Living in residence puts you in the middle of the action. Be close to your classes, the gym, places to eat, Student Life Centre, and more.
You have the choice of living in one of our 5 first-year residences or at one of Waterloo's University College residences, which are right on campus and offer smaller residence communities.
Main residences
- Single and double rooms, located on campus
- Eat in your residence cafeteria or at food outlets around campus
- Meal plans are required for traditional residences, optional for suite-style
- Learn about our main Village residences
University College residences
- Single and double rooms, located on campus
- Smaller communities than the main residences
- Eat all meals in your residence cafeteria
- Meal plan is included in the cost of residence
- Learn about the University Colleges
Guaranteed residence
First-year and transfer students are guaranteed residence in either our main Waterloo Residences or one of 3 on-campus University Colleges. What do you need to do?
- Accept your Offer of Admission by June 1, 2018, and
- Submit your Residence Community Ranking Form and a $500 non-refundable deposit no later than 11:59 pm Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) on June 1, 2018, and
- Meet any conditions outlined on your Offer of Admission
The guarantee does not apply if you miss the June 1st deadline.
Conrad Grebel University College is another on-campus residence that is not part of the guarantee. If you'd like to live at Grebel, you’ll need to complete an application well before May 20th and attend a personal interview.
Learning in residence
Choose a Living-Learning Community and live with students who share common interests. Benefit from mentorships and special academic programming.
Plan to live off campus?
Waterloo's Off-Campus Housing office can help you find rental accommodation in the surrounding community.
Residence for ideas people
Want to turn ideas into action? Access mentors and resources in Velocity (tech start-ups) or St. Paul's GreenHouse (social entrepreneurship) after first year.
Transfer student?
If you're transferring from college or university, we can guarantee you a place in an upper-year residence.
Learn more
Review our common residence questions or visit Waterloo's main residence website for details on the residence experience.
Have dependents?
Upper-year students with dependents and exchange students can apply for residence.
Eating on campus
With 28 on-campus eateries, you'll have a large selection of food items to choose from such as burritos, quinoa bowls, and smoothies at Frsh, all-day breakfast at Modern Language's Diner, and make your own pho at South Side Marketplace.
- Check out this week's menu!
- Vegetarian? Observing Ramadan? Have allergies? We can help! See our common questions about eating on campus.
Have special dietary needs?
Speak to one of our residence chefs to ensure that we're effectively accommodating you. Bring in your own recipe and we'll try to include that in our menu.
Eating in residence
Our residence cafeterias offer many different food choices all in one spot, including crispy chicken wraps – a student favourite! You don't need to be live in residence to enjoy a meal here.
Eating on campus
Outside of residence, get meals or your caffeine fix at Starbuck's, Tim Hortons, Pita Pit, Pizza Pizza, Teriyaki Experience, Wild Olive Pasta Bar, Booster Juice, and more.Living in a University College? Your meal plan is included in your residence fees and you'll eat all meals in your residence cafeteria.
