Pitt’s dorm selection process, explained

Beginning March 19, rising sophomores and juniors will select their housing assignments for the 2025-26 school year. Kathleen Kyle, director of housing and Panther Central, encourages students to “have a few options” before heading into the selection portal. 

“[There are] a few questions we ask to make sure [students] are thinking through all of their options,” Kyle said. “What is most important to support their lifestyle? How important is the location? Do they need air conditioning? Does the number of roommates matter?”

In this year’s general room selection, students can choose from Lothrop Hall, University Hall and Litchfield Tower C, which offer single rooms, and Panther Hall, which offers double rooms. All guaranteed students have been sent a randomly generated lottery number to their Pitt email, even if they don’t plan on participating in the general room selection.

“If you have the lottery number 4,000, that may seem high, but if the 3,500 students ahead of you don’t participate, you’re now actually 500,” Kyle said.

This year’s lottery numbers range from 1 to 6,856 and determine the order in which students select their housing, with lower numbers getting first choice. Last year, the numbers ranged from 1 to 7,700.

“A lot of students who receive a high lottery number are worried there won’t be a space for them on campus,” Adam Johnson, assignments and leasing coordinator, said in a virtual information session in November. “If you’re a guaranteed student with a lottery number, we assure you, there’s a space for you on campus.”

According to Pitt’s Housing Services website, students must complete the housing application, sign the housing and dining contract and pay the $325 housing deposit by the required deadline to select housing. Instructions for completing these steps were emailed to students in January.

“The most common mistake students make is missing their housing application deadline, which also nullifies their future housing guarantee,” Kyle said. “Students can avoid this common mistake by regularly checking their Pitt email.”

Students admitted to Pitt in the fall of their first year are guaranteed on-campus housing through their junior year. Though the apartment and suite bid process took place in February, students can still participate in the general room selection. Rising juniors select between March 19-20 and rising sophomores between March 25-28.

“The options for general room selection include traditional residence hall spaces like singles, doubles, and anything that was not selected during suite/apartment-style selection,” Kyle said. 

Students who were admitted to Pitt after the fall term of their first year are not guaranteed housing and must participate in the non-guaranteed selection process if they want on-campus accommodations.

“A non-guaranteed student must complete their housing application at a later date and are placed on a waitlist,” Johnson said. “We begin working on that waitlist in the spring and reach out to those students as vacancies become available.”

Students can choose their own roommates by entering their roommates’ student ID numbers when making their housing selections.

“The student with the lowest lottery number can log on at their scheduled time and pull in those roommates,” Johnson said. “We always recommend that the roommate with the lowest lottery number make the selection, and we encourage them to log into the portal prepared with their roommate’s information.”

Johnson said while all students are guaranteed a space on campus, housing options are limited, meaning students may not always get their first choice.

“It’s impossible to predict each student’s odds since lottery numbers are randomly generated,” Johnson said. “However, 40% of students choose to live off campus, in sorority housing, or become RAs, so they don’t participate in general room selection.”

Kyle advised students to secure a dorm, even if it isn’t their top choice, as they can request a housing change later.

“It’s much easier for us to relocate a student if something comes open over the summer in their preferred building or room type,” Kyle said. “We don’t want them to miss out on securing a bed at all.”

Johnson added that students have until April 15 to terminate their housing contract and receive a full refund of their housing deposit.

“If your off-campus plans fall through after the selection is over, you’d have to enter the waitlist through the non-guaranteed housing process, where it’s a lot more difficult to obtain housing,” Johnson said. “I encourage students to go through our housing process and see where they end up. If they have regrets, they can always terminate by April 15 with no questions asked.”