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Living Learning Communities - a collage of images from various LLCs

Housing Process

Housing Process

Incoming First-Year Students

Incoming first-year students interested in living in a Living Learning Community (LLC) can indicate the LLC as a preference on the Housing and Food Service (HFS) Contract in eLiving after accepting the Offer of Admission and HFS Contract through MyPennState. Preferences can be updated until the preference modification deadline of 12:00 p.m. (noon) May 15). The housing preference deadline for incoming first-year students has been extended from May 15 to 12:00 p.m. (noon) Monday May 20.

Space available in some LLCs is limited, and not all students who preference the LLC may be assigned. Some LLCs require an additional application to the college/department.

Some LLCs are designated for first-year students only, while others offer upper-class students the ability to return-to-living-environment.

First-Year Students only LLCs First-Year/Upper-Class Students LLCs
Biology Home (BIOME) Ally House
First-Year in Education Arts & Architecture (A&A)
First-Year in Liberal Arts Business and Society House (BASH)
First-Year in Science and Engineering (FISE) Earth and Mineral Sciences (EMS)
First-Year Veteran Earth House
FlourishPSU: The Wellness Community Engineering House (E-House)
Joint Service ROTC Forensic Science
Paterno Fellows Global Engagement Community
  Information Science & Technology (IST)
  Professional Golf Management
  ROAR House
  Schreyer Honors College
  Women in Science & Engineering (WISE)

 

Current Students

Living Learning Communities (LLCs) have a designated housing space on campus for participating and active members of the LLC. Several LLCs offer students the ability to return-to-living-environment beyond the first-year, provided the student retains active status with the LLC.

Eligible students who are interested in returning to the LLC for the next academic year need to participate in the LiveOn Housing Process and Request Housing in eLiving during the request timeframe (October 1-31). The LLC Housing Chair will provide the active status list to the Housing Assignment Office; students who are in active status and Requested Housing will receive a Housing and Food Service (HFS) Contract offer for the LLC. Since this is a HFS Contract offer for the LLC, not an invitation, the student will not be able to view other housing options. 

HFS Contract Offers for the 2024-2025 academic year:

  • Offers made Thursday November 2, between 2:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.

  • Offers expire: 12:00 p.m. (noon) Monday November 6 

Students who want to return to the LLC must accept the HFS Contract offer before the offer expires.

If a student is no longer interested in living in the LLC, the student should NOT accept the LLC Contract offer. The offer will expire, and then the student will be eligible to receive an invitation during the LiveOn Housing Process, and can select another housing option.  

The following LLCs participate in the Housing Process to allow upper-class students to reside in the LLC designated housing space:

First-Year/Upper-Class Students LLCs
Ally House
Arts & Architecture (A&A)
Business and Society House (BASH)
Earth and Mineral Sciences (EMS)
Engineering House (E-House)
STEM (FISE upper-class select a new LLC)
Forensic Science
Global Engagement Community
Information Science & Technology (IST)
Schreyer Honors College
Women in Science & Engineering (WISE)

Students who accept an HFS Contract for the upcoming academic year and are not currently a part of an LLC but interested in joining the community can add their name to the LLC Housing Option Waitlist, which will open in eLiving at 12:00 p.m. (noon) December 1. Students on the Waitlist will be reassigned as vacancies are identified in the LLC. 

Room Assignments

Upper-class students in the LLC have the ability to self-select a room assignment. Information on this process is presented each spring at a webinar. View the recording of the self-selection webinar held at 3:00 p.m. Monday, February 26, 2024.

Additional Information

Eligibility

Current members of the LLC must meet all eligibility requirements to be considered for a future LLC HFS Contract offer and must be active in the LLC during both fall and spring semesters. Each LLC will have a designated Housing Chair to track eligibility of members. The Housing Chair will also keep students informed of their status. Students who are participating in the LLC and programs will be made eligible to request an LLC HFS Contract the following academic year. If the student requests housing, the student will receive an LLC HFS Contract according to the LiveOn Housing Process timeline, which must be accepted before the offer expiration date.

By accepting the LLC HFS Contract, students are implying their understanding that their room assignment will be made to a room in the LLCs reserved space, unless participation requirements for spring semester are not met.

Current LLC members who want to live on campus, but not in the LLC, will need to Request Housing to be included in the LiveOn Housing Process. Due to their LLC membership, students will still receive an HFS Contract offer for the LLC but can let that offer expire. Once the LLC HFS Contract offer expires, students are then eligible to receive an invitation to select another housing option. 

Students who do not participate in the LLC during the spring semester and are no longer eligible to return to the LLC for the upcoming academic year will be reassigned to supplemental housing in another housing area.

Roommate Preferences

First-year students can indicate a roommate preference on the HFS Contract. Roommate preferences are not guaranteed to be honored, as some LLCs are not able to accommodate roommate preferences due to limited space. Priority is given to accommodate LLC requests for the space, versus assigning roommate pairs for non-members.

Upper-class students are eligible to self-select a room assignment. Students will be provided with the self-selection date/time, which will be based on the programmatic needs of the LLC. Some LLCs put students in semester-standing order, while some are based on points earned. Although the LLC HFS Contract will not allow a student to indicate a roommate preference, the students can self-select a room assignment together. Students who do not self-select a room assignment will have a random room assignment processed by the Housing Assignment Office. 

If the preferred roommate is not a part of the LLC, the request to be roommates should be submitted to the Housing Assignment Office from both student's Penn State email account. If the request is mutual and there is space available, students can be assigned together in the LLC. If another LLC member self-selects into the room, students may need to be assigned to another room to accommodate the request.