Frequently Asked Questions

For Housing Support contact the Office of Residence Life 

Any request that is medical in nature must be submitted to the Office of Disability and Access. 

For Housing Accommodations Contact Disability and Access

Residence Life will pair students in Enduring Questions with each other.  In order to support all students needs, some students in Enduring Questions may be paired with a student who is not a member of Enduring Questions.

Students in Enduring Questions live in Ellingson Hall.

It is required and must be submitted by all students regardless of your preference to participate in either the Roommate Linking or the Roommate Pairing process.

• Roommate Pairing is when Residence Life pairs you with a roommate utilizing your entire profile submitted through the Roommate Inventory and Housing Questionnaire.
• Roommate Linking is when you select your roommate.  Through this process you are provided 5 criterions to review:
  • On weeknights, I expect to go to sleep…
  • How important is it to you that your room be kept neat and orderly?
  • I prefer to share my belongings with my roommate.
  • Do you expect your room to be a place where people gather to relax?
  • Are you sensitive or allergic to smoke?

Yes, they will pick their roommate through the housing operation system. When the portal open mid-June, students will be able to view other students’ profiles and connect using their St. Olaf emails. Profiles consist of the student name, email address, and their answers to the five questions (see above). 

No other form is required to be completed.  

Many students will select the Residence Life team to review their Roommate Inventory & Housing Questionnaire profile and identify their roommate.  Through Roommate Pairing, Residence Life reviews the entire profile.

Roommate Linking is also an option for a student. The student will be provided five criterions by to search the portal. Students will be able to utilize the St. Olaf email address/username to communicate with their potential roommate.  If students initially choose Roommate Linking and mid-process decide it’s not for them, they may opt back in to Roommate Pairing, by clicking here.

There is not a right or wrong option, but one that is best for you.

1. If you are not able to find a specific person when Roommate Linking, confirm they have completed the First-Year & Transfer Student Housing Agreement.   (This must be done in order for you to see them.)
2. When searching on the 5 questions, remember that you will identify more people if you use less questions during the search.
   For example, searching on 3 questions will identify more people than searching on 5 questions.

Roommate announcements for students who selected Roommate Pairing will be announced from mid-July through August 1.

• Students can select to be paired by Residence Life using self-reported factors on how they live and what is important to them in a roommate.
• Attention to the individual student is important and will be utilized to support students’ specific needs. For example, students who request  gender-inclusive support needs:
  • Can have a 1-1 meeting with a Residence Life team member to discuss bathroom support, gender floor and roommate characteristics that you may find supportive within your living space.
• That feature of pairing students  from different backgrounds i.e. out-of-state with in-state, domestic with international, etc. is an opportunity for a dynamic roommate experience.  Pushing social boundaries and learning how to engage with those who are different from you but understanding that there are commonalities that exist amongst us all is a key component of the residential experience.

• Early Decision Students may state their top 2 choices for residence halls. This information is collected by the Office of Admissions and provided to Residence Life.
• First-year students may not declare a residence hall preference for their housing assignment.
  • Information may be collected to support future room changes that may be required after the initial placement. Ex. Housing accommodations approved by Disability and Access or meeting the request for all-gender support.

There are not designated all-gender bathrooms.  Single-user bathrooms are provided within Ellingson Hall and Kildahl Hall.

• Residents can utilize the bathroom that best supports their needs. On each floor within Ellingson Hall and Kildahl Hall there is one single-user bathroom.  This is in addition to the gendered community bathrooms. 

• Ellingson Hall and Kildahl Hall residential structure supports meeting the needs for all gender housing support and includes gendered and single-user bathrooms.
• Kildahl Hall for the 2025-2026 academic year will have an all-gendered floor.
• All other residence halls for first year students have bathrooms for a designated gender for the floor.

The campus has various features in place to support a culture of safety awareness.

