Getting Ready for Room Selection
Check your Crimson email for more information about room selection.
Roommate Group Information
Returners must complete their roommate groups by 6 p.m. Central Time on Thursday, April 9. Returners can have a roommate group of up to 4 people.
Incoming freshmen must complete their roommate groups by 6 p.m. Central Time on Monday, May 4. Freshmen can have a roommate group of up to 2 people.
Once the roommate deadline has passed, students can only make adjustments to roommate groups by emailing housing@ua.edu.
- To review your roommate group after the roommate deadline, go to housingportal.ua.edu.
- Log in using your full Crimson email address (example@crimson.ua.edu) as your username and your myBama password.
- Click the View tile, or Dashboard in the top menu.
Select the 2026-2027 tab. Under the History section, click View Group.
You will see the name of the other student(s) in your roommate group.
Review Hall Information
It’s important to research the Halls before room selection begins so you know which halls best meet your needs.
You can quickly compare halls using the Hall-Comparison-Chart. If you anticipate needing housing during winter break, please confirm which buildings remain open during that break period.
You can also review the 2026-2027 Projected Rates to compare the rates of different locations. Please keep in mind that 2026-27 rates will not be finalized until June.
To make the most of your time in online room selection, check your eligibility before you log in and brainstorm a few different options that you and your roommate are hoping for.
Logging Into Room Selection
Log in to the http://housingportal.ua.edu on the assigned date/time sent to your Crimson email. All times listed are Central Time.
For the best experience, please use a laptop or desktop computer rather than a mobile device.
Log in date/time is based on housing application date, and only students who applied for housing by the room selection deadline will have access to room selection. You can log into room selection any time it is open after your initial log in time, but spaces decrease as time goes on.
Click the View tile, or Dashboard in the top menu. Select the 2026-2027 tab.
To begin your room selection, click the Choose Room button.
To Select a Space: Choose a space from the available choices by placing it in your basket. Spaces marked unavailable are already full or unavailable to you to choose. ADA (handicapped accessible) spaces and spaces in an RA (resident advisor) suite/apartment will be labeled that way. You may choose those spaces, but be sure you want that space before you finalize your choice.
To Assign a Roommate: If you are in a roommate pair, select a room/suite/apartment with
enough available spaces, and you will assign yourself and your roommate.
Do not finalize your room selection until you are sure that it is the space you want. You cannot change spaces once you finalize your choice.
Searching for Rooms
You can filter by room type, or select a building to see available spaces in that specific building.
Once you click on a building, you will see available room types.
This screen will default to the first option being selected. Select the option you are searching for to change your search results below.
In most buildings, there is a dropdown to choose the floor where you are searching.
There is a dropdown to select from available rooms. This will show how many spaces are available in the room. Example: if 1 space in a 4-bedroom suite is already occupied, this will display that 3 spaces are available.
Once you choose a room number, you can see the available spaces to select from. There is an “i” information icon that can provide you with additional information about the space.
Note: If one or more spaces in the room or suite are already occupied, you can click the “i” icon to see if the student is a Freshman or Continuing (returning student). No other information about a student is available to you prior to finalizing your room selection, unless the space they are assigned to is designed for an RA.
Clicking the “i” icon will describe if the space is an accessible space (commonly with wheelchair-accessible modifications) or if the space is a room in an RA suite.
ADA (handicapped accessible) spaces and spaces in an RA (resident advisor) suite/apartment will be labeled that way. You may choose those spaces, but be sure you want that space before you finalize your choice.
Highlight the space you want to reserve. This will begin a 10-minute timer. While you have a space in your basket with a timer going, no one else can select that space.
Highlight the space you want to select for your roommate, if applicable. Both spaces will now be held from other students while the timer is still going. If you navigate away from your basket, the timer is still going!
If you want to remove one of the spaces from your basket, click the trash can icon.
If you want to move forward with the spaces in your basket, click Proceed to booking.
Complete Your Selection
You will select which student is in which space. Remember – the timer is still going!
When you have assigned each student in your roommate group to a space, there will be check marks through out the screen to indicate that you have assigned everyone to a space.
When everyone is in the space you intended, click Next.
You can review your selection details for a final time on the Summary page. The attributes listed are a combination of the attributes for the spaces in the room. Double check that each student is in the intended space.
Choosing a space in an RA suite or a wheelchair-accessible space is possible. Some students will select space in wheelchair-accessible rooms or in RA rooms. If you can see this space in room selection, it is available for students to select. HRC cannot change your housing assignment once you’ve clicked Confirm Assignment.
You should look closely at the space you are selecting before clicking Confirm Assignment.
Click Confirm Assignment once you have reviewed the details on the Summary page and are ready to complete selection.
Once you click Confirm Assignment, your housing assignment has been finalized, and you have completed room selection. You and your roommate (if applicable) will receive an email confirmation that you have completed room selection.