Suite and apartment-style living at Cornell offers students a unique living environment that blends the community and support-services of our traditional residence halls with the independent living opportunities similar to what students will experience after graduation. Building common areas create a space for social interaction. A shared living space provides an area for true living and learning experiences. Distinct bedrooms and semi-private bathrooms provide students with the independence they desire. Residents will be asked to take on greater personal responsibilities, such as cleaning and conflict resolution.

About the buildings

Wilch Apartments consist of a five-person, a four-person, a three-person, and two two-person units. Each apartment includes a bathroom and kitchen/kitchenette, and there is a shared laundry room in the basement.

Russell Hall suites are made up of individual units with two single rooms and one double room.  These suites include a private living room space, storage area, and bathroom.  Community kitchens are located on each floor, and a shared laundry room is available on the lower level. 

Smith Hall suites are made up of individual units with four double rooms.  These suites include a private living room space, storage room, kitchenette, and three bathrooms.

Refer to our list of residence halls, apartments and houses for descriptions of Russell Hall, Smith Hall, and Wilch Apartments.  All suites and apartments have the option of being all-gender (refer to the information on all-gender housing).

Room Availability

Please note that Wilch apartment 300, Smith suite 120 and Russell suite 120, suite 225 and suite 325 are where the Resident Assistant for that building/floor reside.  These spaces are not available for selection in the general process.

Availability of Smith Hall suites is based upon the number of remaining suites after the Living & Learning selection process has been completed.

Tenth Ave Apartments will not be available for the 2022-2023 academic year.

Eligibility

All students returning to Cornell for the next academic year are eligible to sign up for housing in Russell Hall, Smith Hall, or the Wilch Apartments.

Apartment and suite-style living offers more independent living options for students and requires a high level of maturity. Therefore, these options are not made available to students whose disciplinary records indicate they are not ready for this arrangement. Generally, this means no conduct violations for the past year. This also means that students who are found responsible for violating a College policy while living in Cornell suites or apartments are at risk for being removed from that living environment. Students who sign the lottery form give their consent for the Residence Life Office to review their conduct history at Cornell College.

Important dates (subject to change)

Wilch Apartments lottery 

  • Monday, February 21, 2022: Notification of selection status
  • Monday, February 28, 2022: Selection number draw begins
  • Tuesday, March 15, 2022: Wilch Apartment email lottery begins
  • Wednesday, March 16, 2022: Wilch Apartment email lottery ends and notification emails sent

Russell Hall Suites, Smith Hall Suites and 10th Avenue Apartments Lottery

  • Monday, February 21, 2022: Notification of selection status
  • Monday, February 28, 2022: Selection number draw begins
  • Monday, March 21, 2022: Russell Hall lottery opens
  • Wednesday, March 23, 2022: Russell Hall lottery closes
  • Friday, March 25, 2022: Russell Hall notification emails sent

Process for applying to live in a suite or an apartment

  • Step 1: Generate a number during the numbers draw process.  This number will follow you throughout housing selection and will be used to determine your spot in the order of folks to select a room, and if you or your roommate(s) will be the person selecting the room on your behalf.
  • Step 2: Find the right size group. Suites in Russell accommodate four students (all suites in the lottery have two single rooms and one double room). Suites in Smith Hall accommodate eight students (all in doubles). 10th Avenue Apartments accommodate eight students (in one triple room, three single rooms and one double room). Wilch Apartments vary by unit (refer to the information on Wilch apartments for complete details).

***Students can only be included in one grouping; if they appear on multiple groupings each group's form that the student's name appears on will be disqualified and not considered for selection.***

Selection process for Wilch Apartments

Because the units have varying sizes, each group may preference only a unit large enough to fit their group or may indicate a willingness to split into smaller groups

  • A group's first choice must be for an apartment that is large enough to fit exactly the number of group members listed on the form. This means that a four-person group must have as their first preference a four-person apartment.
  • A group may be willing to break into smaller groups. Groups will indicate which members (if any) are willing to break into smaller groups (and the priority of those groups should they be split). So, a group of four may choose to break into two groups of two. The lottery form must indicate the priority order of the smaller groups. For example, if that group of four breaks into two doubles and only one two-person apartment remains, the lottery form must indicate which pair will be offered that apartment over the other.

