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First-Year Process

No place like home

OU will be your home away from home. You’ll have access to the people and places you need to live your best life. With a variety of communities, floor plans and amenities, our residence halls are designed to foster community and friendship. All first-year students must live in freshman-designated university housing for two semesters.
 

  • The 2025-2026 first-year housing contract open November 15.

  • Students must be admitted to OU before they can complete the housing contract. 

  • Room selection access times will be determined by your enrollment deposit date. To receive a room selection access time, you must pay your enrollment deposit by May 1 and complete your housing contract. 

  • Students have the option to request one specific roommate within the housing contract. They will also be able to select their community preference/living-style and meal plan.
     
Two male roommates talking to one another in their room in Headington College


 


 


 

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Contract Process


 


 

Step One: Submit Your Enrollment Deposit (Tell Us You’re Coming!)

Pay your enrollment deposit by May 1.

Your room selection access time will be determined by your enrollment deposit date.



Step Two: Complete Your Housing Contract

Submit your housing contract by May 1 to receive your access time.

Your answers will help us provide you with roommate suggestions once you get to the Roommate Request(s) page.

The preferences collected on this page will only be used if you do not select your room (refer to the room selection information below).

All first-year students are required to have a meal plan.

These pages include listing FERPA, missing person and emergency contacts, a meningitis waiver and the terms and conditions of the contract.

Review the selections you have made and submit your contract.




 

Step Three: Form your Roommate Pair (Optional) 

Forming a roommate pair will allow a student to select open beds for themselves and another student during the room selection process.

You can form a roommate pair by searching for a specific person, browsing suggested roommates or searching based on specific answers to profile questions.

Students don’t need to pick a roommate in order to complete the application or participate in room selection.
 

  • To maximize your chance of living with a preferred roommate, it is important to form your pair before room selection begins.

  • To create a roommate pair, one student must send a roommate request and the other student must accept the request.

  • Know where you both want to live. Be familiar with our locations, rates and room types.
One female student sits at a desk in Couch Center and talks to her roommate who is studying on a bed.




 

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Important Dates


 

ASAP: Pay Your Enrollment Deposit

  • You can pay your enrollment deposit as soon as you are admitted.

  • Your room selection access time will be determined by your enrollment deposit payment date.

November 15: Housing Contract Opens

  • You can complete the housing contract anytime between November 15 - May 1. There is no need to rush through the contract process.

  • You must complete the housing contract and pay the enrollment deposit to be eligible to participate in room selection.

  • To maximize your chance of living with a preferred roommate, it is important to form your pair between before room selection begins.

  • Students don’t need to pick a roommate in order to complete the contract or participate in room selection.

May 1: Room Selection Eligibility Deadline

 It is important to:

 

  • Check your OU email account frequently so you don't miss any important information and for your room selection access time. 
  • Communicate with your roommate regarding your living preferences prior to room selection.

 

Mid-May: Room Selection

Log into the housing portal as soon as possible during your room selection access time.




 

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Frequently Asked Questions


 


 

Housing Contract Process

Log into the housing portal to begin your contract.

In order to log in to the housing portal using your OUNetID or OU email address, you will need to set up your OU account at one.ou.edu/account/general, if you have not already done so. In addition, you will be required to sign various pages of the contract with your 9-digit Sooner ID, so make sure you have that handy.

Some other helpful items to have ready are contact information (phone number(s) and email address) for anyone you might designate as a Proxy or emergency contact, and 9-Digit Sooner ID numbers for any potential roommates you know you want to request.

Check out our First-Year Housing Contract Preparation Worksheet (PDF) to get a preview of what to expect.

There is no specific deadline to apply for housing. However, please keep in mind that your completion date determines your eligibility to participate in room selection.

Upon completion, you will receive an email with a summary of your contract and a copy of the terms and conditions of the contract.

Proxy/FERPA Information

A parent or legal guardian who has the legal authority to make decisions about their student’s education and living arrangement when their student is less than 18 years old.

Students under the age of 18 who are entering into a housing contract are required to designate a Proxy.

