How to Apply for Housing

Accessing the Wildcat Housing System

New Students

New students will receive an email to their Wildcat email address with directions on how to access jwuLink. From there, they can follow the instructions below when the Housing Application opens for new students, which is typically in early summer.

Returning Students 

Returning students can follow these steps:

1. Log in to jwulink
2. Click “Campus Life” under “Tools”
3. Click Wildcat Housing System

Wildcat Housing Selection Process

The housing selection process is split into three parts: completing your housing application, selecting your roommates(s), and selecting your room and meal plan.

Part 1: Complete the Housing Application

In the housing application, you’ll fill out personal information, let us know if you need accommodations and indicate your interest in special room preferences.

Step 1: Log in to jwuLink and navigate to the Wildcat Housing System in the Tools bar. 

Begin the housing application and select the current academic year. You’ll see a checklist along the side as you progress through the application. Items with a gray circle and black checkmark are completed steps that you may be able to revisit. Items with a gold circle indicate an upcoming step that may not be available yet.

Step 2: Fill out the demographic, personal and emergency contact information.

Make sure this information is accurate — it will be used frequently by Residential Life, and any inaccuracies could prevent you from receiving important information from our office.

Step 3: Indicate whether you need housing accommodations.

When you check the box in this section and click Save & Continue, an email will be sent on your behalf to the Center for Academic Support and Accessibility Services (you will be CC’d) and a member of their team will be in contact with you about next steps. You will then work with them directly to submit any required paperwork. If you have questions, you can contact them at (401) 598-4660.

Please note, only accommodations approved by the Center for Academic Support and Accessibility Services will be granted. Residential Life is unable to provide housing accommodations until a member of the Accessibility Services team has formally contacted us with your approved accommodation(s).

Step 4: Indicate interest in special housing communities.

We offer Pet & Animal Friendly communities for our students in select residence halls who want to bring their pets with them, or who wish to reside in a pet and animal environment and choose not to bring pets of their own. Applying for a pet/animal is completed through the housing application, but all steps of the pet application and approval process must be complete before the pet/animal is brought to campus.

We also offer a gender-inclusive housing option that places no restrictions on the gender of roommates, meaning you can live in the same room, suite or apartment with other students regardless of gender or gender identity. Gender-inclusive housing is a choice, and no student will be assigned to it without applying for that option.

Indicating your interest in one of these communities does not guarantee an assignment there. Spaces are limited and provided based on a first come, first served process during the selection portion of the housing application.

Step 5: Submit Part 1 of the application.

Once you have successfully submitted part 1, you’ll be able to view your application status and see important updates. 

Step 6: Prepare for roommate and housing selection.

While you wait for your housing selection time to begin, we recommend you research which halls you are eligible to select from and which would be ideal for you. It is always recommended that you plan to select from any of your top three or four choices in the event that one or more is not available at the time you select.

Before your housing selection time begins, you will be able to complete your Student Profile and create or join roommate groups if you’d like. Look out for an email regarding next steps.

Part 2: Roommate Selection

The Wildcat Housing System offers features to help you find a roommate who could be a good fit.

Step 1: Complete your student profile.

This profile includes your personal preferences on things like social factors, having guests in your room, sharing items, cleaning and more. This allows other students to determine if you will be a good potential roommate, and allows you to do the same for them. Once you save your profile, you can move on to looking at roommate groups.

Step 2: Create or join a roommate group. (Optional)

You do not need to create or join a roommate group to participate in room selection. This is an optional part of the housing selection process that lets you join up to three other students as part of a roommate group, in the hopes that there is a space with enough open beds to accommodate all of you.

The housing system will also display how well-matched you are with people based on student profile and offer suggested roommates. You can search for people, invite them to a group, join their group, send them a message or request them as a roommate. Only accepted roommates can be pulled into rooms during room selection. 

Keep coming back to your application to check for pending roommate requests or change your profile answers if needed.

Part 3: Room Selection

There is typically a waiting period before room selection opens. You will be notified via your JWU email of your room selection date and time. Selection timeslots are randomly assigned

Step 1: On the day and time of your room selection timeslot, go into the Wildcat Housing System and click “Continue My Housing Application” to be brought to room selection.

Step 2: Search for a room.

Use the room filters to find your preferred room type. If no results are found, too many filters may be checked off or those room types are no longer available. Restart your search to find more rooms if this happens.

Step 3: View room information.

When you find a room you want, click “Show Room Info” to see the room number, individual beds and assignments, room attributes and roommate information. To find out more about the roommate assigned to a room, you can click their profile.

Step 4: Select the room and your bed.

After you select a room, use the drop-down menus to select beds for yourself and your roommate(s). Only roommates you accepted during roommate selection will show in this step.

Step 5: Accepting an offer from a roommate

If your roommate has picked for you in the housing system, you will be sent an email from JWU housing. Once your selection timeslot opens, you will be able to log in and confirm or decline the room assignment on the Tentative Assignment page and move on to the next steps. If you try to sign in and confirm the offer before your timeslot opens, the system will not allow you to do so.

Step 6: Select your meal plan.

Use the drop-down menu to select a meal plan, then confirm and continue. The menu will show you which meals you can choose from based on your year and residence hall.

Step 7: Sign the housing contract.

Review the housing contract before signing at the bottom of the page, then continue on to confirm your selections. You can return to the Selection page to view any changes to your roommates or to send them messages. You will also receive a copy of your confirmed selections to your JWU email.

Welcome home, Wildcat!