FAQs

It is not necessary to bring your entire wardrobe when you first move in. Given that dresser and closet space are limited, consider College breaks as opportunities to change your seasonal wardrobes. 

Typical temperatures in Oswego are:

• September -mid 60s
• October - low 50s
• November - low 40s
• December - low 30s
• January - mid 20s
• February - mid 20s
• March - mid 30s
• April - mid 40s
• May - mid 50s
• June - mid 60s
• July - mid 70s
• August - 70s

You will need to bring your own bed and bath linen, including:

• Pillows
• Pillowcases
• Sheets
• Blankets
• Bedspread
• Mattress pad
• Towels
• Washcloths 

All SUNY Oswego residence hall mattresses require “extra long” twin sheets (33 1/2” x 80” x 6 1/2" or 36” x 80” x 6 1/2”).

The Village beds require full bed sheets.  

• Alarm clock
• Area rug
• Boot Tray
• Camera
• Clothes hangers
• Coffee maker/Keurig
• Compact refrigerator*
• Computer
• Crates/storage bins
• Dishware/utensils
• Electronic equipment
• Ethernet cable
• Headphones
• Hot pot with automatic shut-off
• Iron
• Laundry supplies
• Power strip (Please refer to the Live Where You Learn booklet for more detailed information)
• Recreational Equipment
• Towels (hand and shower)
• TV coaxial cable

*Compact Refrigerators must not exceed 6 cubic feet and operate on no more than 2.0 amps.

The following items are prohibited. These items will be confiscated by Residence Life and Housing staff and will not be returned. Disciplinary action may be taken. Please note this is not a comprehensive list. For more information, refer to the Resident Student Handbook.

• Air conditioners
• Candles
• Cinder blocks
• Extension cords
• Hoverboards
• Incense
• Microwave ovens
• Oil burning, halogen, torchiere, octopus or tree-style, and lava lamps
• Toasters/toaster ovens
• Other cooking appliances, such as:
• Sandwich makers
• Grilling machines
• Hot plates
• Slow cookers
• Crockpots
• Rice cookers
• Instant pots

All electrical appliances must be UL-approved and must be in good working order. For a list of items that are allowed, see the section above “What other items should I bring?”

Students can bring a compact personal refrigerator, provided it is smaller than 6 cubic feet and operates on 2.0 amps or less. Two refrigerators are allowed per resident room.

Residence Life and Housing prohibits residents or their guests to bring pets of any kind into the residence halls. The only pets allowed in campus residential facilities are fish in aquariums up to 20 gallons. Students requesting service or emotional support animals should contact our office for more information.

Residence hall room sizes vary by building. Please see Residence Halls for exact dimensions in each hall.

Residence hall rooms are typically furnished with a bed, dresser, desk, desk chair, and closet for each resident. Room furnishings also include one floor lamp, three wastebaskets (two for recycling, one for true trash), and Venetian blinds. 

Single rooms are available in The Village (4 and 6-person townhouses) and Funnelle Hall for upper-division students. 

Students are encouraged to decorate their rooms so they feel comfortable in their space. However, students should take caution to avoid causing damage. Any alteration to the room that causes damage to the room is the responsibility of the occupants of that room. 

The use of tape, staples, tacks, or nails of any kind may result in damage to the walls and subsequent charges for repair. Pictures and posters may be hung on the room doors. Strips for hanging pictures and other decorative items are provided in some student bedrooms. Tape, paint, and/or marking pens should not be used on doors. Residents will be charged for cleaning or repairing both sides of their room door. 

Any decoration which adds significantly to the combustibility of the room is prohibited. Furniture, decorations, and other items which increase the flammability of residents’ rooms or public areas may be prohibited at the discretion of the residence life staff. Window curtains must meet NFPA standard code 701.

Please refer to the Residence Life and Housing Fire Safety policy in the Rules Governing Residential Facilities section of the Resident Student Handbook for more specific regulations related to Furnishings and Decorations.

If a student is locked out of their room, they can go to the front desk and ask for a lock-out key.

If a student loses their keys, they should see the Hall Director as soon as possible to arrange for replacement of the keys.

First-year students are housed in all residence halls except Onondaga, Funnelle, Riggs Hall, and the Village Townhouses. All halls are staffed and offer programs to assist first-year students. Johnson and Oneida Hall houses first-year students only.

Move-in dates are based on the academic calendar. Please refer to the Residence Hall Opening/Closing Schedule for more information. Students should sign up for a move-in time each semester at myhousing.oswego.edu.

Students are able to move into the residence halls on or after the designated dates published each semester. Typically, we are unable to accommodate early arrivals.

Any packages for resident students should be mailed to arrive AFTER the student arrives on campus.

Cooking facilities are located in each residence hall. Some halls have kitchens on each residence floor; other halls offer a single kitchen facility located in the basement of the building. Each residence hall front desk has a microwave oven for student use.

