How to Apply to Residence – Fall 2025
How to Apply to Residence – Fall 2025
Applications for residence at McMaster University will open on April 2, 2025.
Below, you can find information about:
Who is Guaranteed Residence?
Note: Students are notified of their residence status on their offer of admission from McMaster.
Guaranteed students who miss the application deadline by 4:00 p.m. ET on June 2, 2025, will forfeit their residence guarantee and can apply to the waiting list. They will be added to the bottom of the existing wait list and ordered by the date and time of their application submission.
- International and Out-of-Province Students: First-Year undergraduate students who are out-of-province and international based on their admission status determined by the Admission’s Office.
- Ontario Students coming directly from high school: First-Year undergraduate students coming directly from an Ontario high school who meet the residence admission average.
Students who meet the residence admission average will be notified of their residence status on their offer of admission from McMaster.
Who is Not Guaranteed Residence?
Non-guaranteed students who apply by 4:00 p.m. ET on June 2, 2025, they will be ordered on the first-year waiting list according to their admission average. For example, for the requirement average of 88%, we would start ordering at 87.99 and work in descending order (87.99, then 87.97, then 87.96, etc.).
Non-guaranteed students who apply after 4:00 p.m. ET on June 2, 2025 are ordered at the bottom of the waiting list by date and time of application submission.
Students will be able to check their wait-list number on the Residence Application Status Page in the Housing Portal after June 2.
Expandable List
What You Should Know Before You Apply for Residence
- The application for first-year undergraduate students will be opening on April 2, 2025.
- Applications are not on a first-come, first served basis for on-campus residences.
- Students are notified of their residence status on their offer of admission from McMaster.
- You are welcome to apply to residence regardless of your status (guaranteed or non-guaranteed).
- 74% of students will live in double rooms with a roommate. If you have someone you want to live with, you can request them as a roommate during the residence application process.
- All students in residence are required to purchase a meal plan, in addition to residence housing fees.
How to Apply
Applications for the Fall 2025 residence season will be opening on April 2, 2025.
- Guaranteed students need to secure their guaranteed space by submitting a residence application with a $600 deposit by 4:00 p.m. ET on June 2, 2025 via the Housing Portal.
- Guaranteed students who do not apply and pay by the deadline will forfeit their guaranteed space in residence.
Non-guaranteed students can apply to the residence wait-list.
- Non-guaranteed students who apply by 4:00 p.m. ET on June 2, 2025 will be ordered on the first-year waiting list according to their admission average. For example, if the average requirement was 90%, we would start ordering at 89.99 and work in descending order. A student with 88.99% will be ranked higher on the wait-list than a student with an admission average 87.99%.
- Students will be able to check their wait-list number on the Residence Application Status Page in the Housing Portal between June 2 and June 6. Students who apply to the wait-list before the deadline will receive an email when their wait-list number is ordered and ready to view on the Residence Application Status page in the Housing Portal.
- Students on the wait-list who receive an offer for residence will be required to secure their residence space with a $600 deposit paid via the Housing Portal within 24-48 hours of receiving the offer. The deadline to secure your offer to residence from the wait list will be noted in your email and this message is also viewable in the Messages Section of the Housing Portal. Residence offers are sent to McMaster email addresses.
- International and Out-of-Province Students: First-Year undergraduate students who are out-of-province and international based on their admission status determined by the Admission’s Office.
- Ontario Students coming directly from high school: First-Year undergraduate students coming directly from an Ontario high school who meet the residence admission average.
Students who meet the residence admissions average will be notified of their residence status on their offer of admission from McMaster. The residence admissions average for Fall 2025 is 88%.
Non-guaranteed students will be added to the residence wait list.
- Non-guaranteed students who apply by 4:00 p.m. ET on June 2, 2025 via the Housing Portal will be ordered by admission averages from highest to lowest.
- Students will be able to check their wait-list number on the Residence Application Status Page in the Housing Portal after the deadline. Students who apply to the wait-list before the deadline will receive an email when their wait-list number is ordered and ready to view on the Residence Application Status Page in the Housing Portal.
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Students on the wait-list who are provided an offer for residence will be required to secure their residence space with a $600 deposit, which must be paid within 24-48 hours of receiving the offer. The deadline to secure your offer to residence from the wait list will be noted in your email and this message is also viewable in the Messages Section of the Housing Portal. Residence offers are sent to McMaster email addresses.
How to Complete the Residence Application (Video)
The video below will explain how to fill out the Residence Application through the Housing Portal. If further assistance is needed, do not hesitate to reach out to the Housing Live Chat by clicking the “Chat With Us” Icon in the bottom-right of the Housing web site.
Please note that this video reflects the 2024-2025 application term, and the steps may vary slightly in future terms.
Residence & Meal Plan Fees
Your residence room fee includes:
- Your fully-furnished accommodations (varies by room type)
- Room type fees will be charged to your Mosaic Student Account and split into Fall term and Winter term payments. Fall term payments are due by September 15 and Winter term payments are due by January 15.
- Access to residence facilities, including study rooms, common area kitchens and laundry facilities (laundry is a separate cost)
- Wireless Internet in each residence building (more information)
- Room fees do not include Meal Plan fees and other residence fees (i.e., Residence Health & Well-being Fee, Student Liability and Property Insurance Fee, etc.).
Your Residence Meal Plan
- Hospitality Services requires all residence students to purchase a Meal Plan.
- Meal Plan fees will be charged to your Mosaic Student Account, and not split into terms.
- You can view the different meal plan options here.
- Students living in traditional residences must purchase a meal plan from the Traditional meal plans.
- Students living in Bates and Mary E. Keyes Residence may purchase a meal plan from either the Traditional or Apartment-Style meal plans since those residence spaces include in-suite kitchens.
- The appropriate meal plan selections will be shown after you select your room. You will only see the meal plans you are allowed to select based on your room assignment in either a Traditional or Apartment-Style room type.
- Hospitality Services can accommodate most dietary needs. If you have special dietary needs, please ensure you indicate this information on the Residence Accommodation section of the online application. Please also contact Hospitality Services (Ext. 24422) to discuss your Special Dietary needs.
Changing your Meal Plan
- After making your choice of a meal plan, changes to it can be made directly from the Housing Portal until a date to be announced for 2025.
Take a virtual tour of our buildings on campus!
Get a personal room tour of the many different room styles offered in our residences!
Room Types
In McMaster’s residence buildings, over 74% of rooms are double rooms. If you apply to residence, you should expect to have a roommate.
If you have a specific accommodation need in your application, the residence team will do their best to meet your accommodation, however no student is guaranteed any room type such as a single room or a private washroom. Single rooms and rooms with ensuite washrooms are limited.
Room assignments are completed by Room Self-Selection. Learn more about Residence Room Self-Selection.
Roommate Requests
We guarantee one roommate request based on certain criteria being met.
We guarantee a roommate request if both students:
- have guaranteed residence offers
- meet the residence application and deposit deadline
- ranked their profile and Living and Learning Community (LLC) responses identically
- have requested and accepted each other as roommates on their online application
On the Roommate Request step in your Housing Portal, you can enter your requested roommate’s 9-digit student ID number and send them a request. Your requested roommate will receive an email and the request will also appear in their Housing Portal. Your requested roommate must accept the request by 4:00 p.m. ET on June 2, 2025, to confirm you want to live together.
Any roommate requests that are not confirmed by 4:00 p.m. ET on June 2, 2025 will forfeit their opportunity to live with that requested roommate.
For more information about the roommate request and how that impacts your room self-selection process, please visit Room Self-Selection.