Incoming Students: Living On-Campus

Once you’ve completed everything on the pre-housing checklist, you’re ready to apply for housing!

Logging into eRezLife

• Here you can access PLU’s housing software, eRezLife:
  • If you are already logged into your Banner account or PLU email on the same browser you are accessing eRezLife from, you should be automatically logged into eRezLife.
  • If you are not already logged into your PLU ePass, you will be prompted to do so (duo-push may be required).

Welcome to eRezLife! 

When you login to eRezLife, the main page will include:

• Recommended Actions: which will include applying for housing
• Left Side Menu that includes:
  • Your Profile
    • The majority of the personal information on this page pulls directly from your PLU Banner Profile. If there are errors or changes you would like to make to your personal information, please update your PLU Banner Profile.
    • Your profile also includes a variety of other information for you regarding housing related features that will be shared in the “Your Profile” drop down on this page.
  • Housing Information: When you first login, no information will be available for you until you’ve completed the Housing Application. More options including searching for and creating roommates groups will be available once the application has been completed.
  • Forms: These are additional forms for you to complete, as needed.

Explore eRezLife, as needed, to be come acquainted with the features available to you at this time. Campus Life will also be sharing more information for how to use eRezLife once the academic year has started for students, including additional features and forms.

You can access the Housing Application by either clicking on “Apply for Housing” under Recommended Actions or you can select “Housing Overview” on the left side menu.

Under the “Name” field of the form, it should read: Academic Year 2024-2025: Fall 2024 (New Students). Begin the application by selecting “Apply Now”.

1. Student Status: Select the student status that best describes you. Students who completed Running Start are considered First Year Students regardless of class standing and/or completed credits.
2. Gender Inclusive Housing 
   • Campus Life is committed to creating inclusive living communities that foster a sense of belonging and comfort for all students, inclusive of all gender identities. As a part of this commitment, Campus Life has been able to renovate several on campus bathroom facilities to meet gender-inclusive student needs, including enhanced privacy (floor to ceiling stall walls and doors).
   • Students who require gender-inclusive facilities should make sure to apply to any or all of the following learning communities that have gender-inclusive facilities within the buildings they are located:
     • Community for Creative Expression (1 wing)
     • DJS Communities (all hall)
     • First Year/New Transfer/Returner Community [Un-themed] (1 wing)
     • Women’s Empowerment & Gender Equity (all hall)
3. Learning Community Preferences
   • Once you have selected your student status, the Learning Community Preference section will expand to list all the learning communities available based on your student status.
   • Using the drop down lists below each community, select which learning communities you are interested in being assigned to in preference order. The community you select for 1st choice should be the top community you would like to live in. If there are any communities you are not interested in living in, you may select the “Not Interested” option at the bottom of the drop down.
   • Diversity, Justice, & Sustainability Communities and Global Communities will have additional sections for you to rank the specific communities you would like to apply to. Similarly to your Learning Community preferences, please select “Not Interested” for any of the communities you do not preference.
4. Roommate Questionnaire
   • Regardless whether or not you already know whom you’d like to live with, roommate questionnaires should be completed in order to create your roommate profile.
   • PLU believes in the valuable experience gained by sharing a room with a roommate, as well as living in a larger wing/floor community with others. All first year students will be matched with a roommate to the best of our ability.
   • The answers you submit on your housing application will be copied to your personal profile under all the sections titled “Roommate Questionnaire”
     • You will also be able to edit these answers at any time on your profile page
   • Complete your roommate questionnaire thoughtfully. Please keep in mind that…
     • The answers you provide will be viewable on your roommate profile.
     • Your answers should reflect your living habits for who you are and not how you think you’ll be in college.
     • Even if you have a roommate in mind, things might change! Complete this section as if you do not know who your roommate will be and were being matched with a random roommate.
     • Our Community Directors will read through each roommate questionnaire for students who do not have a requested roommate and match you together to the best of our abilities with someone we believe you will be compatible with. Take your time thinking about and writing out your answers so that we can match you with someone you’ll be successful living with!
5. Re-read through your application and make sure all your learning community preferences are how you want them to be. If everything looks correct, submit your application! 

If you selected any of the Learning Communities with an asterisk next to the name, you will need to complete this application and be approved by our department in order to be eligible to be assigned to your desired community(s). 

1. Apply through the “Learning Community Application” form  found on the left side menu under Forms.
   • This application will allow you to apply to as many learning communities as you’d like.
   • All learning communities except the Un-Themed and Outdoor Rec communities require you to complete this application.
2. Select the Learning Communities you would like to apply for.
3. Each Learning Community you select will had a drop down section with supplemental questions for you to respond to.
   • Complete each Learning Community Application Section
4. Submit the Application

Once you have submitted the application, our office will review your answers and approve you for each learning community you have applied to. Once we have submitted all your approvals, you will receive an email notification letting you know that your application was reviewed.

To see what Learning Communities you were approved for: log into your eRezLife account and check your profile. There will be a section of profile filed titled “LC Approval: Community Name” with a Yes or No in the response field.

Tips for Applying for Learning Communities:

• Read the question carefully.
• Be thoughtful in your response.
• Remember that Learning Communities are meant for students to engage with; share how you plan to engage with the community.
• If you are struggling to respond to the prompt, think about how this community will contribute your success at PLU academically, socially, etc.

Once you have submitted your housing application, under the “Housing” menu tab, you will now be able to access “My Roommate Profile”. This page will allow you set up your roommate profile to search and request roommates.