Your Proxy should be a person, such as a parent or legal guardian, who has the legal authority to make decisions about your education and living arrangement while pursuing an education.

During the contract process, you will designate a Proxy by entering their name, email address and relationship to you. Your Proxy will receive an email from housinginfo@ou.edu with a link to complete the agreement.

A copy of the student’s meningitis waiver and terms and conditions of the contract. The Proxy may be held responsible for violations of the contract while the student is under the age of 18.

Students under the age of 18 will not be able to complete their contract until their Proxy has completed the agreement.

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act is a federal law that requires the University to keep your education records confidential. This means the University cannot disclose these records to others without your permission, which may include your parents or legal guardians. More information about your rights is located at FERPA (ou.edu/registrar/academic-records/ferpa).

Your Proxy will have limited access to your housing information if they are not also listed as a FERPA contact.

Roommates

Forming a roommate pair will allow a student to select open beds for themselves and another student during the room selection process.

You can have one confirmed roommate to form a roommate pair.

  • Make sure that you are using the correct Sooner ID number.

  • Make sure your roommate has started their housing contract. Only students who have started a housing contract can be located as roommates.

You will receive an email from housinginfo@ou.edu to your OU email account and your personal email account (if we have one on file for you).

Yes, you will have the option to send your potential roommate a message via the housing portal where you can exchange contact information should you choose to do so.

You will be able to view outgoing, incoming and mutual requests on the Roommate Request page of your contract as well as the Summary and Agreement page.

If you participate in room selection, you are welcome to choose any open space available. When viewing a room that already has an occupied space, you will be able to see the current occupants’ names and send them a portal message. You can connect with them to determine if you want to select that room.

If you choose a space in an already occupied room or if you select a vacant room and another student selects the other space later, you will be able to see all current occupants’ names and OU email addresses on the Room Selection home page once you select your room. You can connect with them to determine if you want to keep that room or change it.

If you do not participate in room selection, housing will place you based on your contract preferences and lifestyle questions.

Room Selection

During room selection, you will get to select your exact room! Every student will be given a room selection access time and access times will be assigned based on enrollment deposit payment date. More specific information about the process will be provided to you soon. Keep an eye on your OU email account so you don’t miss any important information! 

Room selection begins mid-May.

  • Review locations, room types and room rates in advance. Have several options in mind in case your first choice is not available.

  • Talk to your roommate to make sure you agree about what you want to select.

  • Only one roommate needs to assign the pair. Decide who is responsible for assigning the pair.

  • Know your access time. Access times will be sent to your OU email account in early May.
  • Access times are assigned based on enrollment deposit payment date.

  • Students must complete the housing contract and pay the enrollment deposit to receive an access time. 

Once your access time is active, it will remain open until the end of the room selection process. You can log in any time after it is open to search for and select your room. 

Students who do not participate in room selection will be assigned based on their application completion date and remaining inventory after the room selection process has ended. Available inventory will be extremely limited after room selection has ended and you may be assigned to any room type.

We collect preference information from all students just in case they do not participate in room selection.

  • During room selection you will be able to choose any room you are eligible for, regardless of your preferences. Preferences will only be taken into consideration if you do not participate in room selection.

  • To change your preferences, log back into the housing portal.
  • Access times will be assigned based on enrollment deposit date. You can pay your enrollment deposit as soon as you are admitted to the University of Oklahoma. 

  • Log in as early as your access time allows.

You will be able to filter your options by community. In co-ed communities, students of all gender identities will live on the same floor, hall or wing, and bedrooms and bathrooms will be assigned as same-sex spaces.

  • The roommate with the earliest access time will have the most available options.

  • Either roommate can make the initial room assignment for both members of the pair. Talk to your roommate to decide who is responsible for assigning the pair. 

  • Once assigned, each individual is responsible for making any changes to their own assignment.

You will receive a confirmation email when you are assigned to a room. You will also be able to log in to the housing portal and see your room assignment on the Room Selection home page.

You can log into the housing portal, go to the room selection home page and choose Change My Room to select a different available room. Or you can choose Swap My Room to request to trade rooms with another student.


 





Keep an eye on your OU email account so you don't miss any important information!