Housing & Residential Life

New Students

New students should check their Future Poet Portal regularly for updates regarding Housing & Residential Life. 

Tour the Residence Halls

In-Person Campus Tours

Take a guided tour of our beautiful campus. Our hour-long tours are offered on weekdays and most Saturdays.

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Virtual Tour

Imagine yourself in every corner of the Whittier College campus.

Explore the virtual tour

Returning Students

For the 2025-2026 academic year, students are required to live on campus unless they meet the exemption requirements for off-campus housing. Students needing an exemption for financial reasons may fill out the financial hardship form.

Please note: All outstanding balances must be cleared with the Business Office before Housing Selection. Students with a hold on their account must obtain a release from the Business Office. Resolved holds may take up to 1-2 business days to be reflected on your account.

Apply for Housing

June 30 (or later)

  • Students who do not have an approved exception and are required to participate in housing will be charged a double room and a 10-meal plan.

July 7 - July 10

  • Housing assignments will be sent to students’ Poet email account
  • Students applying for housing after June 30 will still be placed into housing. They will be placed on a rolling basis, and their assignment will be emailed as they come in.

After completing the housing application

  • If you have a confirmed roommate, you will be assigned to a double room with them. If not, a computer program will match you with a roommate based on your profile. If you prefer a single or triple room, please add your name to the wait list in the housing application. Single and triple rooms are selected at random and are limited in availability. After the initial assignments, these rooms will be offered in the order in which requests were received.

Please questions, comments, or concerns, please contact Housing & Residential Life at residentiallife@whittier.edu or 562.907.4223.

Tentative timeline for lottery numbers and housing selection dates

All status ranges are based on current credits completed and internally defined ranges.

  • TBD: Deadline to submit accommodation request to SAS
  • March 20: Priority housing selection deadline
  • April 8: Students emailed their time slot/lottery number
  • April 13: Themed Housing Selection Date
  • April 14: Rising Senior (>74 credits) Selection Date
  • April 15: Rising Juniors (44-73 credits) status Selection Date
  • April 16: Rising Sophomores ( < 44 credits) status Selection Date
  • April 17 – April 19: Make-up weekend (open to all students for last-minute selections)
  • April 20 or later: Students who do not have an approved exception and are required to participate in housing will be charged a double room and 10-meal plan
  • April 27 – May 1: Housing assignments will be sent to students’ poet email account

For questions, comments, or concerns, please contact Housing & Residential Life at residentiallife@whittier.edu.

To request housing accommodations or medically-related housing and meal plan exemptions, please contact Student Accessibility Services (SAS). Please do not send medical documentation or emails to the Housing office; all accommodation approvals are through SAS.

Students who do not meet the off-campus requirements, or the financial hardship criteria, and are not requesting medical accommodations but wish to petition the residency policy to live off-campus may contact the Director of Housing & Residential Life, Joseph Melendez at jmelendez@whittier.edu.