New Student Housing

Hampshire College has been designed as a residential learning community, because our founders knew that many important lessons are learned from peers through lively discussions and late-night debates. All new students live in Dakin or Merrill, one our traditional-style residence halls which consists of single and double rooms in halls with shared bathrooms (see details below). Residency in these residence halls are a rite of passage and an invaluable part of acclimation to the social life of the Hampshire community.

The Process

Each new student is required to submit a housing form, which will be available by the beginning of June for incoming new fall 2024 students. This information will be emailed to all new students when it is ready. In keeping with our mission to provide and uphold a system based in fairness, all housing forms submitted by the deadline will be randomized to determine the order in which room assignments will be made. Forms submitted after the deadline will be considered in the order in which they are received. Please understand that we are rarely able to meet all of a student's preferences, but we strive to balance the needs of all students in order to create healthy residential communities.

Consider Your Options

New students should be sure to read all of the questions on the housing preference form and consider all of their housing options before selecting their preferences. Please note some options have specific instructions, and that choosing certain options may restrict other preferences.

Bathrooms

Every dorm hall has one bathroom for the use of all its residents. There are toilet stalls with locking doors as well as shower stalls with private, locking changing areas. The bathrooms on all-gender halls are open to students of all genders. The residents of women's and men's halls will decide among themselves if their bathrooms will be available for use by guests of other genders. The apartment-style residences, Enfield and Prescott, have at least one bathroom per five students.

Special Accommodations

Though every effort will be made to meet students' preferences, medical information disclosed in the context of the housing preference form cannot be shared with other departments, and may not be considered in the student's housing assignment. If a student has a medical need that must be accommodated by the College in order for the student to have a successful residential experience, that student must receive a housing accommodation from the office of accessibility resources and services in order to ensure the student's needs are met.

Changing Preferences After the Deadline

If a student's housing preferences change significantly after the form has been submitted, the student may email housing@hampshire.edu, and we will do our best to accommodate these changes.

Finding Room Assignments

Room assignments will be emailed to new students' Hampshire email accounts by July 17. Students should contact the helpdesk if they have trouble accessing their accounts. Students assigned to doubles will see their roommate's name below their room assignment and may contact them at their discretion (contact information can be found in the Hampshire directory). Room assignments are listed in the format of DAK F311; the first three letters designate the building, the letter designates the section, the first number designates the floor, and the last two numbers are the room on that hall. For more information on each hall, see the Housing Designations page. For more information on each building, see the Residences page. 

Questions? Contact Housing: 413.559.5453; housing@hampshire.edu