Residential Life & Housing > Room Selection

Housing Exchange

Barnard Students Living at Columbia

Barnard students who register for Columbia Room Selection must also register for Barnard Room Selection (and choose Living at Columbia as their category).

Barnard students cannot be RA or ODS "riders" (pull-ins) at Columbia, regardless of class year

Barnard students who register for the CU Lottery but are not able to pick will drop back to take part in the Barnard 123 Lottery to pick a room for next year. BC students registered for the CU Lottery cannot participate in the 4, 5, or 6 Lottery.

Barnard students with room assignments at Columbia will be required to sign a Barnard Housing Contract (as Barnard will be responsible for billing you for your room). Barnard students living in Columbia housing are charged the Barnard room rate, not the Columbia room rate.

Barnard students who live at Columbia through the BC/CU Housing Exchange remain eligible for Barnard Room Selection for the following year as long as they do not cancel their campus housing and/or take a leave of absence.

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Columbia Students Living at Barnard

Eligible Columbia students may live at Barnard through the following Room Selection methods:

CU students must complete both steps below in order to take part in BC Room Selection:

  • Must register for Columbia Room Selection and indicate they will participate in the BC Room Selection process.

  • Must register for Barnard Room Selection and choose one of the corresponding categories from above.
    Note: CU students will be added to the Barnard Portal on the morning of Monday, March 24. They will not be able to log into the Barnard Portal before that date.

Columbia students may only live in suite-style housing (they cannot live in Hewitt, Sulz Tower, or Elliott Hall, i.e. corridor-style residence halls).

Male Columbia students may only pick with a group or be pull-ins for RAs or students with housing accommodations who are filling an entire suite (i.e. no partial suites). See "Inclusive Gender Groups" below for more info.

Columbia students living in Barnard housing are charged room rates set by Columbia, not the Barnard room rate.

For more information about Columbia students living in Barnard Housing, please visit zhanmi.net/reslife/housing-options/exchange/columbia-at-barnard.

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Lottery Groups with CU Students

  • The Columbia students must register for Barnard Room Selection before the Intent Form Deadline and join their group before the deadline for the 4, 5, or 6 Lottery.
  • Groups with Columba students must be 50% or more Barnard students.
    • For example, a 6-person group could have 1, 2, or 3 CU members
    • But a 6-person group could not have 4 or more CU members
  • The Columbia member(s) class standing will be part of the Group Average
  • Columbia students may only take part in the 4, 5, and 6 Lottery (not the 123 Lottery).
  • Co-ed groups that pick into Barnard Housing will be required to sign the Open Housing Agreement Form.
  • More groups form than the number of available suites for the 4, 5, and 5 Lottery. This means that some groups may not be able to select a suite together.
  • The number of Columbia students who may pick in the CU Lottery depends on the number of BC students living in CU housing.
    • If more CU students register for the BC Lottery than vice-versa, the number of CU students who may pick at Barnard will be "capped."
  • Columbia students who do not pick with their Barnard Lottery Group will drop back to participate in the CU Lottery as an individual (see housing.columbia.edu/content/living-barnard-students for more information).

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Inclusive Gender Groups (Open Housing)

Barnard Residential Life & Housing is pleased to take part in Columbia's Open Housing program, to allow students to choose suites or rooms together regardless of gender identity. The primary reason for such a policy is to provide housing options that take into consideration varying identities and preferences and to ensure a comfortable & welcoming environment for all students. For more information, please visit the Columbia Undergrad Housing's FAQ about Open Housing.

Open Housing is not intended and is discouraged for romantic couples (room changes may not be possible if a couple breaks up).

All members of gender-inclusive groups who select housing at Barnard must sign & submit the Open Housing Agreement Form (linked above) before their Selection Time.

If a roommate/suitemate cancels their housing or moves out of the room for any reason, the remaining residents must identify an eligible student to fill the vacancy. Residential Life & Housing will define the time allocated to find a new roommate. This window of time will vary depending on the time of year and the status of any waitlists for assignments or room changes. Typically, the suite will be allowed a minimum of 24 hours but not more than one week to identify another eligible roommate/suitemate.

If another roommate(s) is not identified within the time period, the suite will revert to an all-women assignment, to be filled by Barnard or Columbia housing. This means that any male CU students in the suite would be reassigned to a CU residence hall.

Students who are interested in selecting a suite with a gender-inclusive group are strongly encouraged to speak to Matt Kingston (Associate Director for Housing), in advance of registering for Room Selection and/or their Lottery Selection Time.

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