1. The only required field on this page is to add your preferred name
   • This will be the name that other students will see when searching for roommates.
2. Optional field include:
   • Upload a Photo
   • An Elevator Pitch about Yourself: This can be similar to your tagline on your social media profile or a quick sentence about yourself.
     • Example: New to PLU and lover of dogs and traveling!
   • Care to Elaborate Section:
     • This can be a brief paragraph about yourself, your interests, extracurriculars, etc. If you’re not sure what to put here, looking at your roommate questionnaire answers might help!
3. Profile Fields: Look at the list of profile fields that students can search for you.
   • You will only be able to see the profile field name. To see what answers correspond with each field, look at your profile page (“My Profile”).
     • Basic Profile Fields: Name, Pronouns, Gender, Class Standing
     • Learning Community (LC) Approvals: These will correspond with your Learning Community Approvals determined by our office after completing the Learning Community Application.
       • If there are any communities that say “No” that you would like to be approved for, you may submit a new Learning Community Application.
     • Roommate Questionnaire: These answers are directly pulled from the answers you submitted when completing the Housing Application.
       • If you want to change any of the answers to your Roommate Questionnaire, you can do so by going to your profile at the bottom of the page.
4. Select Which Profile Fields You Want to Share
   • For each profile field, decided whether or not students will able to see your answers.
     • My Contacts vs. All Applicants
       • All Applicants will allow all students on eRezLife view that profile field.
       • My Contacts will allow students to see that profile field once you’ve added them as a contact to your contact list (instructions for how to do so below).
     • Please note that the fewer fields that are selected for “All Applicants” the fewer criteria students will be able to see about you to get to know you! 
       • Note that having your LC Approval answers viewable will allow students who were approved or assigned to the same Learning Community as you to find you!
5. Social Media Tags
   • For students who are comfortable doing so, you can add any of your usernames to your profile page.
   • For safety, other students will not be able to see these fields until you have approved them as a contact on your contact list.
6. Scroll to the top of the page and select the check box for “Turn On My Profile”
   • Your profile will not be viewable by others if you do not check this box!
7. Scroll to the bottom of the page and SAVE.

Searching for Roommates

Under the Housing tab, below your roommate profile, select “Roommate Search”

Students are able to search for students using 2 methods:

• Criteria Search
  • Each field provided corresponds to one of the multiple choice profile fields on a students profile.
    • Reminder that you must set your roommate profile permissions to “All Applicants” in order for you to appear in a search.
  • When clicking on a field, there will be a drop down menu for all the answer options for that question.
  • Students can select the answer(s) they prefer to have in a roommate
    • Examples include:
      • A roommate who wakes up… “with a lot of extra time to get ready before classes”
      • A roommate who plans to clean their room,,, “Frequently (daily)”
      • A roommate who was approved for the Community for Creative Expression
  • Students can search for one or multiple criteria
    • Our office advises only using no more than 3 filters at one time. It is unlikely that you will find a roommate who will match your preference to every criteria field and suggest selecting the 3 most important criteria. 
  • Once you’ve selected all your criteria, select the search button at the bottom.
  • Students whose roommate questionnaires match the criteria you submitted should appear below.
    • If no students appear, unfortunately this means that there are no students whose answers matched your criteria.
      • Reminder that not all students will choose to list every profile field for all students to see or may not have completed their roommate profile.
• Search Directly for Roommates
  • Students who already have a roommate in mind can search directly for one another using the search box at the top of the page.
    • Please note that the student you are searching for must also create their roommate profile.

Students can add one another to their Contact List by clicking “Send Contact Request.” If the student they request accepts their contact request, students will be able to see one another’s contact information (as listed on their roommate profile).

eRezLife does not have the ability to allow students to chat or send messages to one another through the housing software. Students can contact each via social media, texting, or email, as they are comfortable sharing on their eRezLife roommate profile.

Once you’ve found your requested roommate, you’re ready to form what is called a “Roommate Group”. Roommate Groups will allow our office to confirm mutual requests for students who’d like to room together. Without a mutual request, our office will not be able to match students together.

Create a Roommate Group and add your roommate:

1. Under the Housing menu, select “Roommate Groups”
2. Select “Create New Roommate Group”
   • Students should name their roommate group “Fall 2024 Requested Roommate” 
   • Students should be able to see their name with a green check mark
3. Students can add roommates to their roommate group using either of the following method
   • Add a Roommate using Their Email
     1. Under the Email field (there should be a number 2 next to a textbox),  input the requested student’s PLU email.
        • All eRezLife accounts are directly associated with students PLU emails
        • Your requested roommate must submit their housing application in order for you to be able to request them
   • Add a Roommate to a Roommate Group from your Contacts: If you’ve found someone via Roomeez search function, you can add them to your contact list and then add them to your roommate group
     1.  Go to your Contacts list under the Housing menu
        • The student must accept your Contact request in order for you to add them to a roommate group
        • Contact requests can be found under your “Contacts” page
     2. Select “Add to Roommate Group” for the student whom you’d like to room with
        • You must create your Roommate Group before you add them
     3. Select the Roommate Group you would like to add them to
     4. Select “Add
4. Confirm Your Roommate Group:
   • Students can create as many roommate groups as they’d like but can only commit to being a part of one roommate group at a time.
   • Students can view their Roommate Groups by going to the “Roommate Groups” screen under the Housing menu
     • Students should select “My Choice” for the Roommate Group they would like to prioritize being a part of and have a green check mark next to their name in that group
   • In order to make a mutual request, both students must have the same Roommate Group selected with green check marks next to both student’s names.  Without this, our office cannot make a mutual request.