Housing

On-campus housing

We encourage you to live in a residence hall, particularly during your freshman year. Although residing on campus is not required, living in a residence hall will provide you with many advantages — a supportive atmosphere, services, conveniences and a better chance to get to know your classmates.

The first-year experience within freshman residence halls involves lots of fun social activities and programs. There are more than 40 resident assistants, graduate resident directors and professional staff members who will become actively involved with you, helping in your social and educational transition to the university. The resident assistants are carefully selected upper-level students who receive intensive training to oversee residence hall floors.

Residence hall basics

• 24-hour security – residents must use their VCU ID cards to access the buildings.
• Computer labs, mail service, laundry facilities, lounges and basic furnishings for each room are provided in all residence halls.
• Students living in the freshman halls must subscribe to a meal plan, except students assigned to the Gladding Residence Center Apartments.
• All rooms are wired for Internet access and cable TV.
• All traditional dorm and suite-style residence halls are smoke free. Students residing in apartment-style residence halls may smoke with the expressed consent of their apartment-mates.

Residence halls

Rhoads, Johnson and Brandt halls and the Gladding Residence Center Suites (GRC 2 and 3) are freshman communities located on the VCU Monroe Park campus. Rhoads and Johnson are high-rise, traditional dorm-style halls set up for coeducational living, with each floor designated either all-female or all-male. Brandt is a suite-style high-rise, with each suite designated male or female. The GRC Suites are also either all-female or all-male in this four-story complex. The majority of rooms in all these halls are doubles (two students sharing one room). West Grace Street Housing, also located on the Monroe Park campus, houses male and female freshmen and upperclass Honors Program students in single rooms. Cabaniss Hall is a high-rise, traditional dorm-style freshman residence hall located on the MCV Campus downtown; rooms in this hall are doubles, with each floor designated all-female or all-male. Students residing in any of these freshmen halls are required to purchase a VCU Dining Services meal plan.

The Gladding Residence Center Apartments (GRC 1) on the Monroe Park campus offer a more independent living option for freshmen, with each apartment providing a living room and full kitchen. The majority of rooms are doubles, and students assigned to this residential facility are not required to purchase a meal plan.

Upperclassmen students may choose to live in the Ackell Residence Center, the Broad and Belvidere Apartments and RAMZ Hall, all of which are apartment-style residence facilities located on the Monroe Park campus. The new Monroe Park Campus II residence hall (located at the corner of Belvidere and Cary Street and scheduled to open in fall 2008) is an apartment-style community also for upperclassmen, with floors reserved exclusively for students enrolled in the Arts, Engineering and Business schools.

Options

Though every effort is made to grant as many housing preferences as possible, students are urged to complete their online housing application as early as possible to better ensure their first choice of residence hall, room style and roommate. For more information, visit the VCU Residential Life and Housing Web site at www.housing.vcu.edu.

How residence hall assignments are made

New incoming freshmen and upperclassmen transfer students may submit an online housing application after receiving their official acceptance to the university. Students access the online application system at www.housing.vcu.edu, via the VCU Residential Gateway link. This link is accessible in early March for students applying for fall semester housing and in early November for those seeking spring semester housing.

Housing is guaranteed for freshmen whose online housing application is completed by June 1, which includes the university’s receipt of a $250 housing pre-payment fee (also payable online). Every effort will be made to provide housing for all freshman applicants but is not guaranteed for students who apply after June 1. Students who apply for on-campus housing after that date will be placed in spaces as they become available.

A limited number of residence hall spaces are set aside for upperclassmen transfer students, and these are assigned on a first-come, first-served basis, based upon the completion date of the student’s online housing application (which includes receipt of the $250 pre-payment fee). Housing is not guaranteed for upperclassmen transfer students.

Once the room assignment has been made, notification will be sent to the accepted student via his/her VCU e-mail account, usually in early June. New students who cancel their housing assignment on or before June 30 for the fall term, or on or before January 3 for the spring term, will be refunded the $250 housing prepayment fee. After these dates, housing contract cancellations are not permitted.

Housing contracts for freshmen residence halls (Brandt, Cabaniss, Johnson and Rhoads halls, the Gladding Residence Center and West Grace Street Honors Program Housing) are based on the nine-month academic calendar. Housing contracts for upperclassmen residence halls (Ackell Residence Center, Broad and Belvidere Apartments, RAMZ Hall and Monroe Park Campus II) are 12-month, year-round contracts.

All VCU housing contracts are now completed online, and “how-to” information is sent to students when room assignments are made. All housing contracts are legally binding. By signing a housing contract, students agree to follow its Terms and Conditions.

In February, returning on-campus students participate in a room sign-up process for the next academic year. Upperclassmen living in 12-month residence halls may re-sign for their same room. Rising sophomore on-campus students participate in room sign-up via a lottery process. VCU residential housing is not automatically guaranteed every year for returning on-campus students.

Off-campus housing

If you choose to live off campus, Off-Campus Student Services can assist you in locating an apartment, room for rent or roommate situation in the neighborhoods surrounding VCU as well as other areas of Richmond. The Off-campus Housing Office is located in the University Student Commons and offers local bus schedules, a kiosk, rental lockers, pay phones and other commuter resources for your convenience.