Housing FAQs

We anticipate that our first wave of room assignments and roommate information will be released in mid-June. This information will be shared through an email to your wisc.edu account, and it will also be available in My UW Housing. Some students will receive a later assignment as we work through final adjustments and cancellations throughout the summer. If you are a returning resident, you have already selected your room, and that information can be reviewed in My UW Housing. For students joining campus starting at the spring semester, assignment information is typically sent in early-January.

Later assignments are a normal part of our process, to allow us to work through final adjustments and cancellations throughout the summer before placing some students. This year, because of the high demand for spaces and the timing of our first wave of assignments in mid-June, there will be more students receiving their assignments later. We project there may be up to 1,000 residents who receive their assignment sometime after the first wave. You are still guaranteed to have a space with University Housing for the fall.

We cannot guarantee that you will be assigned to one of the residence halls or room types you ranked in your preferences. For example, Ogg has about 650 available spaces for first-years but was ranked by almost 4,000 students as one of their top three choices.

Yes, Lowell Center will again be used as a residence hall, featuring resident rooms that have their own bathroom. Lowell Market will again be available in the building for dining for residents. Lowell was originally built in 1961 as a private residence hall and has operated for many years as a campus hotel. It offers a mix of singles, doubles, and triples, each with a private bathroom. Residents will have typical residence hall furniture and storage space in their rooms, along with access to high-speed internet, TV service, laundry facilities, and shared spaces for studying and socializing, similar to other residence halls. On-site Residence Life staff will provide student support and programming throughout the year.

UW-Madison will again have a robust incoming class of first-year students, similar to high levels at our peer flagship universities. With that high enrollment comes high demand for living on campus, with students wanting that in-person residence hall experience to meet new friends and take advantage of academic resources. As a result, we will be using more triples and quads this year, along with more spaces in Lowell Center, and cannot guarantee that students will be assigned to one of the residence halls or room types that they ranked in their preferences.

Feel free to fill out our contact form if you have any questions or concerns about your assignment. We typically reply to submitted questions within three business days. Filling out the form once is sufficient. We will return your message. Multiple contacts inhibit our ability to get back to you and other students in a timely manner.

Yes, with demand for on-campus housing being higher than ever, we expect to have many first-year students living in triples and quads this year. These spaces provide similar amenities for residents as traditional doubles and allow us to accommodate more students who want to live in the residence halls. Triple rooms are a common practice at many of our peer universities, and resident satisfaction has remained mostly positive in triples.

Triples are larger double rooms that can accommodate 3 residents. Quads and hextuples are lounge/den spaces that have been converted to accommodate 4 or 6 residents. All of these spaces have been assessed to ensure they provide plenty of space, and all include similar furniture and amenities for each resident as what they would find in other resident rooms. Housing has used spaces like these in this way for several years with good success. We simply have more of these spaces being used in this way than in the past. Example images of many of these room setups can be found on our residence hall pages.

All new students in Dejope, Leopold, Ogg, and Smith will be in triples. Some rooms in Adams, Phillips, and Tripp will be triples as well.

Costs for triple, quad, and hextuple rooms are among our lowest resident rates. They are based on the rates established for similar triple and quad rooms that we have used in past years, approved by the UW Board of Regents. These rates also compare well with similar rooms at other Big Ten universities. Rates for all of our buildings and room types can be found on our Billing & Rates page.

Because of the high demand, we are offering students the option to cancel their 2022-23 housing contract to free up space and minimize the number of expanded spaces needed. Cancellations requested by 11:59 p.m. Central on June 1, 2022 will have their $225 deposit fully refunded. Cancellation requests can be submitted in My UW Housing. Before canceling, we strongly suggest you first secure off-campus housing, since many nearby private apartments may be full for the school year.

