At the University of New Hampshire, you are not required to live on-campus your first year or any year for that matter. However, if you choose to do so, you will need to fill out a housing application. The first part of that application asks you what your top three residence halls you would like to live in are. There are 30 different residence halls on campus, most of which you can live in your first year. With so many options, picking your top three may be a challenge. However, what I recommend prospective students use to help make their decision is the UNH Housing website. On this webpage, you can find a variety of different resources, from what the 30 different residence halls are, what to bring on campus, move-in and move-out dates, etc. Going back to the survey, when I had to make my choice of top three residential halls, I used the residence hall page to research each of my options, including what size they are, what style rooms they have, if they have any themes, and where they are located on campus. I personally wanted to live in a single or double in a smaller dorm (< 165 residents). Using the filter feature at the top of the page, I was able to narrow down my choices based on my preferences. After looking at all my options, I came down to my top three of Richardson House, which was a first-year only dorm at the time, with mostly singles and less than 50 residents; Lord Hall, which is another first-year only dorm with less than 130 residents, located close to Paul College where I would be taking most of my classes; and Engelhardt Hall, which has less than 130 residents and is an alcohol and drug-free community. This community theme ensures that no matter what your age is, you will not drink or do any drugs while living in this dorm.
After completing the first section of the application, you are then asked what your top three room styles are. You have a choice between living in a single, a double, a triple, a built-up triple (i.e. a larger double with three students living in it), a quad, a suite single, a suite double, or a suite quad. For reference, suite style means that you and 1+ other rooms are connected by a bathroom that you have to clean. It is also important to note that the price of housing depends on what style room you pick, which you can find on the housing web page here. Since I wanted to live in a single or a double, my top three choices were a single, a double, and a suite single.
The final section of the application is the roommate selection. There are three ways you can complete this section. One is random, which means you will fill out a survey asking about your sleeping habits, study habits, sharing policies, etc. And the university will pair you with one or more students with similar (if not the same) answers depending on what room type you end up with. Another option is if you know someone from your hometown or high school going to UNH that you would want to live with, you can put their name on your application; as long as they do the same, you can live together. The third option is if you meet someone at orientation or through the UNH class of 202X Facebook page that you want to live with, you can put their name on your application. Like option #2, if they put your name as well you can live together. I chose to go in random because I was not sure if I would get a single and I trusted UNH would pair me up with someone that I would get along with based on the survey.
By mid-July before your first year, you will get notified of your housing assignment, which includes what residence hall you will be living in, what room type, and who you will be living with if applicable. I was fortunate to get my first-choice residence hall and room type of a Richardson House single. Once you have that assignment, make sure to look at the what to bring (and not) page on the UNH Housing webpage (found here) so that you know what to get before moving in August.
One final note that I would like to bring up regarding UNH Housing is the resources provided to you. In each dorm, there are kitchens or kitchenettes, laundry rooms, study and recreation rooms, and bike storage rooms for you to use. In addition, each residential hall has a Residence Hall Director and multiple Residential Assistants. The RHD is an adult who is working on or already received their master's degree and is tasked with overseeing the residence hall and the RAs. However, they are also there if you have any questions or concerns about your living situation or UNH in general. During my first year, I reached out to my RHD to ask him if he could help me find resources to help improve my study and time management skills. He was able to refer me to the Center for Academic Resources, where I was able to get the help I needed. RAs are upperclassman students tasked with overseeing a floor or hallway of a residence hall. They make sure to check in with each of their residents and hold socials so that residents can connect with one another. I tried to go to as many socials as possible my first year so that I could meet as many people as possible in my dorm and de-stress from my workload.
I hope you found all this information helpful! If you have any additional questions about housing, please feel free to contact the housing office or look at their resources online.
