Who Gets Priority

Two groups of applicants are guaranteed a room in residence at UBC. We assign rooms to these applicants first.

  1. Priority Access Students
  2. Prospective undergraduates who are incoming first-year students and fall under one of our exception categories for 2020 Winter Session Housing.

A spot in residence is not guaranteed if you do not meet the requirements, but you can still apply.

PRIORITY ACCESS

Priority Access groups are also given first consideration for rooms in residence during the Winter Session.

Base Criteria
(must meet ALL requirements)

  1. You are eligible to live in residence based on age and academic credit load.
  2. Your application to UBC and application for Winter Session residence were received on time – May 1. First-year students can open a residence application when applying to UBC.
  3. You must have received and accepted UBC’s offer of academic admission by June 1.

Additional Criteria
(must also have ONE of the following)

  1. You are a newly admitted student who identifies as an Aboriginal person of Canada.
  2. You are a new student and have a disability or ongoing medical condition that significantly affects your housing needs. Students may indicate they are eligible on the residence application form, then must demonstrate eligibility by completing a separate application and providing medical documentation confirmed by the Disability Resource Centre.
  3. You are participating in ONE of the following reciprocal university student exchange programs: Go Global, Commerce MBA Exchange Program.
  4. You are a newly admitted student who received an athletic scholarship, confirmed by UBC Athletics and Recreation.
  5. You are a newly admitted graduate student who received one of the following awards or fellowships: NSERC, MRC, SSHRC, Commonwealth, NHRDP, CIDA. Put the title of your award and your home institution on the comments section of the application. Submit supporting documents.

Please contact Student Housing & Hospitality Services for more information about Priority Access.

FIRST YEAR GUARANTEE

Although many first-year classes will be accessible online, we will have limited residence options. We recognize some first-year students may need to be on campus due to academic requirements and/or personal needs. As long as space is available, we will provide housing accommodation for qualifying students who are required to be on campus. Amenities and services will be adjusted to abide by health authority guidelines.

* Please note: For 2020-2021: If you need to live on-campus, please complete the First Year Residence Exception Application.

Base Criteria for First Year Guarantee (2021-2022) and 2020 Residence Exceptions
(must meet ALL requirements)

  1. You are eligible to live in residence based on your age and academic credit load.
  2. Your application to UBC and application for Winter Session residence were received on time – May 1. First year students can open a residence application as soon as they complete their application to UBC.
  3. You must receive and accept UBC’s offer of academic admission by June 1.

Additional Considerations

  1. You are entering UBC directly from high school or CEGEP. (i.e., you graduated within the last year, between this June and the previous June – and you have not completed any post-secondary coursework.)
  2. You are a newly admitted first or second year international undergraduate student (excluding post-baccalaureate degree programs).