Residence Life FAQs

Questions about residence life? Here are answers to the questions we hear most often. If you don’t see your question listed, contact us.

Residence Life Questions

New applicants are encouraged to submit their applications by May 1. Our office guarantees a space in campus housing to all new applicants who have submitted an application by this date.

Returning students receive housing selection information through their Elmhurst email in January Term, with instructions on how to apply and select their assignments for the following academic year.

We anticipate having space available beyond this date and will do our very best to accommodate your housing request.

After you have submitted your housing application, log on to the myElmhurst Portal and go to My Housing. Send a request to your potential roommate using the menus at the top of the page.

Both roommates must request each other and accept each other’s roommate requests. Students will only be able to send their friend a request if that individual has also already submitted a housing application.

Have your medical provider send a letter on official letterhead and submit this form to the Access and Disability Coordinator at disability.services@elmhurst.edu. The Access and Disability Coordinator’s office is located in the Learning Center in the A.C. Buehler Library. Requests may be submitted at any time, but we ask that new students send their requests by May 1.

Cureton Hall is accessible on all floors and is available for all students. Schick Hall is accessible on the lower level and is available for all male students. West Hall is accessible on all floors and is available for students with 8 or more credit hours.

Residence hall information will be shared by email in mid-June. Specific room and roommate information will be communicated in mid-July and will also then be viewable on the My Housing page on the myElmhurst Portal. Information about moving in will be posted in early summer.

Bring what you need to feel comfortable and at home on campus. Check our packing list for suggestions.

For your convenience, we have partnered with Dormify to provide an easy, affordable way to purchase Twin XL bedding, dorm storage solutions, and everything else you’ll need (and want) for your new home away from home. Please visit emc.dormroom.com to get move-in day ready and create your dream dorm!

Students wishing to bring in a small refrigerator unit can, as long as it does not draw more than 1.5 amps of electricity. We recommend that you communicate with your roommate before you move in to avoid duplicates.

Yes, we encourage you to insure your personal property as the University cannot assume responsibility for loss. If you live with your family, you may be covered by your family’s home insurance policy. Another source is National Student Services (NSS), a company that is independent from Elmhurst University.

Cureton, Niebuhr, Schick and Stanger Halls have gender-specific community bathrooms, one on each wing or floor. Each shower is enclosed with a curtain. Dinkmeyer Hall, except for the lower level, has a suite-style arrangement, with two rooms sharing a connecting bathroom/shower. In the lower level of Dinkmeyer Hall, there is one gender-specific community bathroom.

In West Hall, each suite of students has one bathroom shared among the members of the suite. Campus apartments have one bathroom per apartment, and campus houses contain one or two bathrooms.

Every residence hall room on campus includes:

  • Extra-long twin bed and mattress
  • Desk
  • Desk shelf with light and tack board
  • Desk chair
  • Bookshelf with three shelves
  • Dresser with three drawers
  • Blinds
  • Built-in closets or a wardrobe

View the individual residence halls and housing options for building-specific details.

Yes! Our furniture uses a pin-and-hole design that makes the furniture very easy to rearrange. You don’t even need special tools—all you need are pins (available from your RA or HR) to hold the furniture together when it is stacked.

Room dimensions can be found by using the “Links” button on My Housing through the myElmhurst Portal.

Yes! Take a video tour of each hall on our Housing Options page (click on the name of the hall you would like to see).

If you are living in the residence halls or campus apartments, internet service is provided through the residential technology fee.

If you are living in a campus house, you are responsible for your own internet, and you won’t be charged the residential technology fee.

Cureton, Stanger and West Halls are air-conditioned. Cureton and West Halls also have elevators.

Use this format:

Student Name
Elmhurst University
Frick Center – Mailroom
190 Prospect Avenue
Elmhurst, IL 60126

Learn more about the campus mailroom.

You will not be able to see a specific hall or room, but most of our regular campus tours include stops in at least one residence hall.

Every residence hall and apartment building has its own laundry facilities. There is no charge for laundry. Students in campus houses are provided access to a nearby hall to use its laundry facilities.

Room changes can be made throughout the year. Please contact your RA for more details.

We do provide housing for graduate students, who are welcome to apply in the same way that new students do for the Fall Term. We do not currently offer family housing, but please reach out to our office and we will be happy to provide information about local options.

The University does not provide storage space over summer break.

The housing prepayment is nonrefundable. To cancel your housing agreement, send us an email notification by the cancellation deadline of Friday, August 23, 2024, by 4:00 p.m.

For cancellation requests after Friday, August 23, 2024, by 4:00 p.m. (Fall Term), or Friday, January 31, 2025, by 4:00 p.m. (new spring applicants only), you must formally request a release from the housing agreement.

Students wishing to withdraw from Elmhurst need to do so at the following link: myElmhurst Portal withdrawal page.

The proper departments will be notified when the withdrawal is processed.

Questions About Dining Plans

Your dining plan will be loaded onto your student ID, or Jaypass, which will then act as a debit card would. Swipe your Jaypass when buying food in any of the Chartwells venues on campus, and the amount will be deducted from your account.

Any unused portion of the dining plan will carry over from the Fall Term to the Spring Term. If there is a balance at the end of the academic year, the balance is not refunded.

Students residing on campus for January Term (J-Term) are required to purchase a separate dining plan for the entirety of J-Term. Any remaining funds on the J-Term plan do not carry over to the Spring Term and will not be refunded.

You can add additional dining funds on your Jaypass at the Office of Student Financial Services in Goebel Hall.

Be mindful of how much you add, as any unused funds at the end of the academic year will not be refunded.

You can change your dining plan only during specific time periods. Sunday, September 8, 2024, is the deadline for your Fall Term dining plan. The deadline for Spring Term is Sunday, February 16, 2025. To change your plan, log into the myElmhurst Portal, choose My Housing, then select My Dining and follow the directions.

Yes. Dining plans are optional for apartment and house residents, but are required for students in residence halls.

Commuter students may add funds on their Jaypass upfront for use at campus dining locations by visiting the Office of Student Financial Services in Goebel Hall. Commuters can also add funds to their Jaypass via TouchNet, located in the Elmhurst Portal. Unfortunately, our office is only able to add dining plans for students with a current housing assignment.

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