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Information for Parents of Incoming Students

Hello parents and guardians of incoming students! We are so excited that your student will be joining our residential community!

Below is some information that may help you and your student better understand and make decisions about the upcoming housing process and also address some frequently asked questions.

Housing Options

  • New freshmen have the option of living in many of our residence halls, which contain a mix of both first-year and upperclassmen students.  New transfer students may choose from any non-Greek residence halls. For the complete list of halls, click here.
  • New freshmen are not permitted to have single rooms.
  • Residence halls and room types vary by cost.
  • Students who need housing accommodations, such as a single or uncarpeted room, will need to first reach out to Accessible Education Services (AES).  AES manages the housing accommodation process, working with staff from the Residence Life & Housing and Student Health & Counseling to make appropriate accommodations based on documentation received.
  • There are housing opportunities for incoming students in our Intentional Living Communities, which provide unique learning environments. 

Move In

  • New residents will receive their specific move in dates and times via email during the summer. 
  • Due to security concerns, we cannot allow residents to move in prior to this date and time, unless they are participating in a pre-orientation program or athletic team. These students must have permission from the program supervisor or athletic coach, who will tell Residence Life the date that their students may move in. 

Meal Plans

  • All freshmen students must have a 19 meal plan. 
  • Transfer and upperclassmen students may have at least the minimum meal plan allowed for their residence hall.
  • Meal plans are automatically assigned when students sign up for housing - they do not need to take any additional steps to choose their meal plan.

Choosing a Room

The housing selection process for incoming students will begin in May. At that time, new students will be able to fill out profile information and start searching for roommates. After the last summer orientation, students will be able to choose a room. Information will be emailed to students at their Roanoke email account when it becomes available.

 For more information, see our Frequently Asked Questions page!

Roommates

All freshmen residents are required to live in a room with a roommate.

  • Many students meet future roommates at orientation. 
  • Encourage your student to choose a roommate who is compatible with their living style! In our experience, even if roommates don't have the same interests, they will be a good match when they have similar living habits. Our roommate profile questions that students fill out during housing selection are designed to help students find a good match. 
  • Roommate conflicts are natural and healthy.  Residence Life & Housing encourages students to work through any issues they may have with a roommate.  This experience will help your student learn essential skills such as communicating with others and setting boundaries.  You can help this process by challenging your student to work through their concerns.  There are Resident Advisors in each hall who have been trained to handle roommate concerns.  Your student may also seek our assistance from their Assistant Director, who is a full-time professional staff member that lives in the halls.  

What should we bring?

Please see our What to Bring page. The page for your student's residence hall also gives helpful information about that particular building's amenities! For a list of residence halls, click here.

Residence Life Staff

Resident Advisors (RAs): RAs are students' first point of contact when they need advice, want to get involved on campus, have roommate troubles and much more!  

Head Resident Advisors (HRAs):  HRAs are student staff members who have additional RA responsibilities.  HRAs provide mentorship and supervision to RAs.

Assistant/Associate Directors (ADs): ADs are full-time professionals who oversee RA staff members for each area. Each AD has a Masters degree and manages a certain area of campus and assists RAs and residents with any concerns. 

Click here to meet the staff!

Miscellaneous 

  • All students will be assigned a Roanoke College email address and password (which can be changed). This will give them access to MyRoanoke, a page located on main Roanoke College webpage, where they can get their campus mailbox number and more!
  • All students will be assigned a campus mail box through the Mail Services Department. You can send mail to 221 College Lane, Campus Box (xyz), Salem, VA 24153. All mail goes to a central location - there is no mail service directly to residence halls.