• Residence Life

  • Community Building Assistants provides support at the front desk in the evenings. 
  • Resident Assistants/Inclusivity Advocates working each evening and perform building rounds.
  • Student Hall Coordinator/Junior Counselor-on-Call for the residence halls.
  • Area Coordinator-on-Call for Campus

• public safety 

  • Public Safety is the best resource if you need to contact someone immediately about a safety issue and if you are outside the residence halls and need assistance. They can be reached at 507-786-3666 24/7, and they will come right away to assist you.
  • St. Olaf EMT’s (SOEMT) can also be contacted through Public Safety. 
  • Safe Ride. This resource is an available option if for any reason a student does not feel comfortable walking across campus by themselves.  

Everbridge, is an app that connects students to public safety while on campus or to local police if off campus.

Recruited athletes may indicate to their St. Olaf coach that they would like to live with either a teammate or another athlete from a different team. Coaches communicate with Residence Life staff who facilitate Roommate Pairing accordingly. If students decide to opt out of living with a teammate or another athlete, they may notify Residence Life directly.

Room measurements are available on each individual Residence Hall section of the Residence Life website.

First-year residence halls are not air-cooled. We recommend that students bring fans.

Residence halls that are air-cooled are: Hill-Kitt Halls, New Hall, Rand Hall Townhouses and Ytterboe Hall.

All rooms are equipped with a bed, mattress, dresser, desk, and desk chair for each student in the room. All windows have blinds and/or draperies. All college owned furniture must stay in the room.

Rooms in Ellingson, Hoyme, Kildahl, Larson, Mellby, Rand, Thorson, and Ytterboe Halls are carpeted.

All rooms are equipped for immediate wireless network access.

Students may not nail things to the walls.  Students are responsible for any adhesive items used on the walls. Room damages are charged to residents at the end of each year.

No, the college provides a refrigerator/freezer/microwave unit in each student room for students to use.

In the Residence Halls the furniture provided does allow for the possibility of lofting and bunking if students choose.  Lofting equipment is limited and not guaranteed. To loft students need to check out a loft kit – which they can do at check-in at no cost.  Students are not able to reserve a loft kit before checking-in.

The Townhouses and New Hall do not allow for bunking/lofting of beds.

We do have bed rails available for students to check out to put on their beds if their bed is lofted or if they are the top bunk.

All residence halls have twin extra long mattresses (36″ x 78″).

There are all-gender options in Hill-Kitt Halls, Kildahl Hall, New Hall, Rand, the Townhouses and Ytterboe.

1. 1. Search for a Roommate through the housing portal (SIS).

Occasionally, a student might require certain accommodations to ensure accessibility of on-campus housing, such a residence hall with an elevator; ground-level entry; or a room in close proximity to the bathroom.

Students who believe they have a need for disability-related housing accommodations are required to submit a Campus Life Accommodation Request through Disability and Access for consideration.  If assistance is needed in completing the form, please contact DAC at dac@stolaf.edu, or visit us in Tomson Hall 153.  Please refer to the Reasonable Accommodation for College Housing Requests policy for additional information.

Submitting a request and meeting with an Access Specialist is an annual requirement for those seeking disability-related housing accommodations.

• CURRENT STUDENTS: REQUESTS FOR FALL OF THE NEXT ACADEMIC YEAR SHOULD BE SUBMITTED TO DAC BY MARCH 1ST.

• INCOMING FIRST-YEAR STUDENTS: REQUESTS FOR FALL OF THE NEXT ACADEMIC YEAR SHOULD BE SUBMITTED BY JUNE 1ST.

Not usually.  This requirement is aligned with our mission as a Residential College and only those with exceptional circumstances are approved to move off campus. Students who feel they have an exceptional circumstance may complete the Residential Housing Exemption Application.

Students will not be required to move their belongings out or return in their key for breaks.

All students have mailboxes in Buntrock Commons. There is also a central mail room where students may pick up any packages mailed to campus. Packages are not delivered to the individual residence halls or college houses.

Mail should be addressed with the student’s first and last name, and street address 1500 St. Olaf Avenue, Northfield, MN 55057-1574.

Post Office Details

There are bicycle racks located in various locations both in the residential area and near the academic buildings for students to secure their bikes.

bicycles on campus

St. Olaf became a tobacco-free campus beginning September 1, 2021.

smoking policy 

Possessing, distributing or consuming illicit drugs and alcoholic beverages is prohibited on campus.

alcohol and other drug policy