A college Q&A with our student vlogger
December 19, 2022
Ram’s Life vlogger, Amanda, answers questions about choosing college, housing, dining, and making friends at CSU.
Housing and Dining
30,000+ Rams have to live somewhere. Luckily, “somewhere” is great pretty much everywhere.
Where you live during your time at CSU will likely be one of the biggest decisions you’ll be weighing as you make college decisions. You have a lot of options to suit your needs either living on campus in residence halls or apartment communities, or off-campus in homes or apartments. Not sure where to start for either? We’ve got you covered.
On-campus housing
More than 6,000 students make their home at Colorado State University each year. Most are freshmen, who are required to live on campus with a few exceptions. Lots of transfer students, upperclassmen, graduate students, and adult learners also call CSU home. Halls and apartments are open for fall, spring, and summer semesters.
Types of housing
Based on your student type, you have your choice of 15 residence halls and four apartment communities here at CSU, each with a personality of its own. Residence halls — you might call them dorms — are open to freshmen, transfer, and upper division students. Apartments are open to freshmen students who are 21 years or older, continuing undergraduate students, transfer students, and graduate students.
Residence hall communities
Within our residence halls, you may choose to live in a specific community that has a shared goal or outlook, like living substance free, all gender and open housing, or learning communities.
Types of rooms
Generally, living arrangements in the residence halls provide these options, with variations among halls:
Community style: This option means there is a community bathroom centrally located on each floor/wing of the residence hall. The rooms are either shared or single spaces. Single spaces are limited, and students with qualifying disabilities may be given priority.
Suite style: These living spaces offer a more-private experience. Most suites feature two double rooms that share a bathroom but each room includes its own vanity with sink. Some suites offer a private room and/or bathroom. Private rooms are limited, and students with qualifying disabilities may be given priority.
How to live on campus
1. Fill out your housing application
You’ll gain access to the housing application 1) after being admitted to CSU and 2) after paying or deferring your enrollment deposit. The housing application requires a $300 deposit plus a $50 non-refundable application fee. The housing deposit is waived for students who receive an enrollment deposit deferral.
On the housing application, you’ll be asked for your hall or building preference.
Key dates
- The housing application opens in January to live on campus the following fall semester. It opens mid-September to live on campus starting in the spring semester.
- There is no deadline to apply; however, we encourage you to apply as soon as possible to fully participate in roommate matching and room selection.
2. Participate in roommate selection
You will select a roommate before you select a room. You have two options for getting a roommate:
- Once you are assigned a hall, you can use the CSU Housing Portal to find someone you’d like to room with based on interactive profiles OR
- You can be assigned a roommate by CSU based on the lifestyle questionnaire you fill out with your housing application.
Key dates for fall semester start
- You can start using the roommate matching portal in April, after you are assigned a hall.
- Roommate matching closes in July, before room selection begins.
3. Choose a room
Roommate pairs and groups will begin receiving notification that they may log in to the CSU Housing Portal to select their building and room. New rooms throughout the residence halls will be made available as room selection progresses. We encourage everyone to have a few options in mind as some spaces will fill more quickly than others. If you are matched with a roommate, both of you will be able to select a space together. Matching with a roommate is not required for room selection.
Key dates for fall semester start
- Room selection opens in July on a rolling basis and is not dependent upon when you submitted your housing application.
Off-campus housing
If you’re on the hunt for off-campus housing, here’s some good news: You have plenty of options for renting or buying in Fort Collins and in nearby towns of Loveland, Windsor, Timnath, LaPorte, Wellington, and more.
Colorado State University provides lots of resources to make your search easier, and the biggest resource is called Off-Campus Life. Staff in this office at CSU can help you find housing and roommates, assist with commutes, and even help you with the nitty-gritty about budgets, leasing, purchasing a home, and more.
On-campus dining
No matter where you are on campus, you won’t be far from a spot to chow down. Colorado State has several dining centers — each with a unique twist — and the Lory Student Center offers local favorites as well as national chains including Taco Bell, Panda Express, and Subway.
Types of halls and food
Dining center options include all-you-care-to-eat, grab and go, grocery-style marketplaces, and online ordering and pickup. Nearly every location has menus based on dietary preferences and/or allergens, like gluten-free, vegan and vegetarian, kosher, and halal options.
Meal plans
Residential Dining Services offers a variety of meal plan options that required for students living in the residence halls and are optional for on-campus apartment and off-campus residents. Meal plans are purchased per semester together with room and board rates. Meal plans for residence hall students include:
- Access to all dining centers, marketplaces, and express locations.
- 15 flexible bonus meals to be used in the dining centers when you run low on weekly meals swipes
- $150 RamCash each semester (billed separately)
- Two-week grace period at the beginning of each semester to change meal plans
- Free meals for parents and legal guardians twice every two weeks at any of our dining centers as long as they are accompanied by their student.
Housing & dining tips
Self-care checklist: A guide for your first month at Colorado State
August 9, 2022
Check out these five self-care tips to make your life easier in your first month of college.
A Ram’s Life: Comparing apartment and house living in college
July 19, 2022
Ram’s Life vlogger, Jamie, weighs the pros and cons of living off campus in an apartment and a house in Fort Collins.
A Ram’s Life: Having an emotional support animal on campus
June 14, 2022
Ram’s Life vlogger, Grace, explains emotional support animals and how applying to have one on campus works at CSU.
On-campus housing
Learn more about each specific residence hall, their locations, and rates.
Off-campus housing
Get help finding housing and roommates, learn about commuting, and more.