A. As a freshman in the first-year class of the University, you are required to live in on-campus housing for your first academic year at Binghamton regardless of credit hours earned prior to attending Binghamton. You are exempt from this policy if you have dependents, live at home locally (Broome or Tioga County) or are over 21 years of age.
A. No. Although you are guaranteed on-campus housing, you have the option to live either on or off campus.
A. After you complete and submit your web-based housing preference form, an email confirmation will be sent to your University email address verifying that your completed form has been received. You can also log back into the online housing system and review your form.
A. You can request a specific roommate when completing the web-based housing form. Requests for roommates that are not mutual will not be honored. To ensure that your requests can be met, we recommend that both preference forms be submitted via the web application as soon as possible after the first form is submitted. We are unable to make any housing assignment involving roommate requests until all information is received from both parties.
A. If you do not have a mutual roommate request, roommate(s) will be randomly assigned. As much as possible, we attempt to house freshmen with other freshmen and transfer students with upperclass students. However, because of space limitations, this is not always possible, and it may be necessary to house a freshman with an upperclass student.
A. Since we will be housing approximately 2,800 new students it is not possible for us to accept additions or changes to housing preferences after the Housing Preference Form is submitted. Make sure the information you supply on the web form is accurate.
A. We begin notifying new students via their University email account of their community assignment as soon as they are housed. If you haven’t received your community assignment by the time you attend Orientation, check the housing list in the Hospitality Room. If your name does not appear on the list, leave your name with a Residential Life representative at the Information Fair. We will contact you regarding your request. You will receive your hall assignment and roommate, suitemate, or apartmentmate information around the beginning of August via your University email account.
A. You will receive your specific room assignment when you arrive at the hall to which you have been assigned.
A. You will be given an opportunity to request changes by placing your name on a waiting list on the second Monday of classes, and you will be reassigned as space permits. Additionally, we offer a housing reassignment process near the end of the fall semester for students wanting a change for the spring semester.
Our experience has been that most students are satisfied with their initial housing assignment. In the unlikely event that this is not the case for you, the hall staff will assist in working out any concerns or in relocating you after the first two weeks of the semester.
A. At the beginning of the fall semester, there may be some need to temporarily house three students in a room designed for two. Students assigned with two additional roommates will be reassigned to rooms with only one roommate at the earliest possible opportunity.
A. To continue in the tradition of a residential community, it is important that every community has equal number of new students and returning residents; thus some residents will be displaced for the Fall 2008 semester to provide space for new students. If you are a displaced resident, you will receive a higher housing reservation priority than residents who are not displaced.
A. All information pertaining to room, bed and window sizes is provided with your community assignment email, and is also available on this website. Beds are extra-long cot size, and sheets for these beds are normally available at most department stores.
A. Individual rooms do not have air conditioning units. Some residence hall buildings have building-wide cooling units with some individual control of temperature. In a residence hall with a cooling unit, students are able to regulate the temperature in their suite/apartment between 75 and 80 degrees during the cooling season. The cooling system is not available during the heating season that typically begins around Columbus Day and continues through mid-April. Cooling systems are available in Mohawk Hall in College-in-the-Woods, Rockland and Saratoga houses in Hillside Community and in the buildings of Mountainview College.
A. Most residence halls do not have air circulation or filtration systems. In the typical residence hall, air is circulated through the use of doors, windows and bathroom fans. Air circulation and filtration equipment is located in Mountainview College, Mohawk Hall in College-in-the-Woods and in Rockland and Saratoga houses in Hillside Community. In these buildings, fresh air is brought in from the outside, filtered and exhausted to the outside continuously throughout the day.
A. It is not possible to regulate the temperature in most of the residence halls. Temperature is regulated by a computer from the central heating plant. In some halls, students do have access to individual temperature-control thermostats and they may regulate the heat or cooling, depending on the season. Heat may be regulated between 65 and 70 degrees, and cooling between 75 and 80 degrees.
A. A typical room is furnished with two desks, a floor lamp, two single beds, two dressers, two closets or a wardrobe, and window blinds. Many students add rugs and curtains; it is recommended that you wait until you arrive before purchasing such items. You may decorate your room, suite, or apartment with the understanding that you will be responsible for any damage (holes, adhesive marks, paint stripped from walls, etc.).
A. As a new student you are allowed to move into your room on Thursday, August 23. Halls open at 9am. If you are on our list to attend the last Orientation session in August, you will be allowed to move into your room on Wednesday, August 22 after 9am.
A. In the Learning Community program, learning that occurs in the classroom carries over into your living experience. You attend class with other residents of your residential community, which allows for group studying and collaborative learning – including your instructors holding classes and office hours in your residential community.
A. Participation in a Learning Community building and class(es) is determined on a first-come, first-served basis. You can apply for a Learning Community by indicating a Learning Community choice on your Housing Preference Form. You can also express an interest or request more information in a Learning Community by visiting: http://reslife.binghamton.edu/learningcommunities. At this site you will also find course descriptions and further information about the programs benefits.
A. Learning Communities are offered in College-in-the-Woods, Dickinson Community, Hinman College, Mountainvew College and Newing College.
A. Orientation for new students takes place in July. For students not able to attend July sessions, a final session is offered in late August. You will receive information about summer Orientation directly form Campus Life. There is a separate fee for this program. Direct your questions about Orientation to 607-777-2878.
A. Freshmen are not permitted to park a vehicle on campus.
A. Yes, Campus Mail Services will accept packages shipped by private shippers or the US Postal Service after August 10th. If you are ordering a shipment to be delivered by a private shipper, the shipper will not deliver to a PO Box; therefore you should substitute “4400 Vestal Parkway East” for the PO Box number. When your shipment arrives, Campus Mail Services will send a notice of arrival to your BU email address.
A. The room rent due for the semester will be included on the bill that you receive from the Student Accounts Office in July. Students who have not yet been assigned to housing at the time the bill is generated will automatically be charged the “designated double” rate. Accounts of all students will be audited in late September or early October to verify the accuracy of charges.
A. The University’s primary means of conveying official information to you is through your Binghamton University email account, often through “B-Line,” a daily electronic newsletter. Important communication is also occasionally sent to the voice mail of your room phone or to your post office box in your campus community. It is your responsibility to check these sources of communication regularly.