Housing Applications How do I apply for housing? What are the costs for room and meals for the year? Can I request to live in a specific residence hall? Can I request a specific roommate? When do I hear about my assignment? Housing and Room Options How does Residence Life decide who will be roommates? What chance do I have of getting a single? Can I be assigned to an apartment? What is provided by the University in each room? What other services does Residence Life provide in the halls? Do the residence halls have air conditioning? Meal Service Do I have to select a meal plan? How does the meal service work? What is Hospitality Services? Can I change the original meal plan choice I wrote on my contract? Safety and Security How safe are the residence halls and campus? Can my friends stay overnight if they visit me? I understand that I need to have my William Paterson ID with me all the time – why? Life On Campus Can I bring a car to campus? What will my mailing address be? What happens on move-in day? What happens if I move into my room and my roommate and I don’t get along? Is storage available in the buildings for extra items? Are the residence halls/apartments open during break periods? Housing Applications How do I apply for housing? Interested new students to housing on campus can request a housing contract and information on our Residence Life web page by clicking on the Applying for Housing tab. Follow the directions to complete your housing application on line. A copy of your application will be sent to your WPUNJ e-mail account and our office. In addition, students need to pay the housing deposit. Once the housing application and deposit are received the Office of Residence Life will accept the student's housing application and begin the next steps for determining a housing assignment. What are the costs for room and meals for the year? The University has set charges that can change yearly. We ask that you look at the University web page for current pricing. Go to Student Accounts for rates. In addition to room and meals, there is a $40.00 ResNet fee per semester, which covers costs for the Internet and TV service in the residence halls. Can I request to live in a specific residence hall? Residence Life does not guarantee requests for buildings. Seven of our residence halls, Heritage Apartments, Pioneer Apartments, Century Hall, Hillside Hall, Matelson Hall, Skyline Hall and White Hall are reserved for upper class students only. First year student residence halls are High Mountain East, High Mountain West and Overlook South. Students who are enrolled in the Honors College program, and submit their housing application and housing deposit by the announced deadlines, will be considered for assignment in High Mountain East. Can I request a specific roommate? You can request a friend to be a roommate; however, the request must be mutual, and both students must confirm each other via ResCenter. When do I hear about my housing assignment? For the fall semester, information about your assignment and the move-in instructions are emailed to new students in early August. We provide your roommate’s William Paterson University e-mail address so that you can establish contact with your roommate prior to getting to campus. Students also use social media sites – however, we caution students on the use of these sites, and ask that you not prejudge a person based on information obtained through personal profiles. Making contact with your new roommate yourself is the best way to establish a dialogue, and you may find things in common you did not see on the web. For the spring semester, new residents will receive their e-mailed assignment and move-in information in January or as soon as it is available. Housing and Room Options How does Residence Life decide who will be roommates? About 50% of our students request a specific roommate that they either know from home, have met through our RoomSync, our roommate matching application through Facebook, or met during the spring/summer at a college hosted event. Students who do not request a roommate will be placed with another student. First year students are matched with other first year students and we use the information provided in the housing application to do our best to match students based on the information provided. Transfer students can be either matched with another transfer student or a continuing upper-class student. What chance do I have of getting a single room? Single room are available to students via two separate processes. Students seeking single accommodations need to apply for accommodations via the Accessibility Resource Center (ARC). The Office of Residence Life work with ARC to provide single accommodations for all students who have been approved. Elective single spaces are limited on campus and are available to continuing students during the housing selection process. Elective single rooms for incoming transfer students would be based upon availability after the room selection process. Can I be assigned to an apartment? Our apartments on campus, Heritage and Pioneer Halls, are for upper-class students who are 20 years old or older by the start of the fall semester. New transfer students who meet this criteria may request to live there, and will be assigned if there is availability. What is provided by the University in each room? Each residence hall room is furnished with a bed, wardrobe (including drawers), desk and char for each student. The rooms are not carpeted, but students often bring small area rugs. All beds are extra long, and require the larger size linens. Please refer to the Residence Life handbook for a list of items that students are permitted to bring to the residence halls. What other services does Residence Life provide in the halls? Our residence halls are overseen by live-in, professional Resident Directors and student Resident Assistants, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Residents can contact these individuals for information, concerns, or emergencies. All residence halls have laundry facilities that are free to residents. Students can place enter work order requests for repairs in