Returning Students

application process

• Complete Your Housing Application

  The housing application (for fall and spring semesters) opens January 31 at 9:00 a.m.

  To apply:

  • Log into MyPortal and click the MyHousing/Dining tile. 
  • In the MyHousing/Dining portal, click the Apply for Housing/Meal Plan button. 
  • Pay the $200 housing prepayment and the $50 application fee.
  • Complete your housing application. Designate your housing emergency contact, answer profile questions, select a meal plan and electronically sign your housing contract. You will also search for roommates and form a roommate group (optional) and learn about renters insurance.
  • For students under the age of 18, your parent or guardian will also be required to electronically sign the housing contract. 

  If you are trying to access the portal and see a message that says, “Service is temporarily unavailable. We are sorry for the inconvenience. The system is experiencing higher than expected usage. Please try again later.” this means that the portal has reached the max number of users it can handle at one time. Please wait a few minutes and then refresh your browser. This might take some time, especially right when the housing opens.

  Housing Prepayment
  If you have concerns about making the $200 housing prepayment and have applied for or received financial aid (loans, scholarships or grants) for the upcoming academic year, continue reading this paragraph. You can apply to have the $200 housing prepayment deferred. The deadline to apply for deferment is February 13 (to allow review time before the application deadline). To get the deferment, you will need to complete a prepayment deferment page within the housing application, where you will upload an electronic copy of your current academic year FAFSA Summary Submission (FSS) from the FAFSA webpage listing College of Charleston. Please have this ready when you apply. Once you complete the deferment page, Campus Housing will review your submission within 24 hours (except weekends). You will receive an email once the deferment has been processed. At that time, you will be able to finish completing your application.  

  Studying abroad?
  Read our Studying Abroad section about when or if to apply.

• Form a Roommate or Suitemate Group

  Do you want to find other students to live with, whether as a roommate or to share an apartment/suite? Let Campus Housing help with our state-of-the-art system where you can search for roommates and suitemates and message them directly.

  What's different for returning students? If you want to try for a private bedroom but want to be in the same apartment with a friend, you should form a roommate group with them.

  To search for a roommate or suitemate, first complete your housing application. Then, return to the MyHousing/Dining portal and click on the Roommate Selection page and follow the directions on the page to search for potential roommates/ suitemates. Keep in mind that only students who have completed their housing application will show up in the search function. Returning students have until February 19 to form a roommate group. (Remember, you must still complete your housing application no later than February 15.)

  You are not required to pre-select a roommate or suitemates, but the College does not match you with one. If you do not form a roommate group ahead of room selection, your roommate/ suitemate will be whomever you select into a room with or who selects into the room or suite you select. You can also select housing individually, without forming a roommate group.

  • Groups can have two to five people. Groups must be fully formed and verified by February 19 at noon.
  • Your group room selection date will be based on an average of all group members’ earned credit hours as of December 2024. Example for a group of three: Student 1 has 30 hours; Student 2 has 35 and Student 3 has 40 hours 30+35+40/3= 35 average hours.
  • Once the roommate group has been verified by the group leader, Campus Housing will calculate the average earned credit hours and will assign a selection date to the group. The group will get their assigned date on February 21.
• Select Your Room

  Please read all email from Campus Housing carefully for details about your specific date to start room selection.

  In order to select housing, returning students must have completed their housing application between January 31 and February 15. Campus Housing will email students their assigned selection date on February 21. Room selection for returning students will begin February 25.

  You will have the opportunity to select any space that is open to returning students on your selection date. You can find general instructions for how to select your room on our Room Selection page. 

• What if I'm Studying Abroad?

  If you plan to study abroad in either fall 2025 or spring 2026, here's what you should do.

  Studying Abroad in the Fall

  • If you are confirmed to study abroad for fall 2025 and you’re interested in living on campus for spring 2026 when you return, do NOT apply for housing now. Starting November 1, you will be able to apply for housing for spring 2026.
  • If you are considering studying abroad for fall 2025 but are still waiting on things like acceptance, a visa, etc., you have two options:
    1. Pay the $200 housing prepayment and $50 application fee, apply for housing, and select your space based on your earned credit hours as of December 2024. If you decide to study abroad, you can cancel your application by April 15, 2025, and your $200 prepayment will be applied as your housing cancellation penalty (which is also $200). This option gives you the most flexibility in selecting a space and living with friends, but it will cost you $250.
    2. Don’t apply for housing now. If you do not study abroad in fall 2025, we will work with you to house you on campus. This option is only available to those who apply to study abroad through the CIE portal, ViaTRM, by April 15, 2025, and email Campus Housing by May 1, 2025, indicating your interest in applying for housing. It will not cost you anything, but we will place you where we have space.

  Studying Abroad in the Spring

  If you are planning to study abroad in spring 2026 and want to live in campus housing for fall 2025, DO complete the housing application for the 2025-2026 academic year. In November, we will send you instructions on how to request a cancellation of your spring 2026 housing. There is a $200 housing cancellation penalty to cancel spring housing for study abroad.

  Questions about studying abroad? Email the Center for International Education at studyabroad@charleston.edu.