Housing Resources for Families
The Office of Residence Life promotes an engaging, safe and inclusive environment through student-centered programs, innovative services and cost-effective facilities. Living on campus is an exciting part of the college experience and gives students the opportunity to build life-long friendships and support your academic success.
How We Communicate
The Office of Residence Life will regularly communicate with students through their BGSU email, so students should make sure they have their BGSU email account set up and that they check it regularly. Sometimes, Residence Life will also call or text students to provide them important updates that require action sooner rather than later.
Learn how to sync BGSU email to a phone
Housing Requirement
Living on campus is an important part of your overall success as a BGSU student. It has been proven students who live on campus have a higher GPA – and persistence towards graduation – faster than their peers who live off campus. Because of this, Bowling Green State University’s Board of Trustees has set a Residency Requirement that states a student must live on campus their first two years (four semesters). The Residency Requirement is enforced unless one or more of the exemption criteria are met -or- the student has an approved housing appeal.
Housing Selection Process for Returning Students
The room selection process for current students typically takes place between December and March. During current students are able to form a room selection group, sign up for all-gender housing, renew their learning community membership and select their room for the next academic year.
The differences between new student and returning student room selection are:
- Returning students select their rooms earlier than new students
- There are more single rooms available to returning students
- Returning students do not need to be a member of the Honors Learning Community to live in Founders Hall
- Returning students can't live in Centennial hall, but they can live in Falcon Heights
After selection, students who wish to change their room assignment, can do so through the room change and waitlist porcess over the summer. Once students move-in there is a two-week hold on room changes and a new room change process will be implemented.
Signing Up for a Move-In Time
Students must sign up for a move-in time through the same system they select their room. If a move-in time is not picked by the deadline, a move-in time will be assigned to them. If your student is new to BGSU, they will not be cleared to move-in if they have not attended University Orientation, so this is also an important step in the move-in process.
Roommates
Once a student picks their room and knows for certain whom they are living with, it's a good idea for the students to set up a time to talk and get to know each other better. Talking over the phone or through a video conferencing app is recommended because it can help them get to know each other better than strictly talking through texting or social media.
Packing and Storage
There is limited space in student rooms, so it is recommended that students coordinate with their roommate on what items each person will bring that they are comfortable sharing. For a recommendation on what to bring and not bring to campus, check out the BGSU Packing List.
Laundry
Washers and dryers are available in each residence hall at no cost to the student. Students should bring their own detergent (please do not bring detergent pods they make a mess on student's clothes) and laundry supplies.
Download the BGSU App on your smartphone and use the Laundry option to see what machines are available in the laundry room and set reminders for when a washer or dryer has finished.
Kitchens
All residence halls include a public kitchen facility that residents can use. Students can check out the kitchen key and some basic kitchen supplies at the front desk of their residence hall.
Leadership Opportunities
There are opportunities that exist right in a student's residence hall that develop leadership skills, confidence and time management skills while building relationships with fellow students. Students should connect with their resident advisor to learn more about how to get connected with the hall council for their building as well as the Resident Student Organization. For students interested in employment opportunities in the Office of Residence Life, these organizations can be a great way to gain experience for when they apply.
Employment Opportunities
The Office of Residence Life is one of the largest student employers on campus, and student employment is a great way for students to gain work and leadership experience while still balancing their academic commitments. The hiring process for the majority of our positions start a year prior to the position start date. But, we do have a few positions that we accept applications for throughout the current academic school year and we also start hiring for our summer positions during the Spring Semester.
Updated: 08/04/2022 04:18PM