Living with a Roommate

All First-Year and Sophomore students live in double and triple occupancy rooms. Living with a roommate is both a challenge and an opportunity. While sharing a room, you will be challenged to develop systems of living together and connect with someone who may expand your knowledge of interpersonal relationships. Hopefully, you and your roommate connect and are able to better engage in the opportunities our campus has to offer you.

Connecting to Your Roommate

There are a few ways students receive a roommate match. Click on your class-status to learn more about our roommate match process.

First-Year

First-Year

In your first-year, roommate matches are developed by the Residence Life team through the housing profiles you submit via the Admissions Portal. We use a series of questions to match residents based on common traits and lifestyles. In mid July, you will receive an email to your Bard email with your roommate’s or roommates’ name(s) - we encourage you to connect over the summer to get to know each other and coordinate shareable items in your room, such as a microfridge, lighting, etc. Once on campus, your Peer Counselors develop a “Roommate Agreement” with each roommate match in the first few weeks living together.
Sophomore Year

Sophomore Year

Sophomore Year you will select your own roommate(s) to go into Room Selection with. Together you will select a room based on the better room draw number of your selection group. Your Peer Counselor will again develop a roommate agreement with you in the first few weeks of living together during your second year.
Junior & Senior Year

Junior & Senior Year

When life in a double or triple goes really well, we find that more and more Juniors and Seniors are requesting to live with roommates. With a change in the room selection process, Juniors and Seniors can now select into double and triple rooms with intended roommates. This gives uppercollege students an even greater chance for a few of the hidden gem rooms around campus boasting private bathrooms and ample windows. Stay tuned for details around this room selection process.

Establishing Your Roommate Relationship

To set yourself up for success, we highly encourage all residents to develop a written agreement of expectations and assumptions to establish a healthy roommate relationship.

Peer Counselors reach out in your second week on-campus to set a time to develop your roommate agreement. Typically, you and your roommates will meet in your room with your PC for about 30 minutes. In this meeting, your PC will guide you through all the questions, prompt you with things to think about, and encourage you to go further in your conversation. This is also a great chance for you to get to know your PC and your roommates even better than you already have.

Creating a Roommate Agreement

Managing Conflict

Conflict happens when you are living with other people, even if you are living with the perfect roommate. Your roommate agreement is intended to be a living document which you can use to establish norms in your ever-changing roommate relationship.

Roommate Changes, Vacantcies, & Consolidation

Throughout the year, space opens up allowing for us to make changes to better meet the needs of students on campus. If you are interested in making a change in your housing mid-year, connect to your Peer Counselor.

Making a Change

Our Room Change Process

There are multiple reasons for room changes, but the process generally follows the same timeline.
Our Room Change Process

There are multiple reasons for room changes, but the process generally follows the same timeline.

There are multiple reasons for room changes, but the process generally follows the same standard timeline. After the student has meet with their Peer Counselor, they will request a room change by meeting with their Area Coordinator. Together, the student and the Area Coordinator will complete a room change request form. On Thursdays, the Residence Life team meets to plan all room changes. In this meeting we coordinate key changes, updates to our emergency rosters, and update Peer Counselors on moves.

Approvals for room changes will typically come directly from the Area Coordinator you worked with. The email will outline the process for moving. In most cases, the student who is moving will be able to pick up their new key on Friday after 10:00 am from Shea House (1438 Annandale Road). They will have the weekend to physically move to the new space. At 1PM on Monday, the student must return their old key to Shea House. If the key is not returned to Shea House by 1:00 pm on Monday the move may be canceled and the student charged for a lost key.

Various Notes
- We are unable to assist in the physical movement of belongings from one space to another and encourage students to weigh this in their decision to change rooms.
- Students cannot request their roommate to be moved out of their space. Through this process, students can only choose to be the one who moves.
- There is a separate process for emergency room changes in situations deemed urgent by the Administrator on Duty.
Living with a Vacant Bed

From time to time, bed space will open in double and triple occupancy rooms.

Living with a Vacant Bed

From time to time, bed space will open in double and triple occupancy rooms.

From time to time, bed space will open in double and triple occupancy rooms. It is imperative that all vacant beds remain open and habitable at all times. In emergency situations, we reserve the right to assign someone to this bed space prior to notifying the remaining occupants of the room. For this reason, the furniture is not to be dismantled or set up in a way that would prevent someone to move in at any time.

While living in a partially occupied room, we will be offering students seeking room changes to pair up with the remaining students. If you are living in a partially occupied room, we ask that you be engaged in any conversations around offers for room changes to your space as it is a fast moving process. It is not acceptable to deny a potential roommate simply to retain a half-empty space. If you know of someone you would like to pull into the space, please connect with your Area Coordinator as soon as possible to talk about this.

Typically, the student in the partially occupied room will have two chances to connect with a person seeking a room change. After this point, we may need to consolidate you into a different space.
Consolidating Space

Bard works to keep all double rooms at full occupancy.

Consolidating Space

Bard works to keep all double rooms at full occupancy.

With the high number of room changes and new assignments in the Spring semester, we work to keep all double rooms at full occupancy. If you are in a partially occupied space, you will be required to consolidate to free up space around campus. Typically, consolidation happens at the end of Language & Thinking, in early November, and at the end of Citizen’s Science.

Students in partially occupied spaces will be invited to the Consolidation Mixer. This event is hosted by Residence Life to allow for students to connect and find their new roommate. When students are able to connect at this event, typically they move in together on the following weekend. Students unable to find a roommate will be matched and consolidated based on existing housing profiles.

When you are asked to move to a new space, you will have the opportunity to work with your Area Coordinator on the specific timeline. Students will have no more than two weeks from the consolidation request to vacate their original assignment.

Connect to us for more resources!

A huge part of the daily operation of the Office of Residence Life & Housing is working one-on-one with students who are struggling with living with roommates. We value the experience of life with roommates and want to do our best to see you succeed.

Connecting to your Peer Counselor

We always suggest starting off with connecting to your Peer Counselor as a peer-to-peer connection can really help shape expectations for living with a roommate from your PCs recent experiences. If you are struggling to connect to your PC you are always welcome to reach out to the Residence Life office during the day or utilize REST (Residential Evening Support Time) to connect to another PC in your area of campus. The PC working REST can be reached by call, text, or in-person from 9p-12a daily.
Peer Counselor Team
Seeking out the Professional Staff

Each area has a professional staff member who is ready, willing, and able to help in any conflict or situation where your needs are not being met in your roommate relationship. Do not hesitate to reach out to us!
Residence Life Professional Staff

Living with a Roommate

Connecting to Your Roommate

First-Year

Sophomore Year

Junior & Senior Year

Establishing Your Roommate Relationship

Creating a Roommate Agreement

Managing Conflict

Managing Conflict

Roommate Changes, Vacantcies, & Consolidation

Making a Change

Our Room Change Process

Living with a Vacant Bed

Consolidating Space

Connect to us for more resources!

Residence Life and Housing