Residential Life & Housing > Housing Options

Barnard Students Living at Columbia

Upperclass Barnard students must be eligible for the Barnard Room Selection process in order to be able to live at Columbia through the BC/CU Housing Exchange.

Barnard students may not be “riders” (i.e. pull-ins) for Columbia RAs or Columbia students receiving disability housing accommodations.

Barnard First Year students may not live in Columbia housing.

Room changes from Barnard to Columbia housing are not available during the academic year.

Groups with BC students in the Columbia Housing Lottery may select into suite-style housing at Columbia (i.e. no corridor-style buildings). More Information.

Barnard students may also apply to live in select Special Interest Communities (SICs) and Greek housing. The maximum number of Barnard students who may live in each unit is capped by CU Housing as follows:

  • Pan African House – 2
  • Casa Latina – 2
  • Q-House – 2
  • IRC / ICH – 4
  • DG – 4
  • KAT – 5
  • AXO – 2
  • SDT – 4

Please note that housing options like The Bayit, ADP, or International House are not considered part of undergraduate housing and are not part of the Barnard/Columbia Housing Exchange. Students who move into these locations would be considered to be non-residential commuter students. Students who move into those locations would give up eligibility for the Room Selection process in the future and their financial aid package may be affected.

Barnard students living at Columbia will be billed for their housing by Barnard, at the standard Barnard room rate. For the current room rate, visit the Bursar website.

Because the housing is charged through Barnard, students living at Columbia as part of the Exchange remain eligible for financial aid. If you have any questions about what your financial aid package may cover, we encourage you to speak directly with the Barnard Financial Aid office for assistance.

Barnard students with room assignments at Columbia who wish to cancel housing must follow Barnard housing cancellation policies, deadlines, and cancellation fees.

Barnard students living at Columbia may occupy housing for the same time period as CU students living in Columbia residence halls (which may not match the occupancy dates for Barnard housing).

For check-in dates and locations, visit the Columbia Housing website.

At the end of the academic year, Barnard students living at Columbia will need to move out by the deadlines established by CU Housing Services. For more information, visit the Columbia Housing website.

The CU residence halls remain open during all academic breaks, including Winter Break.  However, Barnard students must be in housing for both the Fall and Spring semesters in order to be eligible for residence during Winter Break in CU Housing.  For more information about breaks, visit the Columbia Housing website.

BC@CU students will have swipe access to their assigned Columbia residence hall, but are required to be signed in as a guest to any other Columbia residence halls.

BC@CU students may access Barnard residence halls by swiping their CUID.

Barnard students living at Columbia are responsible for returning their room to the same condition it was in when they moved in (including cleaning their room and/or moving furniture back to original positions).  Students will be responsible for any damage or cleaning fines assessed.  Additionally, students will be responsible for any improper or late check-out fees and/or replacement charges for lost or non-returned keys.

Barnard students with a Spring room assignment at Columbia who wish to bridge housing prior to the start of Summer Housing (either at Barnard or Columbia) must apply for May Interim housing at Columbia and would pay the CU May Interim fee to Columbia. 

Similarly, Barnard students with a Fall room assignment at Columbia who wish to bridge housing after the end of Summer Housing (either at Barnard or Columbia) must apply for August Interim housing at Columbia and would pay the CU August Interim fee to Columbia. 

Selecting into a space in Columbia housing as part of the Housing Exchange is intended to be an academic-year-long commitment. Room changes for BC@CU students within Columbia housing are limited by which Columbia residence halls Barnard students are eligible to live in and may not be available. Requests to move from Columbia back into a Barnard residence hall may not be available due to the balance of exchanged beds.

Requests from Barnard students to move from a Barnard residence hall to Columbia during the academic year are not possible.

Barnard students living at Columbia will be required to sign a Columbia Housing Contract (in addition to a Barnard Housing Contract, for billing purposes) and must follow Columbia residence hall policies. For more information, please visit the Columbia Housing website.

BC@CU students who violate Columbia (or Barnard) policies will be referred to the Barnard Director for Residence Life and/or Barnard Associate Director of Community Standards & Investigations for adjudication; however, they may also be asked to meet with the Columbia Hall Director or Associate Director responsible for their Columbia living unit to discuss the impact of their behavior on the community.

Barnard students living at Columbia must receive their mail & packages at their Altschul Hall Mailbox.  Mail and/or packages will not be accepted at any Columbia residence hall.