New Student Information

From finding your first residence in Gambier to pairing roommates, the Office of Residential Life is here to assist you along the way. The first step is filling out the first year housing application form in your student portal. Learn more about our first-year housing options.

Before you begin, we have a few helpful recommendations.

• Be honest. First and foremost, you have to be honest. We haven’t had a chance to get to know you personally yet, so we take the information you provide in your housing application as our compass for pairing you with a compatible roommate. If you live best in a maximalist and cluttered environment, that’s okay, just let us know.
• Be realistic. We know that the transition to college is huge and that the person you are now may not look exactly the same at this time next year. Don’t try to estimate how your sleep schedule may change or what your study habits may look like. We want the reality of your current sleep schedule and study habits rather than the aspirational. Which brings us to our next point…
• Be flexible. College is about growth and Kenyon expects students to learn more about themselves and others during their time here. We look at every single housing application and every single response (somewhere around a few tens of thousands individual data points) and we try really hard to get it right, but there is no perfect formula for the work we do. We ask that you trust us to make matches that are compatible but also dynamic.

Important Definitions

• Gender inclusive: All campus housing is gender-inclusive; students of any gender-identity can live in any room with any individual of any gender-identity.  On the housing application, students can mark their gender-identity and mark their preferences for the gender-identity of their roommate. There are women’s, gender-inclusive, and men’s bathrooms in every building. Bathroom locations in each building are designated on our website.
• Animal-free: Pets are not allowed on campus; however, students may request an emotional support animal from our Student Accessibility and Support Services (SASS) Office. Students with an approved ESA can express a preference for most buildings, but please take note that Mather & Lewis are designated as an animal-free spaces.
• Single: Rooms designated as a “single” house one person.
• Double: Rooms designated as a “double” house two persons.
• Triple: Rooms designated as a “triple” house three persons.

Submit Your Housing Preferences

The housing preference form will be available on May 1 for deposited students when you log into your student portal. Look for an email with additional information. The priority deadline for first-year housing applications is June 1, 2023. This is also the priority deadline for housing accommodation requests with SASS. Housing assignments are released in mid-July.

Residence Details

Once you know your housing assignment, you'll be able to find your room dimensions, view photos of typical rooms and more.

Roommate Information 

Along with housing assignments, student roommate information will be released in late-July on your student portal. There you will find the first and last name(s) and Kenyon email address(es) of your roommate(s).

During Orientation, first-year students with roommates are given a roommate living agreement to help them get to know each other and discuss topics that are important for successful roommate relationships, from sleep and cleaning habits to shared belongings and visitor preferences.