Between March 17 and March 21, the rising sophomore class selected their housing assignments for the 2025-26 academic year. Housing selection times were randomly assigned a few weeks before giving students with earlier times an unseen advantage. Although it didn’t seem to be a problem at the time, students with selection times between March 19 and March 21 would be forced to select overflow housing during their selection times. The housing selection process has become a period of unnecessary dread for students on campus.
The first two days of selection for rising sophomores posed relatively no problems as roommates selected assignments for their groups in popular residence halls such as Sheehan, Sullivan and Alumni. However, when the third day of selection rolled around, students were prompted with Stanford Hall, a freshman dorm located on South Campus. Although residence life communicated to rising sophomores via email that Stanford Hall will only house freshmen next year, students were still forced to select the residence hall as their assignment for next year until further notice.
This caused frustration amongst the current freshman class as all students currently listed under Stanford Hall do not know which area of campus or residence hall they will be living in next year. Students who wished to select a single room prior to selection time were also forced to be paired with random roommates as all single rooms in Corr, Austin and St. Mary Hall are occupied by students who residence life claims will most likely cancel for study abroad or off-campus housing. Although this may be true, there is no guarantee that this will be the case to the point where there are enough cancellations to occupy the number of students currently stuck in Stanford Hall. Rather, it is a matter of luck and patience.
Although this issue has been present in previous academic years and ultimately most students end up satisfied, what occurred in previous years is not necessarily a guarantee today. Although there is a very high chance that there will be a good number of cancellations that open up rooms for overflow housing and transfer students, the exact number of cancellations is undetermined and will not be fully known until late summer. For rising sophomores whose friends may have already finalized their housing assignment for next year, late summer is a long way ahead.
For students who find themselves in this situation, it is best to make sure that you have filled out the housing waitlist form.
The waitlist form can be found in the housing portal under ‘housing and dining forms.’ By completing this form, you are indicating to residence life that you were unable to be placed in your preferred residence hall or location on campus. The waitlist has already begun review by the office of residence life following the end of the housing selection period. It is best to make sure you have filled out this form earlier than later as the office of residence life reviews these forms on a rolling basis.
Overall, housing selection has been stressful for Villanova students in the past as well. However, Villanova is actively working to reduce stress with the implementation of the Cabrini College campus which will provide 900 additional beds for students increasing the number of seniors who can receive on-campus housing.
Housing selection will become less stressful in years to come, so it is best to stay patient and have faith that things will work out in favor of all students’ preferences.