their room/bathroom online or contact the hall offices. The offices are open 7 days a week (limited hours on the weekends) for students to come in and ask questions. Mail is delivered to the residence halls, and distributed to hall mailboxes by the personnel working in the offices. Network and Hardware Services provides support to students with setting up their computers at the start of the year, and continues to be available to troubleshoot any problems they may face later on. You can read more about their services and computer requirements to connect to our University Network on the web page. Go to Enrolled Students, Communication and Electronic Services, ResNet Access. Do the residence halls have air conditioning? All of our residential facilities are air conditioned. The Office of Residence Life works with our Physical Plant Operations team and state guidelines related to air conditioning and heat. Students may bring fans to regulate the room temperature as needed. Please note that space heaters are not permitted. Meal Service Do I have to select a meal plan? All students living in communities in the traditional residence halls (Century, High Mountain East & West, Hillside, Overlook South, Matelson and White) must be on a meal plan. Students in the apartments (Heritage & Pioneer) have the option to be off the meal plan since the apartments have kitchens in each shared unit. How does the meal plan work? Students can choose a variety of meal plans to best suit their preferences. Details about each individual meal plan options can be found on the dining services page on the Hospitality Services website. What is Hospitality Services? Hospitality Services is the department that oversees food services, the University Commons food court, and the Pioneer Express account. This office also administers University’s ID cards. Student ID cards are needed for meals, residence hall access, vending machines, and Pioneer Express debit accounts. Can I change the original meal plan I originally selected? Students can request a change to their meal plan by contacting Hospitality Services at 973-720-2672. Safety and Security How safe are the residence halls? Residence hall reception desks are staffed 24 hours a day by university personnel (a combination of student staff and a security guard service). Residents must present their valid William Paterson ID to the guard to gain entry to their buildings. Non-resident WPU students and other guests of our resident students must be signed in at the desk as visitors by a student who lives in the residence hall in which they are visiting. All residents must stay with their guest while the guest is are in the residence hall. Our Residence Life Handbook details the specific hours of visitation and the policies regarding visitors. Can my friends stay overnight if they visit the campus? Overnight visitors are allowed in the residence halls. Please refer to the Visitation Policy as outlined in the Residence Life Handbook. The handbook can be found on our web page. I understand that I need to have my William Paterson ID with me all the time. Why? On campus, the University ID is needed to enter the residence halls, eat in the dining hall or food court, access your Pioneer Express dollars, borrow books at the library, and utilize some other services and functions sponsored by the University. Some residence halls use the ID card to unlock your room door. Your photo ID is to be presented when asked for by University Police and Residence Life staff. Life On Campus Can I bring a car to campus? All resident students are allowed cars on campus and are expected to park cars in the appropriate University parking lots. Students must apply for a resident student parking permit. Currently, resident student parking is permitted in Lot #6, Lot #2 and the Apartments Lot. What will my mailing address be? Mailing addresses for each building are different in that there is a PO Box specific to each area. Once you are assigned to your building, you can verify the correct address. Packages sent via USPS, UPS, FEDEX, and DRL should be addressed to the student, William Paterson University, 300 Pompton Road, Wayne, NJ, 07470. "Mail should be addressed as follows: Century HallP.O. Box 923Wayne, NJ 07474-0923 High Mountain East or WestP.O. Box 939Wayne, NJ 07474-0939 Hillside HallP.O. Box 921Wayne, NJ 07474-0921 Matelson HallP.O. Box 922Wayne, NJ 07474-0922 Overlook SouthP.O. Box 944Wayne, NJ 07474-0944 Pioneer or Heritage HallsP.O. Box 888Wayne, NJ 07474-0888 Skyline HallP.O. Box 934Wayne, NJ 07474-0934 White HallP.O. Box 940Wayne, NJ 07474-0940 What happens on move-in day? You will receive complete instructions from Residence Life regarding move-in day when you receive your assignment letter. Move-in day can be busy with all students moving into their rooms. We will offer some suggestions about packing and getting your personal items unloaded and into your new home. What happens if I move into my room and my roommate and I don’t get along? We ask that you give the relationship time before you rush to ask to move. Residence Life needs to verify who has checked into their assignments. This can take time, so we may not be able to process room change requests for two weeks after the start of the semester. Resident Assistants can help mediate differences between roommates. Roommate/Suite mate Agreement tools can be used to assist with clarifying issues for both parties. Students are not permitted to make room changes without Residence Life approval. Is storage available in the buildings for extra items? Our buildings do not have extra storage areas for personal items. Everything must be stored somewhere in your room. Are the residence halls/apartments open during break periods? The residence halls are closed during the Thanksgiving break, winter break, which is from the end of the fall semester until the beginning of the spring semester and again during spring break in March. Students are sent information regarding break closing each semester. Students who need to request to stay on campus during break period should the Office of Residence Life to determine if accommodations can be made.