If you are a new student who decides to not attend UW-Madison, you can be released from your contract. Other cancellation requests after June 1 will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis, based on whether demand for housing exceeds capacity. Cancellations after June 1 will forfeit their deposit. If you are attending UW-Madison, once the contract has been signed and the advance payment has been made, it becomes a legally binding contract for the entire academic year and we do not release students from the contract unless we are in a position where demand for housing exceeds occupancy. If you wish to cancel, you should submit a cancellation request in your My UW Housing portal as soon as possible. If we were able to offer a contract release, we would send you an email with a release offer, which you would need to respond to by the given deadline. Until that time, you should not make alternate housing plans since you would still be financially responsible for all charges under the contract.

The first 300 students who submit a cancellation request after receiving the May 24, 2022 Fall Updates email will receive a FREE Go10 dining plan (valued at $3,800) for the 2022-23 academic year to be used in Housing facilities while living off campus. Please note, accepting a free meal plan with the cancellation of your Housing Contract could impact your financial aid package. It is recommended that you contact the Office of Student Financial Aid to learn about potential impact on aid packages as a step in your Housing Contract cancellation process. You are not required to accept the meal plan with your cancellation. If you do not wish to accept a free meal plan with your Housing Contract cancellation, please notify the Assignment Office by email at AssignMe@housing.wisc.edu.

The area around UW-Madison offers a large amount of conveniently located private housing for students. The Campus Area Housing service is UW-Madison’s official resource for students searching for privately-owned rentals. Many of these properties offer social opportunities, affordable rental rates, and amenities comparable to the residence halls.

The Center for First Year Experience (CFYE) offers many resources available to first-year students. From first year interest groups, Go Big Read, and How-to Guides, there are lots of options to explore. Other campus offices assist students, such as the Center for Leadership and Involvement (CfLI) which connects students to more then 700 student organizations and other leadership opportunities on campus. Other great places to get involved can be seen here: https://newstudent.wisc.edu/information-for/students/.

Unfortunately, no. We do not anticipate reaching any students on our waiting list for Academic Year 2022-23. Each year, our goal is to offer housing to as many students as are interested. We have a limited number of spaces and can only guarantee housing to those who were offered and completed a contract by their given deadline. We continue to closely monitor cancellations and would only reach out to students through their @wisc.edu email with an update in the highly unlikely event that we reach them on the waiting list. Campus Area Housing is a great resource on campus for assisting students in seeking off-campus housing options. Their website has an option to search for housing and roommates.

At this time, we do not anticipate having any open spaces in the residence halls in Spring 2023 for students who did not get housing this fall.

We do our best to place students in the communities that they ranked in their preferences, however, we always see a large number of students preferencing the same buildings. Because of this, it is possible for students to be placed in any hall or community on campus, even if they did not rank or prioritize it in their preferences.

Past Learning Community residents report a high degree of satisfaction with their living experience and the support they received in exploring academic and career interests. The learning community fee covers some of the costs of the additional services, programs, and staff that are made available to you while living in the community.Your level of involvement in the community is entirely up to you.

Each learning community offers a for-credit seminar only available to residents in that community. The seminar explores the theme of the learning community while connecting you with other students, faculty mentors, and industry leaders. If you are living in a learning community, you get to take a class with friends while getting insider tips on being successful in college and your future career. Most seminars are 1-credit and easily fit into your course schedule. We strongly encourage you to enroll in the seminar in order to make the most of your experience, but it is not required. If you have more questions, you should talk with your academic advisor.

For Fall 2022, residence halls move-in will take place August 29 – September 1. Students will receive their assigned move-in date and time in mid-June via email and in My UW Housing. Assigned times allow us to spread out activity evenly to allow for distancing and parking needs. You will have some ability to request a change of your assigned move-in date/time if it does not fit your schedule in My UW Housing depending on availability of open slots. Some students may be required to move in earlier or on a specific day based on organizations or jobs they might be involved in.

We have lots of the information listed on our website. Browse to your residence hall and on that specific hall page, you’ll find approximate room dimensions and floor plans for most room types in that building. In addition, there are floor plans and 360-degree virtual tours to see how other students arrange items in their room. If you have additional questions than what can be seen here, please contact us and we’ll get back to you. Please note that there can be some variability among room dimensions within each hall, and it’s not possible for us to catalog every measurement, so we encourage you to wait to purchase too many items until you arrive and see your actual room.