Mail is delivered to each residence hall 5 days per week. Each resident has a mailbox in the front lobby of the building. Large packages are delivered to parcel lockers on campus for student pick up.

Each residence hall has laundry facilities. The cost of using the facilities is covered through a laundry fee that students pay as part of their college bill.

The College Store offers a summer storage program for students who wish to store their belongings on campus over the summer. The summer storage program offers 3 different packages as well as a la carte options to meet your needs no matter how much you wish to store.

The college assumes no responsibility for the loss, theft, or damage to personal property, even if that loss was caused by the failure of a College mechanical system such as a pipe bursting. We strongly encourage you to have insurance coverage before you begin residency. 

Typically, such coverage may be provided by an extension of a homeowner's policy, renter's insurance, or insurance specifically for college students. Many vendors offer low-cost insurance specifically directed to the college environment. Two such vendors are College Student Insurance and Personal Property Insurance.

Residence Life and Housing trains all Resident Student and Professional staff on the administration of opioid antagonists. Opioid antagonists are provided and maintained in all university operated residential communities.

Returning students participate in the Housing Selection process to reserve their rooms for the upcoming year. This process will be handled completely online in the Spring, beginning shortly after students' return from winter break. 

New first-year and transfer students will declare their intent to live on campus when they pay their Admission Deposit and commit to SUNY Oswego. New students will be sent information regarding when and how to complete the New Student Housing Application at myHousing.oswego.edu.

Housing assignments for first-year and transfer students are made over the summer. Assignments will be available at myhousing.oswego.edu in mid-June. We encourage you to contact your roommate(s) and begin to get to know one another and start planning what each of you will be bringing for your room. 

NOTE: If you have not received your room assignment by August 15th or have questions, please contact the Residence Life and Housing Office (315) 312-2246, Monday through Friday between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. or at reslife@oswego.edu.

Room assignments are effective for the full academic year. If you would like to discuss your situation further, please see your hall director. 

Roommates don't always agree on everything. That's OK. But if you and your roommate are having difficulties living together, there are ways to work it out. Moving to a different room without first trying to work things out with your roommate is not an option! Here's what you need to do to begin to work out those differences:

• First – talk with your roommate! Let them know what's on your mind. People aren't mindreaders. Maybe they have no idea that you would like something to change!

• Second – If you talk with your roommate and aren't able to work out the issues, talk with your resident assistant (RA) or village community assistant (VCA). They are available to help you and they've been trained to help residents work out conflicts.

• Third – So, you've tried talking with your roommate, AND you've received some help from your RA/VCA, but you still have some concerns. Now it's time to get the hall director involved. In some cases, the hall director may coach you a little on how to approach your roommate differently; in other cases, however, they may meet with the two of you together to help you communicate with one another.

More often than not, roommate conflicts can be resolved by using one, two or all three of these approaches. If your situation isn't resolved by using these methods, your hall director can advise you regarding the next step(s) to take.

The standard accommodation is a room occupied by two individuals (double occupancy). Plus occupancy is defined as three persons in a room designed for two or four persons in a room designed for three.

Residents may host guests in their residence hall with the consent of their roommate and/or suitemates and in compliance with the guest policy as outlined in the Resident Student Handbook policies.

Yes, all students are able to register cars on campus. For more specific parking information, go to the Parking Office website.

Approximately 3,000 students live on campus.

Yes, the University Housing Policy explains the requirement in detail:

The College believes that immersion in the educational environment is the preferred experience for new students. Therefore, all full-time undergraduate students are required to live in SUNY Oswego residences (subsequently referred to as “on-campus”), as described below:

• First-year students are required to live on-campus for two years (four consecutive semesters (fall and spring) if admitted in the fall or three semesters if admitted in the spring). 
• Transfer students are required to live on-campus for one year (two consecutive semesters (fall and spring) if admitted in the fall or one semester if admitted in the spring).

Students may request and will generally be exempted from this requirement when they: 

• Will continue to reside with their parent(s) or legal guardian(s) within 30 miles of the campus;
• Are married; or 
• Are twenty-one (21) years of age as of September 1 for Fall admission or January 1 for Spring admission. 

Students desiring an exemption from the SUNY Oswego University Housing Policy for any reason, including the categories listed above, must request an exemption from the University Housing Policy by submitting a formal request at myhousing.oswego.edu with required documentation at least 30 days prior to the start of the semester for which the exemption is desired. 

Student scholarships, grants, and/or and financial aid may be impacted significantly by a decision to live off-campus, even if permission is received from Residence Life and Housing. Students and their families are strongly encouraged to consult with the Office of Financial Aid prior to submitting any exemption request.

Housing and Dining Rates are determined by the year in which the student matriculates at SUNY Oswego.

In keeping with the Oswego Guarantee, students will not experience any increase in the cost of housing or dining for four consecutive years. For students and their families, this means that the major portion of the cost of a residential education will be held constant for four years.

You can find our complete University Calendar online, as well as our current Residence Hall Opening/Closing Schedule.