Residential Life & Housing

Room Changes

Note: This Spring, 40+ visiting international students will be coming from Denmark, Italy, China, South Korea, and Singapore.  If you have a space opening up in your room/suite and would like to request one of these students, please email housing@barnard.edu


Forms


Important Dates

  • Monday, November 23 - Room Change & Buy-Out Request forms available online (see above).
  • Thursday, December 3, 1pm - Room Change & Buy-Out Request forms due to the Residential Life & Housing (RL&H) Office, 110 Sulzberger.
  • Monday, December 14, 6pm - Room Change & Buy-Out results will be emailed & posted outside the RL&H Office.
  • Friday, December 18 - If a room change is granted, you may begin moving to into your new rooms in cooperation with the person vacating the room (if applicable) and the person replacing you in your old room (if applicable).  Keys will be available to pick up between 9am-5pm at the RL&H Office.
  • Thursday, December 24, 10am - If a room change is granted, you must have completed your move & turned in your Room Change envelope (containing your old room keys). This is the date/time that the residence halls close for Winter Break.

Room Change Request Process

  • This process is for Barnard Sophomore, Junior, and Senior students only (first-year students who may be experiencing difficulties with their roommate(s) should speak to their RA and/or the Director of the First Year Focus).
  • Columbia University students living in Barnard residence halls are not eligible to participate in this process and there is no switching permitted between BC-designated and CU-designated spaces (please consult CU Housing for information about room changes for CU students) .
  • Students who submit a Room Change Request form are expected to inform their roommate(s)/suitemates(s) of their request, in order to give them an opportunity to either submit a Room Change or Buy Out Request form of their own or try to recruit a new roommate/suitemate.
  • Once submitted, Request forms cannot be altered unless they are withdrawn (in writing) and/or then resubmitted as a new application.  Request forms may not be withdrawn after the due date (Thursday, December 3, 1pm).
  • The RL&H staff will review all completed Request forms.  Decisions made by this group are final.  There is no guarantee that all applicants will receive a room change as a result of submitting a Request form.
  • You may request to make a 1-for-1 swap with another student OR you may specify a set of criteria for which types of rooms or locations you would be willing to move to. 
  • If you wish to move into a specific vacant space, you may specify that on your Request form.  The roommate(s)/suitemate(s) of that vacancy should also submit a Roommate/Suitemate Request Form requesting you.  This can improve your changes of receiving the room change but does not guarantee it.
  • You must complete the room change if granted, as other room changes will be dependent on your vacancy.
  • If granted a room change, you will be responsible for coordinating your move (if applicable) with both the person moving out of the space you are moving into and the person moving into the space you vacate.  Email addresses will be provided. You must be willing to stay through the end of exams to complete your room change if necessary (based on coordination with the person vacating the room you would be moving into, if applicable).

  • WHAT CAN I DO TO IMPROVE MY CHANCES OF GETTING A ROOM CHANGE?
    The more flexible the criteria you specify on your Room Change Request form (indicating what types/locations of rooms you’d be willing to switch to), the more likely a room change may be possible.  However, you should only specify room types & residence halls you would be willing to live in because all granted room changes must be completed.

  • WHAT IF THERE IS A VACANCY IN MY ROOM OR MY ROOMMATE GETS A ROOM CHANGE?
    If you have a vacancy in your room or your roommate is applying for a Room Change, you may fill out and submit the Room Buy-Out Request form (see below), to request that no new roommate be assigned to your room.  Or, if you know someone specific who is interested in moving into that vacant space and submits a Room Change Request form requesting so, you should submit a Roommate/Suitemate Request form to the RL&H Office by 1pm on Thursday, December 3, mutually requesting your friend.  Please note that the granting of a room change is not guaranteed, so your roommate may not receive a room change if requesting one.

    If you do not submit a Room Buy-Out Request form (or we are not able to grant a request Buy-Out), you will likely receive a roommate through the Room Change process or through Spring assignments to new transfer students, readmitted students, commuters, or students returning from Study Abroad.

    Please note that not all students who request a Buy-Out may receive one, so if your top priority is being in a room without a roommate, you are encouraged to additionally submit a Room Change Request form, requesting a room change to a single.

  • WHAT IF THERE IS A VACANCY IN MY SUITE OR MY SUITEMATE GETS A ROOM CHANGE?
    You will more than likely be assigned a suitemate.  If you know someone specific who is interested in moving into that vacant space and submits a Room Change Request form requesting so, you should submit a Roommate/Suitemate Request form to the RL&H Office by 12noon on Thursday, December 4.  The names and signatures of all suitemates must be on the form.  No late forms will be accepted. Also, please note that the granting of a room change is not guaranteed, so your suitemate may not receive a room change.

Room Buy-Out Request Process

  • This request process is for Barnard Sophomore, Junior, and Senior students in the spring semester only (First-Year students, Columbia students living in Barnard residence halls, and Barnard students living in Columbia residence halls are not eligible).
  • A student granted a Buy-Out will not be assigned a roommate for the remainder of the Spring semester.
  • Room Buy-Outs will be granted only if there are enough vacant spaces elsewhere on campus to assign students for the Spring (new transfer & visiting students, readmitted students, commuters, students returning from Study Abroad).
  • The priority deadline for Room Buy-Out Request form is 1pm on Thursday, December 3. Forms may be submitted after this date, but Buy-Outs will not be granted if a student has already been assigned to the vacant space in your multiple room.
  • The cost for buying out a double room as a single for the Spring semester is $545 (the difference in price between a single and multiple room). The cost will be added to the student's Bursar account over Winter Break or after the Spring semester has begun.
  • The cost for two students to buy out the third space in a triple room for the Spring semester is $272.50 each. Both students must sign and submit the Room Buy-Out Request form and both students will be billed.
  • If you are the sole occupant of a triple room, you may not request to Buy-Out the remaining two spaces. You are encouraged to recruit 1-2 new roommates through the Room Change Request process or you will be assigned new roommates.
  • The request for a Room Buy-Out may not be cancelled once the request form has been submitted. The Buy-Out charge is nonrefundable.
  • The extra set of furniture in a bought-out room will not and may not be removed from the room.

Questions?

If you have any questions, please contact Matt Kingston, Associate Director for Housing Operations, at mkingston@barnard.edu.