Housing Sign Up Information

What if I don’t have a roommate or we need another person to live in our apartment? 
Go on to The Nest and on the left side you will see a Roommate Finder link.  You can sign up to find a roommate or another person to share your apartment.  Or, you can leave your information so that other individuals or groups who need a roommate can contact you. Students are not allowed to sign up for a room or apartment with a number below the full capacity. 

What if I’m going abroad for the fall, but I want to live with my friend when I return? 
Ideally, you’ll be able to find someone to live in your spot during fall semester who will be leaving for the spring semester.  However, sometimes students don’t know yet if they’ll be gone for the spring semester and unfortunately you cannot save an empty spot so you may not be able to arrange this.  Students can change spots at the end of the semester, so if a room or spot becomes open at the end of the semester you may be able to figure out a way to live with your friend when you return.

Can I cluster with my friends if I am accommodated with medical housing?
Not officially, no. Students who are given medical housing accommodations are assigned to a room based on their specific need. Our credit-based system is designed to prioritize seniority, represented by credits. Groups cannot cluster with someone assigned medical housing because this could place a large group of students into a building that they would typically not have enough credits to sign-up for. Students can informally request to live near a cluster by making a comment on their medical housing request, or the cluster can add it to the additional detail section on the Nest.

How are medical housing decisions made?
A committee of professionals from the Engle Center, the Academic Success Center, and Housing meet to review all medical housing requests. The purpose of their review is to consider if the documentation provided makes a compelling case for the necessity of the student to have a specific type of medical housing. If the documentatation does so, the Housing Office considers if there are spaces available to accommodate such a request. In some situations, students will request an apartment, but their documentation can be accommodated by living in a residence hall (possibly in a single room, or on a certail floor). Our housing model is based on the idea of progressive independence, which means that prioritize seniors to have the ability to live in apartments to gain practical life-skills before graduating. With respect to medical housing, this model means that students below a certain credit threshold will be offered a housing accommodation in a residence hall if it is not medically necessary for them to be in an apartment. 

What will campus housing look like?
Our housing model is based on a pre-covid floor spacing. As such, all residence hall rooms which originally held three people (triples) will  hold three students for the 2023-2024 academic year. This is also true quads, which will hold four students for the coming year. The capacities of our apartments will not change.

Our plan is to use a portion of Smith Apartments as space to quarantine students for the fall. As such, those apartments will not be available during the housing sign-up process. 

What if I think the credit hours on my notice are wrong?
First, your credits will NOT be updated on The Nest until you sign your housing contract. If you believe your credit total is still incorrect, please forward your notice to housing@messiah.edu with an explanation of what you believe to be wrong and we will verify your credit total. Please remember that AP and CLEP credits are not counted towards housing.

What if I can’t come to apartment sign ups? 
Only one person from an apartment unit (or a chosen proxy) has to be at apartment sign ups.

What if I’m studying abroad and can’t come to apartment sign ups? 
You will only need one of your future roommates or a proxy to attend the sign ups.  See Proxy explanation.

What if I want to live with one of my friends who will be going abroad during the first semester? 
See previous question.

What if I can’t sign my contract and/or get my PIN number & time slot? 
Please contact the Residence Life Office at housing@messiah.edu or 717-796-5239 and we will help you get the information you need.

Does our apartment or room have to be full when we sign up? 
Yes.  No exceptions will be made. 

What if I want to live with an incoming transfer student? 
Please contact Courtney Williams, Director of Housing, at cwilliams@messiah.edu about your request. Incoming transfer students will generally all live together in Bittner. 

What is a proxy? 
A proxy is someone who signs up someone else for housing if they are not able to be present for any part of the housing process. See the proxy page for more info.

What if I want to live in an apartment, but I don't have 57 credits?
If you have a compelling reason for why you an exception should be made for you (not just "I want to live with my friends") please email housing@messiah.edu.

What if I am or my future roommate is on medical leave?

Any student on medical leave will still get a PIN and timeslot.  The student on medical leave can sign up for housing just like a currently enrolled student.