New Student Timeline
First Year Housing/Meal Plan Policy
All students entering SHSU within 1 year of high school are required to reside on-campus and purchase a University Resident Meal Plan their first year of college, usually fall and spring semesters.
Housing Application Timeline
All housing information and notifications will be sent to the students' SHSU email account.
Spring 2025 Term
November 1: Housing Application opens to new students who have been admitted to Sam Houston State University. At this time, only Personal and Contact Details, Medical Information, Questionnaire, and Contract tabs are available.
Room Selection for Spring will be made by Residence Life, students will be notified of assignment before University winter break closure.
Summer 2025 Term
February 1: Housing Application opens to new students who have been admitted to Sam Houston State University. At this time, only the Personal and Contact Details, Medical Information, Questionnaire, and Contact tabs are available.
Room Selection for Summer will be made by Residence Life, students will be notified of assignment in early May.
2025-2026 Academic Year
Step-by-step videos to help navigate Housing Portal
November 1
Housing Application opens to new students who have been admitted to Sam Houston State University. Click here to apply.
Roommate Selection opens to students who have a completed Bacterial Meningitis Vaccination verification from the SHSU Health Center.
Confirmed Roommates
Roommates who request and accept the roommate pair are considered “confirmed roommates.” Each student will receive their own unique timeslot based on Application date. Either student can go into the portal to select a room when their timeslot opens.
Roommate requests are not guaranteed and it is the student's responsibility to ensure that when selecting a room, if they have a confirmed roommate request, that the roommate is also placed in the room. Requesting a roommate after you have chosen a room will not automatically pull the person into that room.
Room Selection
Students are issued timeslots to participate in room selection. Each student’s timeslot has a unique date and time dependent on when the housing application fee was paid. Timeslots will only be sent to the students’ SHSU E-mail account.
Round 1 - First Week in May - Students with Application dates between November 1 – April 1
Round 2 – First week in June (weekly) - Students with Application dates between April 2 – July 14
July 15 – Self Select Ends - Room Changes for the 2025-2026 Academic Year will close at 5 pm on July 15. Applicants who have not selected a room or apply after that date will be assigned by the Residence Life Department.
Room Swap
Once a student has a housing assignment, this tab will be available to monitor other open spaces. Through this tab a student can “swap” their room assignment. It will only move them and not their roommate, regardless if they are confirmed or not.