The Different Processes for On-Campus Living
Housing Accommodations
If you feel you qualify for a housing accommodation based on a documented medical need, please contact the Office of Accessibility Services. Accessibility Services is the only designated office at the College for students to voluntarily disclose a disability(ies), submit appropriate documentation for verification, and request accommodations. Accessibility Services coordinates and provides accommodations to students with all types of disabilities.
For additional information about applying for an accommodation, please click this link: https://www.amherst.edu/mm/489760.
For additional information specific to types of housing accommodations, please click this link: https://www.amherst.edu/mm/489548
For information about religiously-based housing accommodations, please begin by completing this form reviewed by the Director, or Staff Chaplains, of the Amherst College Center for Religious and Spiritual Life (RSL).
Theme Communities
The College has a variety of theme and language communities available for students to join. Interested students will apply through the housing portal like all other application processes. If you accept theme community membership, you will be taken out of the general Housing Selection Process. After accepting, if you decide to drop out of a theme community, you will be put at the end of the Wait List. Theme community selections will either take place in person or online, depending on the theme community's preference.
All applications are the same, regardless of the theme community, but some theme communities may request additional information as well.
General Housing Selection – What is Special Interest Housing?
Special interest housing is not a theme community, and any student may select into these rooms. Students who select into special interest housing will be expected to follow the specific qualities of the community. The current special interests are 'quiet community' and 'all-women'.
In quiet communities (Chapman, Morrow, Seligman, Tyler, and Wieland), residents are expected to prevent loud conversations and music from permeating across rooms, hallways, and gathering spaces. We cannot guarantee these communities will always be silent, but the purpose and intention is to provide an expectation that residents will make increased effort to minimize sound disruption.
The single gender floors, welcome any and all persons of a particular gender identity. The locations of single gender floors varies from year to year.
Proxies
Students who choose to select by proxy should describe their preferences to the Office of Student Affairs Operations, who will act as proxy. The Office of Student Affairs Operations will send an email to confirm.
Portal Screen Name
Your ‘Student Name’ in the portal functions separately from a ‘Web Screen Name’. The Web Screen Name in the portal only serves one function, which is roommate grouping. The Web Screen Name is simply there for students to find one another in the portal in order to form Room Groups. Therefore, the Web Screen Name IS NOT refreshed/updated by Amherst College student records.
Why is this information important?
If you are a student who lived off-campus last year, or lived in a Theme Community, or only selected on your own (not in a group) you may have a year-old screen name. Again, the Screen Name is separate from your official name in the Housing Portal. The Screen Name IS NOT refreshed/updated by Amherst College student records.
How do I change a screen name?
One can change their Screen Name on the Roommate Matching page. The Office of Student Affairs Operations will also change a Screen Name by request from any student (using their Amherst College email) by contacting osaops@amherst.edu. For any student who does not wish to encounter their Screen Name, we do not need you to log in before requesting a Screen Name change. Please contact OSAOps@amherst.edu directly for immediate support. Persons who choose a name that is different from the name assigned to them do so for any number of reasons. The Office of Student Affairs Operations acknowledges that for some persons, the unexpected confrontation by a ‘birth name ‘or ‘dead name’ can evoke pain. It’s our intention to provide a path through the Housing Portal that identifies students accurately and affirmatively.
Living Off-Campus
If you are interested in applying to live off campus, please find out more information on this page.