Housing Preference Application
All new students are expected to submit a Housing Preference Application.
- If you register for a RAP before submitting the Housing Preference Application, you simply need to confirm your participation and list any preferred roommates that you may have on the Housing Preference Application.
- If you register for a RAP but do not submit the Housing Preference Application before July 1, you will be assigned a room in the building where that RAP is located, but won't be able request a roommate or a single room (both of these requests are made on the Housing Preference Application).
- If you register for a RAP after submitting the Housing Preference Application, you must resubmit your Housing Preference Application. Since you will not be able to confirm your space in the RAP, please update your Housing Preference Application so that the residential area where your RAP is located is listed as your first preference.
- If you cancel your RAP registration after submitting the Preference Application, you must resubmit your Preference Application with your rank ordered residential area preferences before the deadline. If you do not resubmit your Preference Application, you run the risk of being placed in any open room without your preferences being considered.
Your First-Year Room Assignment
Students who register for a RAP will be assigned to live in the residence hall where the RAP is located for the entire academic year.
Roommates & RAP
Roommate restriction information is listed with each program on the RAP and Application RAP pages.
If you are registered for a RAP with a roommate restriction you must live with a student who is registered for the same RAP. You can request a specific roommate on the Housing Preference Application. If you do not request a roommate, Residential Life Assignments will assign you to a room with another student in your RAP.
If you are registered for a RAP without a roommate restriction you can request to live with a student who is:
- Not registered for any RAP.
- Registered for a different RAP without a roommate restriction located in the same residence hall.
You cannot request to live with a student registered for a different RAP located in a different residence hall. To be able to request each other as roommates, one of you will need to cancel your RAP registration.
Find contact information for other students in your RAP
Once you have registered for a RAP, you are able to view the contact information of other students in your RAP if you choose to share your information and if they choose to share their information.
Follow these steps to find the contact information of other students in your RAP:
- Log into the RAP Placement System
- Select "Update my sharing preferences"
- Select "I agree to share my information with others in my RAP"
- Select "View my RAP Classmates"
- Select “see others in my RAP”
If you wish to live with one of these students as your roommate, you must mutually request each other on the Preference Application. To complete a mutual roommate request, you and your preferred roommate must:
- Sign the Residence Hall Occupancy License and submit the Housing Profile on SPIRE
- Request your preferred roommate on the Preference Application. You must list identical housing preferences and add your preferred roommate to the roommate preference section
Housing Accommodations for RAP Students
Student Success Academic Programs is committed to the accessibility of our programs for first-year and transfer students who want to participate in RAP. We work closely with Residential Life Assignments to ensure students who have registered accommodations with Disability Services live in a residence hall and learn in a classroom that meets their needs. This means we will relocate program or classroom locations as needed.
Gender-Inclusive Housing
At this time, we do not offer RAPs in residence halls with Gender-Inclusive Housing. However, we do offer RAPs in residence halls with Gender-Inclusive Restrooms. These first-year residence halls with RAPs all have Gender-Inclusive Restrooms:
- Cance (Southwest)
- Moore (Southwest)
- Knowlton (Northeast)
- Webster (Orchard Hill)
- Van Meter (Central)
- Sycamore (CHCRC)
Learn more about Gender-Inclusive Housing and Restrooms at UMass.
Break Housing
For Fall 2024, two first-year residence halls will have break housing options for first-year students: Gorman Hall in Central Residential Area and James Hall in Southwest Residential Area.
If you need break housing and want to join a RAP, you should aim to join a RAP you are eligible for and that has space in either Gorman Hall or James Hall. Review the full list of RAPs on the RAP and Application RAP pages.
If you join a RAP in Gorman Hall or James Hall and need break housing, email living@umass.edu and let Residential Life Assignments know that you are a RAP student in one of these residence halls who needs break housing. RAP students cannot request break housing on the Preference Application.
If you cannot join any of the RAPs located in either Gorman or James Hall, Residential Life Assignments strongly recommends not joining a RAP and instead applying for break housing on the Preference Application (available June 1-July 1) in Southwest or Central Residential Areas.
Single rooms
All spaces held for RAP students are in shared rooms.
If there are single rooms in the residence hall where your RAP is located, then you will have the option to request a single room when you complete your Preference Application. If the option to request a single on the Preference Application is grayed out, then there are no single rooms available in or near your residence hall.
Please note that single rooms are limited, and we are unable to guarantee all students who request a single room will be assigned to a single room. If Residential Life Assignments is unable to assign you to a single room, you will be assigned to a shared room in your RAP.
Requesting a room change after the fall semester begins
You are able to request a room assignment change mid-semester and remain in your RAP course. You can find more information about change processes on the Residential Life website. If your course takes place in a residence hall where you no longer live, you will have UCard access for that residence hall about 15 minutes before the RAP class begins until the end of class time.