Find a roommate at Iowa

Updated October 2026

First-year students at Iowa do not have to live on campus. For Fall 2027, roommate requests are due May 15, 2027, and the housing application opens January 6, 2027. Here is how choosing a roommate works at Iowa, and which halls first-years live in, with every fact linked to Iowa’s own housing pages.

Iowa first-year housing at a glance

Do first-years have to live on campus?	No Source
Academic calendar	Semesters Source
Housing application opens	January 6, 2027 Source
Housing application deadline	May 3, 2027 Source
Roommate request deadline	May 15, 2027 Source

Checked against Iowa’s housing pages on October 16, 2026. Dates change every year, so confirm in your housing portal.

How does roommate matching work at Iowa?

Choosing your roommate: After applying, search for or request a roommate in the housing portal; requests must be mutually confirmed online

If you do not choose: Personal profile and lifestyle questionnaire in the housing portal, used to search for roommates; roommate matching opens March 1. Students who apply after May 3 get a staff-assigned roommate

Deadline: May 15, 2027.

First-year residence halls at Iowa

Hall	Style	Good to know
Burge Hall	Mixed	Home to 922 residents on the east side of campus; hosts Burge Market Place
Catlett Hall	Traditional (shared hall bathrooms)	Home to 1,049 residents on the east side of campus; common bathroom shared by about 15 rooms
Currier Hall	Mixed	Home to 628 residents on the east side of campus; has a fitness center and computer lab
Daum Hall	Mixed	Home to 344 residents on the east side of campus
Hillcrest Hall	Mixed	Home to 823 residents on the west side of campus, adjacent to the health sciences part of campus
Mayflower Hall	Suite	Home to 810 residents; suite-style rooms with in-suite kitchens and bathrooms
Petersen Hall	Traditional (shared hall bathrooms)	Home to 501 residents on the west side of campus; common pod-style bathrooms
Rienow Hall	Mixed	Home to 488 residents on the west side of campus, close to the Field House
Slater Hall	Mixed	Home to 489 residents on the west side of campus, adjacent to the cultural houses
Stanley Hall	Mixed	Home to 354 residents on the east side of campus; connected to Currier Hall

Finding a roommate at Iowa on Bunky

Bunky’s Iowa community is only Iowa students, so everyone you see is looking for a roommate at your school. A chat opens only when you both like each other or your chat request is accepted, so there is no guessing and no cold messages. Profiles go beyond a photo and a bio, with prompts, dealbreakers, move-in dates and budgets. Start before the deadline above so you have time to talk to a few people.

New to this? Read how to find a college roommate and the questions to ask a potential roommate.