The Wilch Apartment lottery will begin at Noon CST on opening the date listed above and will be conducted via email.

When the lottery opens one member of the group should collect the names, ID numbers, housing selection status, and room selection numbers for each member in their group and add these to the Wilch Lottery Form.  Wilch Lottery Forms should be emailed as an attachment to res_life@cornellcollege.edu.  Please use the subject line "Wilch Lottery Application" and include each member of the group on the email (either in the To: or CC: line). EMAILS SENT PRIOR TO NOON CST, OR THAT DO NOT FOLLOW THESE GUIDELINES WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED.

The Wilch Apartment lottery will close at 4:00 p.m. CST on the closing date above.  Emails submitted after that will not be accepted. 

Selection process for the Russell Hall suites and Smith Hall suites

The Russell Hall lottery will begin shortly after Noon CST on the opening date above when an email with the application link is sent to all students. 

When the lottery opens one member of the group should collect the names and ID numbers for their group.  This person will log in to the application link provided and fill out which student will live in which room should their group be selected.  This person will also rank each available suite in order, starting with the group's top preference and working down the list to their last preference.  Once submitted, a copy of the group's information and preferences will be sent to the Residence Life staff.

The Russell and Smith suite lottery will close at 4:00 p.m. CST on the closing date above.  Emails submitted after that will not be accepted. 

Apartment and Suite Placement

Once the application process closes, groups will be prioritized by class status, using the average number of points for each group: 3 points for each senior, 2 points for each junior, and 1 point for each sophomore. For example, a group of all seniors will receive priority over groups of seniors and a junior or seniors and a sophomore, and so on down the line, even if a senior in those mixed-class groups drew a better room selection number than a senior in a group with more class status points. 

Once groups are prioritized into groups based on housing selection status, they will then be placed in order within those groupings based on room selection numbers.  The person with the best room selection number in each group will carry the group.  For example, if a group has numbers 1, 5, 10 and 15, the person with #1 will carry the group.  Subsequently, a group of all seniors with selection #1, will receive priority over a group of all seniors with selection #2.  

Once the status priority and selection order have been determined, Residence Life staff will use the apartment and/or suite preferences indicated on the group's application to determine their housing assignments.  For example, the first group in the order will receive their top preference.  The second group in order will receive their top preference unless that space was already assigned, then the group will receive their second preference.  We will continue this process for each group until all suites are assigned.  It's important to note, if a group does not indicate a preference for a specific apartment or suite, they will not be considered for it.  For example, if a group were to only list a preference for Russel suite 100, and that suite is already assigned by the time the group comes up in the selection order, the group would not be assigned to another suite because they didn't list a preference for any other suites.

Notification

The group members that will be assigned a Wilch apartment will be notified via email by 4:00 p.m. CST on the notification date above.  All other groups will receive an email notification that they were not selected and can begin making plans for which housing selection process they'd like to participate in next. Groups who are assigned a Wilch apartment will be considered housed, and will not be eligible to participate in any remaining housing selection process.

Members of the groups that will be assigned to a Russell Hall suite will be notified via email by 4:00 p.m. CST on the notification date above.  All other groups will receive an email notification that afternoon they were not selected and can begin making plans for which housing selection process they'd like to participate in next.  Groups who are assigned a Russell Hall suite will be considered housed, and will not be eligible to participate in any remaining housing selection process.

Meal plans and billing

Students who live in Wilch Apartments may request a full board plan (20 meals per week or 14 meals per week) but are required to have at least a partial meal plan (7 meals per week). Students who live in Russell Hall or Smith Hall are required to have a full meal plan (20 meals per week or 14 meals per week). Refer to the Meal Plans and Dining Policies for complete details. A student living in a single in a Russell suite or a single in an apartment will be billed the single room rate. Refer to the College's tuition and fees for current housing and meal plan rates

Frequently asked questions

Refer to our frequently asked questions or contact our office with questions.