What You Need to Do

You should check your current accommodations by logging into SDS Online Services and clicking on “Housing Accommodation” on the left side of the webpage.

If your listed accommodations meet your disability access needs:

• Submit the Residential Application via the Housing Portal and complete any other applicable steps with Housing and Residential Life.
• Please do not fill out any new request forms on the SDS website for housing.

If your listed accommodations do not meet your disability access needs, and you need to request new or additional accommodations:

• Please complete an SDS Housing Accommodation Request Form and submit any relevant documentation by February 1. Requests received later will not be able to be reviewed before Housing sends out SDS-facilitated room offers.
• Submit the Residential Application via the Housing Portal and complete any other applicable steps with Housing and Residential Life. 

What You Need to Know About On-Campus Housing for Sophomore Year

• Second year students are required to live on campus. Learn about the on-campus residential options for rising sophomores.
• All students, including those with approved SDS housing accommodations, must complete the Residential Application via the Housing Portal. Housing and Residential Programs will be sending out several emails. Make sure to follow all the instructions and meet all the deadlines given.
• Your currently approved housing accommodations carry over to your sophomore year (with the exception of Emotional Support Animal accommodations). 
• Current first year students approved for SDS Housing accommodations will receive an SDS-facilitated room offer for Fall 2024 Housing directly from Housing in early March 2024.
• Accepting a housing offer via this process means that you would NOT participate in the general room selection/time slot/blocking process that happens in mid-March. You will receive your SDS-facilitated room offer/assignment prior to the general room selection process so you will have the opportunity to decide which you’d rather do: accept the SDS facilitated offer, or decline and participate in general room selection instead. Please understand that the SDS-facilitated room offer will be a room that meets your disability-related needs, but not necessarily your roommate, room type, and building preferences. Housing will do their best to meet your preferences if you follow their directions.  
• If you do not accept the SDS-facilitated room offer, you are declining accessible housing and you will need to live in whatever room you select during rising sophomore room selection. You will not receive a second offer after room selection if you decline an SDS-facilitated offer prior to selection. Accepting the SDS-facilitated room offer is the only way to guarantee placement in a room that meets your disability access needs. 

If you have any questions about your accessible housing for next year, please contact us as soon as possible. Please remember to monitor your emails for important messages and reminders regarding housing.   

Steps for Using your Approved Housing Accommodations

1. Housing and Residential Life will be sending out emails and has information on their website. Please review that information and your responsibilities carefully. 
2. Complete the Residential Application via the Housing Portal. 
3. You will not be placed ahead of room selection. Instead, you must self-select a room during the processes that are open to all students currently living on campus (same room selection, same area selection, and open room selection). See Housing and Residential Life’s website for dates.
4. If your selected room does not meet your SDS-approved accommodations, complete the Student Disability Services and Housing Accommodation Form by Friday, Oct. 18th. Housing and Residential Life will follow up with you. You do not need to re-apply for disability-related housing accommodations through SDS (unless your accommodation needs have changed). 
5. On-campus housing is not guaranteed for juniors and seniors. If you do not secure a spot on campus through the room selection process, you will need to arrange to live off campus.   

If Seeking New or Additional Disability-Related Housing Accommodations

• Submit your request to SDS at least three weeks prior to room selection. It takes us a few weeks to review requests submitted at the start of the semester.
• After room selection, certain housing options may be limited or unavailable. If you are approved after selection takes place, complete the Student Disability Services and Housing Accommodation Form so the Office of Housing and Residential Life can explore options with you. 

Amenities offered in graduate/professional student housing is different than what was available in undergraduate housing. For example, all students in graduate housing have their own bedrooms. There are different air control options as well. 

Due to the different amenities available, you may no longer need disability-related housing accommodations.

What you should do:

1. Review the amenities of the graduate/professional student housing available at your program. 
2. If you will still need a disability-related housing, submit a new SDS Housing Accommodation Request Form. 

If you are requesting to bring an Emotional Support Animal (ESA) to live with you on campus, or need to renew an ESA previously approved by Cornell University SDS, please review Emotional Support Animal page on our website for more information.
 
Unlike other disability-related housing accommodations, approval to have an ESA in campus housing has to be approved by SDS and renewed on a yearly basis. Approval does not carry over from one year to the next.

If you have been approved for this accommodation at Cornell before, SDS will reach out to you over the summer to see if you desire to renew that accommodation. Watch your Cornell email for communication and please follow up with any requests from our office for forms or information.