Requesting to Live with a Roommate
Most students live in a traditional double with a roommate.
We guarantee a roommate request if both students:
- Have guaranteed residence offers.
- Meet the residence application and deposit deadline (dates).
- Ranked their profile and Living and Learning Community (LLC) responses identically.
- Have requested and accepted each other as roommates on their online application.
Making Your Roommate Request
On the Roommate Request step in your Housing Portal, you can enter your requested roommate’s 9-digit McMaster 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 4:00p.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.
Don’t know anyone applying to residence?
Don’t worry — your responses on the My Profile page can help match you with a roommate(s) if applicable.
For more information about the roommate request and how that impacts your room self-selection process, please visit Room Self-Selection.
How to Request 3 or 4 Roommates for a Traditional Room (Triple/Quad)
Groups of four guaranteed students who wish to live together in a traditional quad room type must email resadmissions@mcmaster.ca with all your names and McMaster Student ID numbers by 4:00p.m. ET on June 2, 2025. If all students are guaranteed residence and submit their requests by the deadline, we will consider your request for a traditional quad style room.
Groups of three guaranteed students who wish to live together in a traditional triple room type, must email resadmissions@mcmaster.ca with all your names and McMaster Student ID numbers by 4:00p.m. ET on June 2, 2025. If all students are guaranteed residence and submit their requests by the deadline, we will consider your request for a traditional triple style room.
Each guaranteed student within the group must email their individual request including their name and McMaster student ID number, and the names and McMaster Student ID numbers of their roommates.
For example: three students looking to live together in a Triple Room must send three separate requests. They must all have guaranteed offers to live in McMaster University residence.
These requests only apply to traditional Triple or Quad style rooms. We do not consider these requests for 4-person roommates in suites in Mary E. Keyes Residence, apartments in Bates Residence, or room types in connected shared washrooms such as PGCLL.
We have a limited number of traditional triple or quad room types, which means if we receive more multiple roommate requests than bed spaces available, we will run a lottery to determine which group of students will receive the quad style room.
We also encourage all students submitting a four-person roommate request to consider filling out one roommate request on their online application. If you are unsuccessful in receiving a quad style room with your group, then you have a chance to be placed with one roommate of your choice in a double room.
For more information about the different room types available, including a traditional quad room type, please check out our page detailing Room Types at McMaster University.
