Our goal with the First Year Experience is to provide you with an academically and socially supportive environment so you can meet new people, immerse yourself in the UNC culture, and establish valuable academic connections.

Our staff of dedicated Resident Advisors is trained to provide you with a myriad of opportunities for leadership, community service, cultural awareness, and continuous self-discovery.

Yes. If you are a traditional first-year student who has never lived on a college campus, you are required to live on campus (UNC Department of Housing and Residential Education) or at Granville Towers. Note that contracts are not transferable between the two.

Most first-year students will be assigned to live in one of the designated First Year Experience communities: Connor, Craige, Ehringhaus, Hinton James, Manning East, and Manning West. However, first-year students can apply to live in one of the Living-Learning Communities (LLCs), which are spread across campus and are not necessarily located in First Year Experience communities.

All of the applications that are received by May 15 are assigned a random lottery number. The lottery number determines the order in which the system will process the 3,000+ applications on file.

To make your housing assignment, the system identifies your preferences and seeks vacant rooms starting with your first choice and progressing down the list. If nothing is available in any of the locations you preferenced, a random housing assignment is made.

No. Because applications are randomly ordered before assignments are made, all students who submit an application by May 15 will receive equal chance of getting assigned to one of their preferences. 

Yes. By clicking “Submit” on the housing application, you are agreeing to the Housing Contract which is a contractual agreement for the entire academic year.

Typically first-year students who met the May 15 priority date will receive their assignment confirmation in early June.  Confirmation is initially sent by email. You can also view your assignment online at myhousing.unc.edu. Transfers will receive confirmation (or notice that they are on a wait list) by mid-June. 

Residence halls will close for Thanksgiving, Winter Break and Spring Break, but you can apply for temporary break housing in Craige Hall. If you know you will need break housing, you might want to preference Craige Hall on your housing application; that way you can stay in your own room when halls close.

First-year students will be assigned to double occupancy rooms at a rate of $2,878 per student, per semester ($5,756 per student, per academic year). See housing.unc.edu/rates for pricing of other room types.

Rates include all utilities: standard cable (with select channels in HD), wired high-speed internet in room, wireless high-speed internet in common areas, water/sewer/trash and electric. All rooms are air-conditioned.

For students who applied by May 15, your student account will be billed in July and payments will be due to the Office of University Accounts. You will not make a payment directly to the Housing office.

Although Granville Towers is considered a partner to UNC Housing with regard to residence life staff, Granville Towers is managed by a private entity, and contracts are issued independently of the Department of Housing and Residential Education.It’s important to note that contracts are not transferable between UNC Housing and Granville Towers.

Carolina’s Living-Learning Communities (LLCs) give students a unique, inclusive residential learning experience that connects classroom learning with residence life. Students enjoy all the usual advantages of living on campus in a residence hall, with the added benefit of living among a group of students eager to make connections and explore their passions and interests.

The activities and involvement expected of Living-Learning Community residents vary from group to group. In general, participants can expect to make a commitment of 2-4 hours each week dedicated to meeting on a regular basis with the group, planning and participating in seminars and discussion groups, leading social events, and interacting with faculty.

Not at all! Two of the Living-Learning Communities are located within First Year Experience communities (Service & Leadership and Spanish House). This could be considered the best of both worlds, because residents can participate in programs for both the community at large and their Living-Learning Community.

The other Living-Learning Communities typically house several first-year students, so residents will certainly meet other students who are new to Carolina. And residents will also have the chance to connect with sophomores and juniors in the community who can provide valuable support.

Throughout the year, residents are immersed in other cultures through a variety of academic and social events including lectures, travel presentations and discussions covering current events, cuisine, cinema, popular culture, theater and music.

Women Experiencing Learning and Leadership (WELL) seeks to nurture an environment that supports, empowers, and inspires students in all aspects of their well-being, enabling them to impact the Carolina campus and community at large.  The program focuses on different aspects of women’s lives including the challenges women face on a personal, local, national, and global level. 

The goal of this Living-Learning Community is to promote a holistic view of health and reach beyond the traditional view of substance-free living. Residents are dedicated to living active, healthy lifestyles and exploring the mind-body-spirit connection through programs and active engagement in the campus and local community.

Residents seek to understand and appreciate the motivations behind and possibilities of sustainability. Students are encouraged to explore their own values, assumptions, and awareness regarding sustainable living and apply that exploration towards personal, communal, and external education and outreach initiatives.

UNITAS is dedicated to erasing stereotypes and prejudice based on gender, race, nationality, religion and sexual orientation. Programs focus on building community, tolerance and understanding among individuals of diverse backgrounds and spreading these values throughout the larger community.

The Service and Leadership Living-Learning Community strives to enhance the residential and academic experience of participants by creating a vibrant community of socially conscious individuals focused on developing exemplary leadership skills through service-learning.

You may submit a Living-Learning Community application after you submit your housing application at myhousing.unc.edu. Look for a tab at the top of the application labeled “LLC/SIH.”

The LLC application closes June 21, 2013, but if you are interested in an LLC, you should apply early. Applications are processed on a rolling basis and assignments are made as students are accepted.

Sure! You may request a roommate when you apply online for housing. It is important that both students list each other on their applications. You can make roommate changes on your application up until May 15.

If you are applying to an LLC, you can request a roommate, but both students will have to be accepted into the LLC in order to room together.

If you don’t have a roommate in mind, don’t worry! We will place you with another first-year student who is also going “potluck” - it’s quite common.

Or if you want to search for a roommate, use the roommate finding feature within myhousing.unc.edu to meet other students and find someone with compatible living and study habits.

Beginning after the second week of fall semester and continuing throughout the academic year, students can request a room change through their community office.

–Submit a housing application online at myhousing.unc.edu.

–Priority Deadline: MAY 15

–All applications received by May 15 are assigned a random lottery  number. The lottery number determines the order in which the system will make your housing assignment.

–If you miss the May 15 deadline, you can still apply. We will have enough housing for all who apply.

Follow the Residence Life blog and UNC Housing Facebook page during the summer to read about what life in campus housing is really like!