Rising Upperclassmen Housing Selection

The Office of Residence Life’s Housing Selection allows students the opportunity to select their residence hall and their actual room based on availability! 

Housing Selection is the process for you to select your residence hall, the actual suite and room that you will live in during the upcoming academic year. Rising sophomores, juniors, seniors, and graduate students who have paid their non-refundable housing application fee can log into the Residence Life Housing Portal and see all of the open suites and rooms that are available.  

Steps to Housing Selection:  

1. Log into the Residence Life Housing Portal using your Kean email and password.
2. Complete the Fall 2026 Housing Application and submit the $125.00 non-refundable application fee.
3. Search for Roommates using the Roommate Search tool. You will only be able to search potential roommates who have also submitted the Housing Application.
4. Log into the Housing Portal and access Room Selection on your assigned Room Selection date and time. 

Any student who applies for housing and submit the application fee before 12:00pm, March 6, 2026, will be granted access to the Housing Selection Week between March 23-26, 2026. Students who apply for housing after 12:00 p.m. on March 6, 2026, will receive access to the Late Housing Selection process in April until June 18, 2026.  

• March 23, 2026: Graduate Students
• March 24, 2026: Rising Seniors (more than 90 credits),
• March 25, 2026: Rising Juniors (60 to 89.5 credits),
• March 26, 2026: Rising Sophomores (59 and less credits). 

All residential students are required to have a meal plan. A default meal plan will be assigned to residents in May/June. Later this summer, you will be able to change your meal plan for the upcoming year through the Housing Portal. Residents will be able to change their meal plan up to 3 times before the first week of the Fall semester in the Housing Portal. Please be mindful of making meal plan changes as it may adjust your billing. The University and Gourmet Dining are able to cater to a wide variety of dietary restrictions, students with food allergies, and other medical dietary limitations.   

Cougars who reserve their housing early through Housing Selection will go into the summer months set up for a seamless transition into their first semester. Once you reserve your housing and select a meal plan, you will have a concrete idea of what your total cost of attendance will be before the first bill comes due! 

General Housing Selection will remain open through June 18, 2026, or until the residence halls reach capacity. Anyone who doesn't self-select their housing will be automatically assigned by Residence Life, based on remaining available spaces during the summer months. 

The final day to cancel your Fall 2026 Housing Application with no cancellation charge is June 8, 2026.  

Roommate Search is now available on the Housing Portal for you to search for and request your future roommates and suitemates! If you need help finding a roommate, please review the Roommate Search Guide and video tutorial to help match with your future roomies. Once Housing Selection for returning residents opens in March, you’ll be able to assign yourself AND your roommate group to the suite of your choice. Note: You’ll only be able to search for other students who have also submitted their housing application and $125.00 non-refundable application fee. 

Roommate Tips

• You can only search for students who have also submitted the housing application.
• All members of the group must request and accept each other. If even one person does not accept another student's request, you may run into trouble during Room Selection.
• Make sure all group members have provided the same response to the Inclusive Housing questions on your application. Have questions about this? Contact us!
• Do not participate in Housing Selection or select a room until ALL desired members of your group have applied for housing and matched. This will ensure another student does not select the vacant space(s) in your suite.
• Communicate your building and floor preferences ahead of time to ensure everyone is on the same page.
• If you are assigning members of your group other than yourself, be sure to let them know. 

There are several important steps you can take to ensure you are ready and able to move in for the year. Make sure you have completed the following before August 1st: 

• Register for classes with a full-time (12 Credits for Undergraduate & 9 for Graduate students) status.
• Upload immunization records AND proof of health insurance to the Student Health portal.
• Fulfill financial obligations with Student Accounting. 

Have any questions? Contact Residence Life by emailing reslife@kean.edu or dialing (908) 737-1700. 

Review our Instructional Guides: 

• PDF: Housing Selection Guide
• PDF: Roommate Search Guide