Room Sign-up

Living on campus will impact all aspects of your experience at NIU. It provides many opportunities to meet people from different cultures, countries and ethnic backgrounds. You will begin to form important friendships and feel a sense of belonging. When you live in an NIU residence hall, you have the ability to quickly become a comfortable, full-fledged member of the NIU community. Your residence hall is your new home, and the Housing and Residential Services staff are committed to providing you with a safe, supportive and educationally empowering residential community.

Living in an NIU residence hall enhances your college experience. Living-learning Communities let you live and socialize with other students who share your academic and career goals. Collaborative partnerships with faculty and student support services enable us to enhance your learning experience so that you can learn, grow and be successful within a complex and diverse world.

You can sign up to live in Stevenson, Grant, Patterson, Gilbert, Neptune or Northern View Community. Not sure which hall is best for you? Compare the residence halls at NIU.

Spring 2026 New Student Process

If you are admitted to NIU for spring 2026, then sign your contract and make the $150 payment. $125 of this payment is a pre-payment deposit on your room for the spring semester.

Then learn about our residence halls and find one that fits your goals and lifestyle. Check out our special communities that may be of interest to you.

Spring housing sign-up will begin December 17, after the fall semester concludes, to ensure adequate time for processing departing students and verifying space availability. Be sure to check your email or visit the spring housing webpage for full details once the process begins. Please note that the university is closed for winter break beginning at 4:30 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 19, 2025, and will reopen on Monday, Jan. 5, 2026, at 8 a.m. Online spring room sign-up will remain active during the closure.

Sign your 2026 spring semester contract

Fall 2026 New Student Process

What is a fall 2026 new student? These are admitted students who are entering the university in the fall of 2026. Here are the steps to prepare you for the new student room selection.

1. Be admitted to NIU, and secure your Z-ID email address from Admissions.
2. Check out our residence halls and take some time to learn about our residential communities. Find a location that fits your goals and lifestyle.
3. Complete your housing contract for next year and make your prepayment.
4. Find a roommate before you choose your living space. Or just have a random roommate. Most students have random roommates that happen organically through the room selection process. However, we do have a process for mutual roommates to select rooms as a group. Learn more about having a roommate.
5. Be ready to select your room in early March through our StarRez online portal. You will receive a notification via your NIU email regarding your room selection number that allows you to enter our process and select your room. The selection number and date you are able to select your room is based on the date we received your completed contract and pre-payment.