Applications for returning residents interested in living in the Rosen College Apartments open in early January, independent of the lottery process. There is no lottery for Rosen agreements. Applications will be confirmed on a first-come, first-served basis.
UCF is affiliated with two off-campus apartment complexes, Knights Circle and The Pointe at Central. Both communities are close to campus and offer apartment living with private bedrooms and bathrooms, as well as many great amenities.
Contact our affiliated complexes directly for leasing and pricing information.
While there is ample student housing near the main East Orlando campus, there is a limited amount of space available to students wishing to live on campus with UCF Housing.
Priority for on-campus housing goes to incoming first-year students. First-year students receive the greatest benefit when coming to the University of Central Florida and living on campus. The assistance they receive helps them be successful. Remaining spaces are made available to returning residents via a lottery process.
The lottery process is also prioritized to continue supporting the students who are most in need of campus connections and support. Students seeking to continue living on campus during their second year (rising sophomores) will receive priority in the returning resident lottery for housing next year. It is important to note that receiving priority does not indicate a guarantee of space for second year students.
The following groups of students have been identified to receive priority in the lottery as well:
The Returning Resident Lottery is a random selection process where Returning Residents have between a designated window (January 8th – January 24th) to apply and submit a prepayment for their selected agreement type. The Returning Resident’s agreement remains in a Submitted status until the lottery drawing takes place on January 31st.
Residents who are confirmed for a space through the lottery have the opportunity to either accept or decline the offer by a specific date with no penalty.
Residents who were selected through the random lottery drawing will see their agreement status change from Submitted to Confirmed.
Students who were not offered a space through the initial drawing are placed in a waitlist pool and their status will update to Waitlisted. The waitlist pool is not ranked.
Academic-year (Nike and Hercules apartments), Towers at Knights Plaza, and NorthView housing agreements for returning residents, off-campus students, transfer students, and graduate students will operate on a lottery system for the 2025-26 year. It is important to read the details below completely.
Apply and submit your prepayment during the lottery window in order to be entered into the lottery for the type of housing you have selected. More information is also available in the Lottery FAQs section.
Log in to myUCF and navigate to Student Self Service > Housing > Housing Portal > Application. Follow the on screen instructions. You can find detailed instructions here.
We often hear the following response, “I applied for the lottery on the first day it opened, but I was waitlisted. My friend applied on the last day, and they were confirmed! How is that fair?” To ensure fairness through our process, we use a lottery system. Just like a lottery involving money, it does not matter WHEN someone submits their application for the housing lottery – as long as it was during the allotted window. This provides an equal opportunity for all returning residents who submit their application through the lottery, the same probability to get confirmed for a space as anyone else.
A lottery is a random selection process in which a system randomly draws the UCFID numbers of students who submitted their application during the lottery window.
This depends greatly on how many students apply and what type of application they select. In past years, we have received far more lottery applications for Academic-Year housing than for the Towers at Knights Plaza or NorthView. In previous years, we were able to offer lottery spaces to approximately 37% of the students who applied. It is important to note that each year the percentage of students who are offered space through the lottery may vary based upon the number of applicants.
We will continue to draw applicants from the remaining active lottery applications in the waitlist pool for spaces that become available throughout the spring and summer, and through the opening weekend of fall. Drawings will take place approximately every two weeks, depending on availability. Applicants waiting may choose to cancel and receive their prepayment back at any time. Approximately once per month, applicants on the waitlist will be asked to verify their continued interest in remaining on the waitlist so that individuals who no longer need a space can be removed from the pool.
Students who receive a lottery confirmation but no longer need their space will have a very limited window during which they may cancel their housing at no penalty. This information will be included in the lottery notification email. Spaces forfeited by lottery recipients will be randomly distributed to students who choose to wait for a lottery confirmation on the waitlist.
If you did not apply and make your prepayment during the lottery application window, you may put your name on the standby waitlist in the Housing Portal after the date that lottery decisions go out. It is extremely important to note that it is not guaranteed that space will become available. We would still strongly encourage you to seek out off-campus housing options if you are in this situation.
Most off-campus student apartment complexes are serviced by the UCF Shuttle. A listing of those complexes can be found at https://parking.ucf.edu/transportation/off-campus/
Room Selection will be done online via the Housing Portal in myUCF, and those participating will be able to choose their exact building, apartment, and bedroom. Residents who have confirmed applications will receive detailed instructions on how to complete room selection online, so it will be important to read the email communication regarding the process.
After initial lottery confirmations, all confirmed applicants may enter roommate matching to find roommates or request specific people with the same agreement type. Encourage your preferred roommate(s) to apply during the lottery window. Only those confirmed will be eligible to be pulled in as roommates.
For residents participating in same room sign-up in Towers and NorthView, you will have the opportunity to pull in roommates into any open spaces in your apartment after the same room sign-up period is over.
For residents participating in General Room Selection, you will be able to pick a room with a group of up to 4 confirmed residents with your same agreement type.