What You Need to Do

You should check your current accommodations by logging into SDS Online Services and clicking on “Housing Accommodation” on the left side of the webpage.

If your listed accommodations meet your disability access needs:

• Submit the Residential Application via the Housing Portal and complete any other applicable steps with Housing and Residential Life.
• Please do not fill out any new request forms on the SDS website for housing.

If your listed accommodations do not meet your disability access needs, and you need to request new or additional accommodations:

• Please complete an SDS Housing Accommodation Request Form and submit any relevant documentation by February 1. Requests received later will not be able to be reviewed before Housing sends out SDS-facilitated room offers.
• Submit the Residential Application via the Housing Portal and complete any other applicable steps with Housing and Residential Life. 

What You Need to Know About On-Campus Housing for Sophomore Year

• Second year students are required to live on campus. Learn about the on-campus residential options for rising sophomores.
• All students, including those with approved SDS housing accommodations, must complete the Residential Application via the Housing Portal. Housing and Residential Programs will be sending out several emails. Make sure to follow all the instructions and meet all the deadlines given.
• Your currently approved housing accommodations carry over to your sophomore year (with the exception of Emotional Support Animal accommodations). 
• Current first year students approved for SDS Housing accommodations will receive an SDS-facilitated room offer for Fall 2024 Housing directly from Housing in early March 2024.
• Accepting a housing offer via this process means that you would NOT participate in the general room selection/time slot/blocking process that happens in mid-March. You will receive your SDS-facilitated room offer/assignment prior to the general room selection process so you will have the opportunity to decide which you’d rather do: accept the SDS facilitated offer, or decline and participate in general room selection instead. Please understand that the SDS-facilitated room offer will be a room that meets your disability-related needs, but not necessarily your roommate, room type, and building preferences. Housing will do their best to meet your preferences if you follow their directions.  
• If you do not accept the SDS-facilitated room offer, you are declining accessible housing and you will need to live in whatever room you select during rising sophomore room selection. You will not receive a second offer after room selection if you decline an SDS-facilitated offer prior to selection. Accepting the SDS-facilitated room offer is the only way to guarantee placement in a room that meets your disability access needs. 

If you have any questions about your accessible housing for next year, please contact us as soon as possible. Please remember to monitor your emails for important messages and reminders regarding housing.   

What to Know

What you need to know about choosing on-campus housing and disability housing accommodations:

• On-campus housing is not guaranteed for juniors and seniors
• You won't be placed ahead of room selection. Instead, you must self-select a room during the process that is open to all students currently living on campus.  
• If your current room assignment meets your disability access needs, your best chance at securing a room that meets your needs is to participate in "Same Room Selection" and/or "Same Building/Community Selection."  
• You are responsible for self-selecting a room and contacting the Housing and Residential Life Office if it does not meet your SDS-approved accommodations. You do not need to re-apply for disability-related housing accommodations through SDS (unless your accommodation needs have changed). 
• If you do not secure a spot on campus through the room selection process, you will need to arrange to live off campus. 

How to Continue Using Disability-Related Housing Accommodations

Follow these steps if you are already approved for a housing accommodation through SDS and you wish to live on campus next year: 

1. Participate and sign a contract through one of the following processes:
   (See Housing and Residential Life’s website for dates)

   • Same Room Selection and Roommate Pull-in
   • Same Building/Community Selection and Roommate Pull-in
   • General Room Selection
        

   Note: If your RHD/HAD lets you know that your current room is not eligible for Same Room Selection, please complete the "Housing Accommodations" form on the Housing and Residential Life Office's Help page ASAP.
    

2. Should you select a room that does not meet your access needs, complete the appropriate "Housing Accommodations" form on the Housing and Residential Life Office's Help page to explore your options.

The Housing and Residential Life will be sending out emails and has information on their website; please review that information and your responsibilities carefully. Please note that all students must complete the Residential Application via the Housing Portal.  

Amenities offered in graduate/professional student housing is different than what was available in undergraduate housing. For example, all students in graduate housing have their own bedrooms. There are different air control options as well. 

Due to the different amenities available, you may no longer need disability-related housing accommodations.

What you should do:

1. Review the amenities of the graduate/professional student housing available at your program. 
2. If you will still need a disability-related housing, submit a new SDS Housing Accommodation Request Form. 

If you are requesting to bring an Emotional Support Animal (ESA) to live with you on campus, or need to renew an ESA previously approved by Cornell University SDS, please review Emotional Support Animal page on our website for more information.
 
Unlike other disability-related housing accommodations, approval to have an ESA in campus housing has to be approved by SDS and renewed on a yearly basis. Approval does not carry over from one year to the next.

If you have been approved for this accommodation at Cornell before, SDS will reach out to you over the summer to see if you desire to renew that accommodation. Watch your Cornell email for communication and please follow up with any requests from our office for forms or information.