Yes. If necessary, residents can ship packages prior to their move-in date for pick-up. Due to storage space constraints, do not ship large items, and do not ship items more than one week prior to your move-in date. All US Mail and packages are received and distributed by your hall desk. Mail is placed in your mailbox. Packages are logged, placed in storage, and an email is sent to your @wisc.edu account notifying you a package is available for pickup. You must have your Wiscard (or another form of ID) with you to receive your package, but you do not need to print out the email notification. Addresses for each residence hall are available on their individual hall pages.

Visit our Dining locations and hours page to see the latest updates and schedules. All of our Dining locations will be open for the 2022-23 academic year.

Students with dietary needs should continue to work with our dietitian.

Most of our dining locations are open to anyone on campus this fall, including students, faculty, staff, and the general public. Other guests may order food for delivery from this location through Starship Technologies app.

If you have a financial hardship or are in need of additional resources, please contact the UW-Madison Office of Student Financial Aid. This office also offers student resources for emergency support. University Health Services also provides information on food assistance for students.

No, we use a trayless system for all-you-to-eat so residents take what they would like. Residents are welcome to come back as many times as they would like to take additional food, and this helps reduce food waste. In addition, University Housing Dining takes any leftover unserved food from the Dining Markets and creates pre-packaged frozen microwaveable meals. These meals are available at no cost to any student on-campus facing food insecurity. To learn more about this program and where you can pick-up food see our Instagram and Facebook pages.

No, because staff need to clean and prepare the market between every meal serving period, both the dining room and market will be closed to the public.

Residents who have paid for a meal are welcome to use the dining rooms during meal service periods. Dining rooms will be closed between service meal periods.

In all-you-care-to-eat locations, no outside food will be allowed in the dining room or markets.

All-you-care-to-eat or buffet style service means diners will pay for their meal upon entry to the market. In order to help manage food waste, these locations will have trayless service. Diners are able to return as many times as they would like during the meal period to enjoy additional servings.

Going trayless at all-you-care-to-eat service locations helps reduce food wasting by offering pre-portioned options and encouraging diners finish their servings before going back from more.

No, as guests have to pay to enter the market at and these dining rooms are only open to diners at all-you-care-to-eat locations. Due to the staffing shortage and high volume of diners, these spaces need to stay open for those individuals actively eating.

Please reach out to us through our Contact Us Form. We have staff providing timely responses to questions and concerns received there.

In the Southeast Neighborhood, there is a Starbucks location in Smith Residence Hall. We also offer chilled coffee drinks and ice cream in our Flamingo Run in Gordon Dining & Event Center. In the Lakeshore neighborhood, there is a Bean & Creamery Coffee & Ice Cream Shoppe located in Dejope Residence Hall. To see hours and locations visit our dining hours page.

The supply chain issues that the entire food service industry are experiencing are expected to last quite awhile. While we do experience some daily shortages and product availability issues from our suppliers, it has not affected the variety of options we have on a daily basis. There may be times we may run out of a product or entrée, but we work quickly to replace it with another option that we have on hand. Sometimes these changes need to be made quickly, so you may experience some differences between our posted online menus and what you see on the serving line at each venue. These quick changes are to constantly provide variety as quickly as possible. However, if there is something you would like to see on our menus, please share that with us in our Contact Us form.

The line signs printed and displayed at each venue will always be accurate to what is being served. You can always check those to verify any dietary need or food accommodation. But above all, if you have a question or need please let us know and reach out to a staff member working. We are always happy to help.

Please reach out to our Housing Dietitian at dietitian@housing.wisc.edu so that we can make sure your concerns due to these service changes are addressed and taken care of. We are more than happy to work with students to make sure they are taken care of. There is also additional information about dietary needs and how we can work with individual needs here: https://www.housing.wisc.edu/dining/nutrition/.

