FYE Live-On Residency Requirement FAQs

Yes. If you have been attending community college courses while in high school and it is less than one year since you graduated from high school, you are required to live on campus.

No. If you graduated from high school more than one calendar year before the term you are starting classes at OSU, you are not required to live on campus and do not need to request an exemption. All new OSU students are encouraged to live on campus, including those looking for upper division or transfer communities.

In this case, you are not required to live on campus during the summer session, but you are required to live on campus beginning in fall 2023 and until the end of spring term 2024.

All Oregon State University owned and operated residences. See a summary of all on-campus residential spaces.

To request an exemption to the FYE live-on requirement, you need to complete the FYE Live-On Residency Exemption Request Form.

All communication regarding the status of your exemption request will be sent to your ONID email address. Please be sure that you have set up your ONID email address before filing for an exemption request and remember to check your university email throughout the process. 

Yes. You are expected to abide by the FYE live-on requirement and the terms of your specific exemption. If your living situation changes, you are expected to request a new exemption or to move into on-campus resident housing for the remaining terms that you are still considered a first-year student.

OSU expects all students to abide by the Code of Student Conduct. The FYE live-on requirement is an expectation upheld through the code. If there is information suggesting that you are not abiding by the FYE live-on requirement, a report will be filed with the Office of Student Conduct & Community Standards. If, through the student conduct process, it is determined that you are not adhering to this policy, you may be subject to sanctions.  

If you have any questions regarding the FYE live-on requirement, please contact the FYE Support Assistant by email at [email protected] or by phone at 541-737-3656. Generally, the FYE Support Assistant will respond to all emails and phone calls within one business day.

If you are granted an exemption before the start of the academic year, please email [email protected] to cancel your housing contract.

If you would like to live on campus, you will need to contact Housing at [email protected] to reactive your application.

If you are granted an exemption during the year, you need to follow the UHDS move-out and cancelation process.

First year students are required to live on-campus as part of OSU’s First-Year Experience program; therefore, first-year students will not be allowed to cancel their Housing and Dining contract and move off campus without an approved exemption.   If you decide to move off campus with or without an approved exemption from the FYE live-on requirement, you will be responsible for the appropriate cancelation fees per your contract with UHDS. In addition, if you decide to move off campus without an approved exemption from the FYE live-on requirement, a report regarding your possible violation of the Code of Student Conduct will be forwarded to the office of Student Conduct and Community Standards. 

Please contact the Office of Admissions and inform them of your cancelation and email [email protected] to cancel your housing.

Your financial circumstances will not be considered as a basis for exemption. However, there are multiple housing and dining options available for differing financial circumstances. Learn more about the various housing and dining options.

  1. If you plan to live with immediate family at another address that is not your address of origin, you will need to provide documentation.  This must include:
    1. The name of the family member you are going to live with.
    2. Their relationship to you.
    3. Proof of address in the form of a copy of the mortgage or lease agreement with the family member's name. (Example: I am going to be living with my sister Susie Smart at 1252 9th street Corvallis OR 97333. Attached is the lease agreement confirming my sister’s residence).
  2. If you are living with a family member and you will not be listed on the mortgage, lease agreement, or addendum to the lease agreement, you will need to provide the following:
    1. A brief letter from the family member that verifies that you will be living with them at their address, and,
    2. A copy of the family member's mortgage, lease, or utility bill that verifies the family member's address.

Generally, students living in a fraternity or sorority that is approved by the OSU Affiliated First-Year Housing Program (AHP) will be granted an exemption to the FYE live-on requirement. 

Only students living in a nonprofit cooperative house that is approved by the OSU Affiliated First-Year Housing Program (AHP) will be eligible to meet this exception. 

You will need a marriage certificate or a certified copy of a marriage certificate. Or, if you are on an F-1 visa or a J-1 visa, you may submit a copy of your visa paperwork listing your spouse.

You will need a birth certificate or a certified copy of a birth certificate proving your relationship to your child. Or, if you are on an F-1 or J-1 visa, you may submit a copy of your visa paperwork listing your children as your dependents.

You will need a certificate of registered domestic partnership or an affidavit of domestic partnership and the following documents that have both your name and the name of your domestic partner:

  1. Current Proof of Joint Mortgage or Joint Tenancy on a Residential Lease
  2. Joint Bank Account or Joint Liabilities (credit cards, car lease)
  3. Auto Insurance or Utility Bill (electric, gas, phone, internet, cable, garbage, water)

Yes, we will need to have a translation if the documents provided are not in English.

Students will need to set up an appointment with Disability Access Services (DAS) to discuss the disability they are filing an exemption for and work with DAS to determine what needs they have. 

OSU supports the diversity of our student population in the residence halls. This includes students with specific religious beliefs and practices. The fact that a student holds a particular or strong religious belief or prefers to live with like-minded individuals will not automatically exempt the student from the first-year residency requirement. OSU is able to accommodate religious practices and beliefs in a variety of ways, including worship space; washing stations; and use of residence hall meeting rooms for worship sharing, Bible study and other religious support groups. Dietary needs can usually be met through our dining plan options. Students may choose to form study groups, support groups and/or dining “buddy” table groups based on religious affiliations. If a student identifies a practice required by their religion and the Exemption Review Committee determines that OSU cannot accommodate that practice, an exemption may be granted.

The reasons listed in the policy are the only ones that will qualify a student for an exemption. Please note that exemptions will not be granted for the following:

  1. You are bound to a lease for an apartment or house off campus.
  2. You express a desire to live with (or avoid living with) certain types of people.
  3. You did not know that there was a FYE live-on requirement policy. 
  4. You expresses a desire for more privacy, space or choice than is perceived to exist by living on campus.

An individual enrolled in, or seeking to enroll in, classes at OSU for the first time within one calendar year of their high school graduation.

You will need to provide a screenshot or download of your class schedule from your partner institution. This must include your name, the name of the partner institution and your student ID number.

No. You can request an exemption without applying for housing. Simply fill out the exemption request form. Please note that the timing of housing assignments is partially based on application date so if an exemption is not approved and a housing application is not completed until later, an assignment may be given toward the end of summer and a student would likely not receive any of their top choices. There is no financial commitment to apply for housing and can be done at any time after you are admitted.

Yes. If you are planning to live with immediate family at your address of origin and that address is outside a 30-mile driving radius of the Corvallis campus.

No. If you are living with your immediate family at your address of origin within a 30-mile driving radius of the Corvallis campus, you are approved for exemption without submitting an exemption request form. If you applied for housing, please email [email protected] to cancel your housing application. To see if your zip code is within the 30-mile driving radius of the Corvallis campus see below:

97321 – Albany

97322 – Albany

97324 – Alsea

97325 – Aumsville

97326 – Blodgett

97327 – Brownsville

97419 – Cheshire

97330 – Corvallis

97331 – Corvallis

97333 – Corvallis

97338 – Dallas

97343 – Eddyville

97344 – Falls City

97348 – Halsey

97446 – Harrisburg

97351 – Independence

97352 – Jefferson

97448 – Junction City

97355 – Lebanon

97361 – Monmouth

97456 – Monroe

97370 – Philomath

97306 – Salem

97374 – Scio

97377 – Shedd

97386 – Sweet Home

97389 – Tangent

97392 – Turner