Office of Residence Life
Off-campus Status
Off-campus Status releases a student from the requirement to live in College Housing. To obtain this status, students must apply and be selected through the Off-campus Lottery. If approved, they are responsible for securing their own housing in the local community.
Students approved to live off-campus are still required to have either a College dining plan or an OSCA dining plan.
Approval for Off-campus Status does not carry over from year to year; students must reapply annually.
Off-campus Status does not include On-campus Houses and Apartments (formerly Village Housing), OSCA Housing, or Exemptions. Each of these housing options has a separate application process.
Off-campus Process
Based on expected enrollment, the college pre-determines the allocation of off-campus slots for the upcoming academic year. Approval for off-campus status is granted to those students who apply, are eligible, have been chosen through the off-campus lottery, and complete all paperwork and orientation requirements.
Students should not sign a lease before being granted and notified about their off-campus status.
Off-campus Eligibility
- Students must apply and be selected through the off-campus lottery process.
- Students must have completed six (6) or more semesters at Oberlin by the end of the spring 2026 semester.
- Students selected during the lottery must complete the online off-campus orientation.
- Off-campus status does not carry over from year to year. Students must re-apply yearly and be selected through the off-campus lottery.
- Off-campus offers are contingent on the student being enrolled at the Oberlin campus during the Fall 2026 semester. If a student does not attend the Oberlin campus in the fall, the off-campus offer will be rescinded. The student will then be assigned an on-campus room upon their return in the spring.
- Students who are offered tentative off-campus approval are required to complete an online off-campus orientation and all paperwork requirements listed in their tentative approval notification, including a landlord agreement, by June 1. All required instructions, links, and forms will be sent directly to students with tentative approval via their Oberlin email account, with exact copies of all emails appearing in the messages section of their Housing Portal.
Housing charges will not be removed from a student's account until all steps for final approval have been completed. Students who do not complete all steps for off-campus approval will be placed in on-campus housing. Off-campus housing does not include an exemption from the meal plan requirement.
The application for Off-Campus status is built into the 2026 - 2027 Housing Registration. Students can complete the application in the Housing Portal, opening the week of January 19, 2026.
- Application Deadline: Friday, February 6, 2026
- Lottery Result Notification: TBA
- Tentatively Approved Students' Confirmation of Intent Deadline: TBA
- Paperwork Submission Deadline for Final Approval: June 1, 2026
I transferred to Oberlin, will my credit hours be adjusted?
If you are a transfer student, your transfer credits must be approved by the Office of the Registrar during the fall semester before the housing lottery. AP/IB and other courses taken in high school are not counted toward semesters at Oberlin. If you have questions about eligibility for the off-campus lottery, please contact the Office of Residence Life.
Is there a group registration process for off-campus housing?
Students may form desired roommate groups of up to four people total to request off-campus housing status together. All students in the group must be eligible to apply for off-campus housing and must complete all required steps for final approval if tentatively approved for off-campus status.
Tentative and final approvals for off-campus status are non-transferrable. If a student in a group does not complete all required steps for off-campus status, withdraws their off-campus status request, or does not uphold any existing verbal or contractual agreements to their roommate(s), their off-campus offer cannot be passed to another student in their place.
Students previously approved by the Office of Disability and Access for an off-campus accommodation should not apply for the lottery.
Commuter status and other exemptions are separate processes from the off-campus lottery.
Provides guidance and things to consider when choosing a place to live off-campus.
The Office of Residence Life will host a Housing Fair on Thursday February 12, 2026 from 8-10pm. Local landlords and rental companies will be invited to have tables. This will be another opportunity for students to find off-campus housing.