Yes. Dining Dollars are retail dollars that a student can use at any food location on campus. This would include any Housing Dining venue or Union location. Think of them like cash on a debit card.

Residents will be able to make changes to their dining plan selection through September 23, 2022, so that they can adjust if they find they need more or fewer meals per week on their plan once they’ve lived on campus for a few weeks.

Unused meals expire at the end of the week and do not carry over to the next week. Your dining plan gives you a designated number of meals per week based on the plan you selected. We can help you decide on the right plan to fit your schedule and eating habits, ensuring you get the full value of your plan. Please reach out to us at dining@housing.wisc.edu.

When using your Dining Dollars on your Wiscard, you will receive a 5% discount on all purchases.

No, designated meals per week need to be used up within the week. In addition, all Dining Dollars need to be used up by the end of the academic year. They do not carry over to the next year.

Meals are to be used for the student who purchased the plan and cannot be used for friends or guests. Students are not allowed to use another resident’s Wiscard. As part of the GoUnlimited plan, you will receive three guest meals per semester. These meals can be used for guests or friends. Once guest meals are used up, you can use your Dining Dollars to buy meals for others at the door price per meal.

No. Meals aren’t transferable to other students. However, Housing Dining is a part of the Swipe Out Hunger program and residents are able to donate when making a purchase to support UW-Madison’s Badger FARE program. In addition, University Housing Dining takes any leftover unserved food from the Dining Markets and creates pre-packaged frozen microwaveable meals. These meals are available at no cost to any student on-campus facing food insecurity. To learn more about this program and where you can pick up food, see their Instagram and Facebook pages.

Non-housing residents will pay a flat standard fee for their meal upon entry to the market. This will allow you to enjoy all-you-care-to-eat (buffet style service). You are welcome to come back into the market during your meal as many times as you would like for additional food, however you are not able to carry out extra food. If a non-resident pays with their Wiscard, they receive a 5% discount.

Yes, for residents using their dining plan meals, all meal periods – breakfast, lunch, dinner, and brunch (served on weekends) – count as equal meals and will count as one of your weekly meals. If you are a non-resident or if you are using Dining Dollars or other funds to pay for a meal, there are different prices for different meal periods.

If you use all of your designated meals for the week, you can use your Dining Dollars to purchase meals upon entry to the market at standard price. You’ll receive a 5% discount on food when using your Wiscard. If you run out of Dining Dollars, you are able to add money to your Wiscard online or by visiting the Wiscard Office.

In addition, University Housing Dining takes any leftover unserved food from the dining markets and creates pre-packaged frozen microwaveable meals. These meals are available at no cost to any student on-campus. To learn more about this program and where you can pick-up food UW Frozen Meals Instagram and Facebook pages.

Our weeks run Sunday through Saturday. Weekly meal balances renew for the week every Sunday at 12:00 am.

Yes, with the exception of Flamingo Run convenience stores, The Bean & Creamery Coffee and Ice Cream Shoppe, Starbucks, and Starbucks Delivery service. Those venues/services will remain à la carte, or pay for what you take.

No, we use a trayless system for all-you-care-to-eat, this means diners only take what they can carry on each trip. Guests are welcome to come back as many times as they would like during the meal for additional food, this helps reduce food waste.

In addition, University Housing Dining takes any leftover unserved food from the dining markets and creates pre-packaged frozen microwaveable meals. These meals are available at no cost to any student on-campus facing food insecurity. To learn more about this program and where you can pick-up food see UW Frozen Meals Instagram and Facebook pages.

Maintaining variety and quality of food for our residents is a top priority for us. We have an executive chef on staff and unit chefs for each market who create menus and help to ensure variety in our service. Actually, all-you-care-to-eat service gives us more flexibility in our menu offerings, as we have more freedom to interchange offerings at each of our venues within the markets.

Fill out the Allergy/Dietary Requirement Self-Declaration Form so our Housing Dietitian can make sure your specific needs are addressed. We are happy to work with students regarding individual circumstances. We have several resources we can use to ensure your needs are met.

