephens Halls)

• North Hall suites (you and 1 roommate and 2 suitemates)
  2-bedroom/4-person suite with shared bathroom located in North (Holmes, Leete, Runkle)
  Limited 2-bedroom/2-person suites are available through the Preferred Housing Option Waitlist

• Nittany Hall suites (you and 1 roommate and 2 suitemates)
  2-bedroom/4-person suite with shared bathroom

• Single Room, Eastview Terrace (no roommate)
  Single-occupancy room with private bathroom and air conditioning (Brill, Curry, Harris, Miller, Nelson, Panofsky, Young)

• Double Room, Eastview Terrace (you and 1 roommate)
  Double-occupancy rooms with private bathroom and air conditioning (Brill, Curry, Harris, Miller, Nelson, Panofsky, Young)

• Nittany Apartments (you and 3 roommates)
  2-bedroom/4-person apartments and 4-bedroom/4-person apartments

• White Course Apartments (you and 3 roommates) 
  4-bedroom/4-person apartments

• Supplemental Housing, Traditional Residence Halls (you and 3-5 roommates) 
  Supplemental housing rooms, which is a large room, are located in South (McElwain, Simmons), and West for male students only (Hamilton, Jordan, Thompson, Watts) 

• Supplemental Housing, Renovated Residence Halls (you and 3-5 roommates) 
  Supplemental housing rooms, which is a large room, are located in South (Cooper, Cross, Ewing, Haller, Hibbs, Hoyt, Lyons, Stephens) 

• Supplemental Housing, Suite Residence Halls (you and 5 roommates) 
  Supplemental housing rooms, which is a large room, are located in North (Holmes, Leete, Runkle) 

Several housing options offer Break Access/Holiday Housing for students who are not able to leave campus during the three closedown periods. There is an additional fee for Break Access/Holiday Housing for ALL housing options, including Nittany and White Course Apartments.

Once a student selects a housing option and creates the HFS Contract offer, they will be able to indicate housing preferences. If Break Access/Holiday Housing is available in the selected housing option, the student can indicate that Break Access/Holiday Housing is required, and the system will automatically add this requirement to their eLiving account. The Break Access/Holiday Housing fee will be included in the semester bill.

Students planning to participate in primary recruitment to join a Panhellenic Council should follow the recruitment registration guidelines. 

Sorority Housing is available on campus, and students are encouraged to review the housing decisions information to determine the best course of action based on their recruitment plans and housing preferences. 

When a student receives an invitation, they can view and select from available housing options, add a friend (optional), and review their selection to create an HFS Contract Offer.

Step 1: View and Select a Housing Option 

The invitation will display all available housing options. Each housing option will indicate the number of remaining spaces, which will decrease as other students make their selection. If a housing option becomes full, it will be grayed out and no longer available for selection. Students can select another housing option and then utilize the Preferred Housing Option Waitlist feature to be considered for reassignment.

Select a housing option and click the "continue" button.

Step 2: Add a Friend 

Students have the option to add a friend to their selected housing option. Adding a friend will reserve a space for the friend and automatically generate an HFS Contract offer for them as well. This is a great way to ensure friends can live together, but both friends must be eligible AND complete the process before the deadline to complete!

Step 3: Review Selection

The student must verify that they selected their desired housing option and added the correct friends. If the student is not happy with the selection, they can click the "back" button to return to the invitation screen. Please note - housing availability changes in real time, so a previously available housing option may no longer be available.

Click the "Create Contract" button to generate an HFS Contract offer, which must be accepted by the identified deadline to complete date.

The friend feature allows a group of students who wish to live together to secure space in the same housing option, which is especially helpful since some housing options fill quickly and may not be available when each student would receive their own invitation.

How the Friend Feature Works:

• The first student in the group who receives an invitation can select a housing option and add friends to the selection.

• This action reserves spaces for each identified friend and reduces the number of available space for other students.

• Once the student clicks "Create Contract", the system generates a Housing and Food Service (HFS) Contract offer for the identified friends.

• Friends do not receive an invitation, instead they receive a direct HFS Contract offer.

• Each student is responsible for accepting the HFS Contract before the deadline to complete date.

Friend Feature Requirements:

The friend feature allows students to reserve housing together, but there are a few important eligibility requirements and guidelines:

• Eligibility

  • A friend must have Requested Housing and not yet accepted an HFS Contract.

  • If a student has not Requested Housing or has already accepted an HFS Contract, they cannot be added as a friend (you can still indicate them as roommate)

  • Students who live off campus are NOT eligible to be added as a friend.

• Gender

  • Friends can be of any gender.

• Group Size

  • Depending on the housing option selected, students can add up to 3 friends

  • Single room housing options do not allow friends to be added 

• HFS Contract Offers

  • Adding a friend reserves the selected housing option for the student and their friend(s)

  • The system will generate individual HFS Contract offers for each person in the group

• Deadline to Complete

  • Each student must accept the HFS Contract by the indicated deadline to complete date.

• Roommate Preferences

  • If a student wants to live in the same space with the friends who were added to the housing selection, each student must also add their friend(s) as a roommate preference on the HFS Contract.

Students who receive an HFS Contract offer through a friend are not obligated to accept the offer. If the HFS Contract offer is not accepted by the deadline to complete, the offer will expire. The student is still eligible to receive an invitation and can select a different housing option if desired.

Students who do accept the HFS Contract offer are not penalized in any way if their friend(s) do not accept.

Roommates are listed as a preference on the HFS Contract and can be updated until 12 p.m. (noon) May 1, providing students the opportunity to identify or change a potential roommate, even if one wasn't known when the invitation was received. 

Roommate Requirements:

1. The roommate who you want to live with must have an accepted HFS Contract for the same housing option that you have.

2. If your roommate request accepted an HFS Contract for a housing option that is different than the one you selected, the roommate must add their name to the Preferred Housing Option Waitlist for the desired space to be considered for reassignment. (or vice versa, you can add your name to the Preferred Housing Option Waitlist for the housing option that they selected).

3. Adding a roommate request does not guarantee placement together. Assignments depend on space availability and housing option compatibility. Roommate requests must be mutual.  

4. If your roommate request has not accepted an HFS Contract, adding them as a roommate preference will NOT generate an HFS Contract offer. HFS Contract offers are only generated during the invitation housing selection to an eligible student. 

5. If you use the friend feature during the invitation housing selection and want to live together with that student, both of you must also add each other as a roommate preference on the HFS Contract.

What happens if a preferred housing option is full?

Some housing options are very popular with students and fill quickly during the process. 

If the desired housing option is no longer available during the invitation process:

1. Select another available housing option and accept the HFS Contract.

2. Add name to the Preferred Housing Option Waitlist when it is available in eLiving to be considered for reassignment.

Important Notes

• Students may add their name to only one Waitlist.

• Adding name to a Waitlist indicates interest in reassignment.

• There is no guarantee of reassignment.

• Vacancies may become available as students change their plans and their HFS Contract is cancelled.

• The Housing Assignment Office uses the Waitlist to reassign students to newly available spaces.

• No notification is sent until room assignments are posted. Once room assignments are posted, the student will be informed if their room assignment changes.  

Other Reassignment Options

Students may also use the Room Exchange eBoard to manage or change their room assignment.

Students can also utilize the Room Exchange eBoard to manage their room assignment.