General Information for Future Residents

On behalf of the Residence Life & Housing staff, welcome to campus living! Our goal is to make your residence hall living experience a significant and positive part of your college life and beyond.

Like many private liberal arts colleges, Roanoke is a residential college. That is, the campus living environment is an integral part of the college experience and is highly valued by the campus community as a complement to the classroom experience. We believe that living together in community provides residents opportunities to interact with other students, faculty, and staff and to enhance their social and interpersonal growth as citizens through shared living experiences.  The Residence Life & Housing staff is committed to encouraging an inclusive residence hall community that promotes civic and social responsibility, intellectual and personal growth, and physical and emotional well-being in its residents. We strive to achieve this community by providing our residents appropriate challenges and opportunities, support and encouragement, respect for community standards, and recognition of one another's individuality.  As members of a residential college, Roanoke students are required to live on campus during their first four years as a student unless they meet one or more of the following criteria:

  • have lived in the Roanoke Valley area (within 30 miles of campus) for at least six months preceding the date of first enrollment and continue to reside with their parent(s)/guardian(s);
  • are married;
  • live with grandparents, or siblings who live in the Roanoke Valley area;
  • are 23 years old (before the beginning of the term they desire to live off campus)
  • are a military veteran;
  • are enrolled part-time (students who claim off campus status due to part-time enrollment and who return to full-time status during the current or a subsequent semester, will be charged the current room and board rate)
  • are returning for a fifth year

Campus Residency Requirement 

Living on campus is an important part of the Roanoke College experience and all students are required to live on campus unless they meet certain criteria. For more information about the Campus Residency Requirement.

Housing Selection

Incoming students will go through housing selection after the last orientation session. Students will choose in order based on their deposit date.  Please see our Incoming Student Housing Selection page for more information.  Students who feel that traditional gender specific housing may not meet their needs should visit our Beyond the Binary page.

Meal Plans

All freshmen are required to have a 19 meal plan.  After your first year, Roanoke College offers three weekly meal plans: 9 meals a week, 14 meals a week, and 19 meals a week.  All first year students are required to hold the 19 meals a week plan.  More information about meal plans can be found here, and the Business Office can answer specific meal plan questions.  .

Residence Halls and Neighborhoods

With a total of 26 on-campus housing facilities, Roanoke College has 19 residence halls, 2 apartment buildings, and 5 Greek houses for 8 individual organizations.photo of bartlett hall  All residence halls and Greek houses fall within a specific neighborhood on campus, which has its own unique identity. For more specific information about individual residence halls, please see our Residence Halls page. More information about neighborhoods can be found on the Neighborhoods page.

Residence Life Staff

Each hall on campus has a number of student staff members dedicated to creating residence hall communities and especially assisting new students in their transition to college. All residence halls are staffed by Resident Advisors (RA), while all Greek communities have a Greek Resident Manager (GRM).  Roanoke College has a ratio of approximately 28 students for every student staff member, with about 18 first year students per RA. RAs and GRMs help with maintenance and housekeeping issues, roommate conflicts, and they also plan events for their halls. 

RAs are split into staffs by which area they live in. Each staff is overseen by an Assistant or Associate Director, a full-time professional with a graduate degree in student development or a related field. Assistant/Associate Directors oversee the buildings, staff, and residents in their area.

You can meet the Residence Life staff members.

Roanoke College Res Life StaffFAQs

Click here to read more about some frequently asked questions!