If you are facing financial emergencies during your time at UW-Madison, you can submit an Emergency Support Request via your MyUW Student Center to be considered for emergency support options, including limited grant funding and loans. 

In addition to direct financial support, UW–Madison continues to connect students with resources to meet and navigate basic needs (e.g., internet/technology, child care, housing and employment) and food assistance. University Health Services has also provided information on available healthy food at https://www.uhs.wisc.edu/prevention/food-assistance/. 

Above all, if you need assistance, please reach out to us at dining@housing.wisc.edu, and we will see what we can do to get you connected with assistance.

Yes, to take food to-go from any location, you will need to use your Ticket to Take-Out token. Upon entry to the Market, provide your token to the cashier. You’ll be allowed to take 1 container to-go. The container must be able to shut. Food that is requested to-go must be consumed off-site and not in the dining room.

You can check your meal balance for the week along with your Dining Dollars balance at any time by visiting the Wiscard online account portal. In addition after your WisCard is swiped for entrance in the dining facility you balance will flash on the POS machine.

Housing meals can only be used at Housing Dining locations. Dining Dollars can be used at any Housing Dining location or Union location.

Yes. In a resident dining survey last academic year, we found that 73.5% of individuals surveyed favored an all-you-care-to-eat model. In addition, Associated Students of Madison (ASM) has had representation on the dining plan committee and has provided student input throughout the planning process. During this process, we presented the proposed dining plan/service changes to ASM’s shared governance group as well as Housing’s Dining Advisory Board to garner additional feedback and to help provide student perspective.

A meal exchange is a meal a student can use at Flamingo Run or The Bean & Creamery for a set combination of items during certain hours. One exchange meal may be redeemed per day.

Having a dining plan helps ensure that students get the nutrition they need to be healthy and successful, without having to worry about budgeting for food throughout the year. It also allows us to maintain lower housing rates for our residents, and gives students more value.

Yes, whether you live on-campus or off-campus next year, any unused dining funds from 2021-22 will continue to carry over throughout your time as a student, to be used for Wiscard purchases at campus venues. These funds will be treated similar to Dining Dollars, with the 5% discount on any Wiscard food purchases.

Residents will have access to the dens on some floors for studying and gathering. However, some of these dens will be closed for renovation this academic year (such as A-Tower dens). To provide other options, we are preparing other nearby spaces to be additional study spaces for Sellery residents to use. As soon as we have those spaces established, residents in that area will be made aware of those options.

We have agreements with the construction contractors that they cannot start construction prior to 8am to help limit morning disruptions. Unfortunately, as with any project, residents can expect some noise, dust, and vibration during daytime hours, but we work very hard to keep it manageable and not too disruptive for students. We recommend that students consider bringing noise cancelling headphones. Questions or feedback about the Sellery renovation project can be directed to sellery.renovation@housing.wisc.edu.

While Sellery Residence Hall is under renovation, residents in Sellery will receive a discount on their Housing bill to acknowledge any potential inconveniences. The discounted rate will be displayed on their semester tuition bill. Students benefit from a savings of $300 annually, split between both semesters. During the renovation, Sellery residents also receive a free air conditioner in their room and free use of the laundry room.

This is the same discount that was given to Sellery residents during the first year of the renovation and to Witte residents during their similar renovation project. Sellery and the Southeast neighborhood are very popular locations among our students, and with the discount, Sellery residents benefit from some of the lowest double room rates in the Southeast. Our rates, which are approved by the UW Board of Regents annually, cover many fixed per-resident costs, including programming, staff support, maintenance, supplies, dining operations, academic resources, and furniture. We operate as a self-funded, not-for-profit operation at UW-Madison, reinvesting our revenues to continuously improve the quality of our services and facilities. University Housing works hard to keep our costs as low as possible, and we offer some of the lowest on-campus housing rates of any Big Ten school while providing exceptional facilities, programs, and experiences.