Housing Application & Resident Agreement
The 2024-25 Housing Application is now available on the Good Living Portal. We look forward to you living on campus next year – it’s a great foundation for your Shepherd experience. The Housing Application includes a few components: signing the Resident Agreement, submitting your housing preferences, identifying emergency contacts, and selecting a meal plan. Residents select their rooms at a later time and more information can be found here.
Learn about the 4 Room Selection Processes and Single Occupancy Rooms
- Log into the Good Living Portal
- Select Applications & Forms in the menu
- Select & complete the 2024-25 Housing Application and the Resident Agreement.
- Choose your space during Room Selection. Returning students will begin selecting spaces in February. New students will begin selecting space in March.
Resident Agreement:
- Because of its educational value, Shepherd University has a residency requirement for all students to live on campus unless they meet certain eligibility criteria.
- Carefully read the Resident Agreement before signing it. Students who are under 18 years of age must have a parent or guardian co-sign the Resident Agreement; request for this is made via email to the person listed in the Parent/Guardian section of the Contact form.
- Reminder: Signing and submitting your application is a binding commitment that is not easily ended.
- There are very few reasons why a Resident Agreement can be canceled after it has been signed. For example, being 21 years of age is only an exception BEFORE it is signed. Being at least 21 years of age is NOT a reason for an exception AFTER it is signed. See more information here.
- If you are unsure of your plans for the upcoming year, you can wait to complete the form. When you are ready, we will have housing available.
- Read the new section 23 that includes information about Shepherd’s compliance with the WV Campus Self-Defense Act of 2023.
How to Submit Your Housing Preferences:
Your requests on the Housing Application let us know your preference for a specific hall or housing style. Actual availability of specific spaces depends on factors such as requests from other students.
Options include:
- Accommodations – Residents with approved Accommodations through the Office of Accessibility Services will select their own spaces in most situations. Spaces are reserved within all housing styles, but specific placements are not guaranteed. Residents are responsible for initiating requests with the Office of Accessibility Services, which provides reasonable accommodations to students with disabilities in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and its amendments.
- Double-occupancy: This is the most common option selected by students. Double occupancy rooms mean that two people are direct roommates within the same bedroom. Select this on question #15 of the “My Information” page of the Housing Application.
- Encore: This option enables a student to return in 2024-25 to the same housing style, not a specific room, as they occupy during Fall 2023. Select this on Question #16 of the “My Information” page of the Housing Application. Must apply by January 19, 2024.
- Gender Inclusive – Residents of any gender may request to live together. Residents must completely fill all spaces within the entire suite or apartment; Residence Life does not match people for this housing option. Select this option on the “Living Requests” page of the Housing Application. The group will communicate directly with the Housing Assignments Coordinator to select a space.
- Hall –You can identify up to three halls where you would like to live; the availability of spaces depends on selections of other students. Select this option on the “Living Requests” page of the Housing Application.
- Honors – Martin Hall is prioritized for students enrolled in the Honors Program. Select this option on the “Living Requests” page of the Housing Application.
- Single occupancy – This option is limited to only 100 students across all housing styles; single occupancy rooms have a higher cost than double occupancy rooms. Must apply by Friday, January 19. Select this on question #15 of the “My Information” page of the Housing Application. Students applying after January 19 must add their names to a single occupancy waiting list on the Good Living Portal.
Roommate Requests:
- After you and your roommates/suitemates submit your Housing Applications, you can request each other as roommates on the Good Living Portal > Room & Roommate Selection > Select Roommates.
- All requested roommate(s) must have Housing Applications on file before you can select each other.
- Mutually requesting each other is important to make sure that you are placed together. If you are not linked, someone else may select a space within the room that one of you requests.
- If all roommates are linked to each other, then one person can select the space and the others will be automatically added.
What are the Housing Styles?
- Traditional: Shaw and Thacher halls
- WestWoods suites: Boteler, Lurry, Martin (Honors), Yost, Miller (graduate students) halls. Moler Hall is reserved primarily for students in accordance with the WV Campus Self-Defense Act of 2023.
- Potomac: Potomac Place
- Apartment: Dunlop and Printz halls
Room Selection Timeline:
| Monday, December 4 | Housing Application opens on the Good Living Portal > Applications & Forms > 2024-25 Housing Application |
| Friday, January 19 | Deadline to apply to live in a single occupancy room. Deadline to “Encore” a double occupancy room to guarantee returning to the same housing style, not necessarily the same room. Residence Life assigns the location. Deadline to “Encore” a single occupancy room to guarantee returning to a single in the same housing style, not necessarily the same space for people living in bought or ADA singles in Fall 2023. Residence Life assigns the location. |
| Saturday, January 20 – going forward | Residents requesting a single occupancy room January 20 and beyond must add their names to the wait list on the Good Living Portal. All people who submitted Resident Agreements by January 19 will be given first consideration. |
| Friday, February 2 | Applications received between December 4 and February 2 will participate in the first round of room selection on February 13 – 16. Only returning students participate in this process. |
| Friday, March 1 | Applications received between February 3 and March 1 will participate in the second round of room selection on March 19 – 21. New first time, transfer and readmit students begin to select spaces during this time period. |
| Friday, April 5 | Applications received between March 2 and April 5 will participate in the third round of room selection April 16 – 18. |
| Friday, May 3 | Applications received between April 6 and May 3 will participate in the fourth round of room selection May 14 – 16. |
| Saturday, May 4 – going forward | Applications received May 4 or later will be assigned by Residence Life staff. |