1. Are students required to live on-campus?
No, students are not required to live on-campus. At the UW we believe students should have the freedom to select the housing option that works best for them.
2. What housing options does the UW offer?
On Campus Options
The UW has seven different residence halls to choose from. Studies indicate that students who live on our campus have higher retention and graduation rates than those who live off campus. In fact, nearly 60 percent of incoming freshmen choose to live on campus every year. Although the halls differ in personality, location, and size, each one offers:
- Free high-speed Ethernet
- Satellite TV
- Telephone service with voicemail
- 100% smoke-free environment
- Social and leadership activities
For detailed on-campus housing facts, including information on other options like family housing, single-student apartments, check out Housing & Food Services.
Greek System
There are 16 sororities and 27 fraternities at Washington, with about 3,300 students living in them. Greek letter organizations place a great deal of emphasis on academics and philanthropy. They can be a terrific way to make the UW more of a community and provide personal leadership opportunities. Those who join a fraternity or sorority can live in the chapter house beginning a student’s freshman year. Approximately 1,200 freshmen live in the Greek system each year.
Off-Campus Housing
One of the great rewards to living in a city like Seattle is the incredible number of off-campus options open to students – particularly in the U-District area.
ASUW’s Student Housing Affairs office maintains lists of rental houses, apartments, and boarding houses.
G20 Student Union (HUB)Telephone 206.543.8997
Email asuwsha@u.washington.edu
Other off-campus housing options can be found through
3. Is on-campus housing guaranteed for new students?
No, housing is not guaranteed for new students. If you know you want to live on-campus, we strongly recommend that you apply for housing once you have received your formal offer of admission. The housing application is available online through Housing and Food Services.
Students are encouraged to apply for housing even if you have not yet decided to attend the University, because your assignment will be based on the date we receive your Residence Hall Application, signed contract, and deposit. If you apply for a space in the residence halls and then decide not to attend the University, you will receive a full refund of your deposit if you cancel your application by the appropriate deadline.
4. How do I get information about campus organizations and clubs?
Did you know there are more than 550 social, academic, cultural, and political clubs and organizations on our campus? This includes everything from the Honors Croquet League to the United Nations Student Association to the Vietnamese Student Association. Don’t see the one you want listed? It takes only five students to create a new club at the UW!
5. I am interested in studying abroad. What opportunities are available at Washington?
Truly a life-altering experience, the University of Washington offers the largest study abroad program on the West Coast, with more than 1200 undergraduates choosing among 350 program options to 60 different countries every year. No longer just for language majors, students in just about any academic program can participate. Programs last anywhere from a few weeks to an entire academic year. Financial aid, scholarships, insurance, etc. often remain in tact for those students who desire to go abroad.
Contact International Programs and Exchanges for additional information.
6. What student services are available to specifically help international students at the UW?
The International Services Office provides assistance to over 4,000 international students and visiting faculty and scholars at the UW. The ISO assists international students and faculty with a variety of matters during their stay, ranging from immigration issues to helping resolve academic, financial, and personal difficulties.
The Foundation for International Understanding Through Students is a community non-profit organization, established at the UW in 1948 to enhance international understanding and promote cultural exchanges between UW international students and Americans. FIUTS continues this tradition through programs that stimulate discussion and participation among the community, our members, and volunteers. FIUTS has become a place to meet people from around the world or from around the corner who come together to establish links of friendship and communication. It also oversees the International Student Welcome Week in the fall and the smaller orientation programs offered each quarter for new students and UW students planning to study abroad.
7. What exercise and fitness opportunities are available to students?
Free to students, the University has an amazing Intramural Activities (IMA) building located north of Husky Stadium. In additional to magnificent views of Lake Washington and the mountains, the IMA includes:
- Six tons of workout machines
- Indoor jogging track
- Swimming Pool
- Squash, tennis, & racquetball courts
- Climbing facility with 5,800 sq ft. of climbing surfaces
Students can also participate in more than 50 club (including tae kwon do, lacrosse, sailing, and Ultimate Frisbee) and intramural (including bowling, badminton, and flag football) sports at the IMA.
Useful links:
8. Can freshmen bring their cars to campus?
While freshman are permitted to bring their vehicles to campus, it is strongly discouraged. As demand always exceeds supply, parking is both limited and expensive (more than $650 per year).
Fortunately, there are a variety of other ways to get to campus and around the Seattle area. In fact, more people in Seattle commute to work via bicycle than any other city in the United States – due to 30 miles of bike-pedestrian trails, 90 miles of signed bike routes and 16 miles of bike lanes on city streets.
The University also offers a special benefit to students called a U-PASS. The U-PASS is a great way for someone to travel around the city, while helping to reduce traffic congestion and protect the environment. Benefits include:
- Full fare coverage on Metro Transit, Community Transit, and Sound Transit buses
- Full fare covered on Sounder commuter train service
- Free rides on the Night Ride Shuttle
- Discounts at local businesses
Additional facts and figures about the U-PASS
9. How safe is the UW campus?
For a community of 39,000 students and 23,000 faculty and staff, the UW campus is an extremely safe place to be. Not only does the UW measure favorably with other urban universities, but we won the 1995 Jeanne Clery National Safe Campus award, given annually to the best college or university campus police unit in the United States. Here is a list of some current programs that exist to protect your safety and well-being.
The University of Washington Police Department (UWPD) employs 53 police officers who are fully commissioned by the State of Washington and have the same authority as other law enforcement officers. UWPD has primary responsibility for law enforcement on the campus and works closely with the Seattle Police Department and other law enforcement agencies throughout Washington State. Officers patrol the campus on a 24-hour basis and staff a detective division, a traffic unit, the Residence Hall Patrol, a unit specifically assigned to the residence halls, and a Crime Prevention Unit which offers a variety of programs and services on personal and property protection to the campus community.
There are 22 outdoor “Code Blue” Emergency Phones located around campus that connect directly to UWPD. These phones are 9’ posts labeled “emergency” and have a constant blue light. Push the button for 911 and a blue strobe light will turn on. UWPD will arrive in 1-2 minutes. There are also red or yellow emergency phones located in each of the campus parking garages.
Night Ride shuttles operate Sunday through Thursday from 8:00 p.m. to 12:15 a.m. during autumn, winter and spring quarters. The shuttles carry students, faculty and staff from campus to their destinations in three zones within one mile north, east, and west of campus. Passengers may ride free with a U-PASS. A wheelchair-accessible van operates on the half hour from 8:15 p.m. to 12:15 a.m. Schedules are posted at each of the Night Ride stops.Most outside door entrances to the residence halls are locked on a 24-hour-a-day basis. Those main entry doors immediately adjacent to front desks are generally locked beginning at 9:00 p.m. Those residence halls, which provide food service operations after 9:00 p.m., have the main entry doors locked after the closure of food service operations. A Resident Adviser and Resident Director are on duty every night in each residence hall.
- Your Safety. . .Your Health: A Student Guide to Campus Safety and Substance Awareness, is a brochure published by the Office of the Vice Provost for Student Life. It contains information on safety and health issues, commonly abused substances, federal and state drug laws, and crime statistics. The brochure is published annually in accordance with the requirements of the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act, the federal Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act, and laws of the state of Washington. To request a paper copy, email the Office of Admissions..
10. Does the UW offer Reserve Officer Training (ROTC) programs, and if so, how can I get more information about them?
The UW offers all four branches of ROTC. For details, click on the following links: