Apply for Housing – Office of Residential Life

We offer student housing on the lovely residential Gorham campus and that Portland Commons residence hall on the vibrant Portland campus. Please scroll down for information about applying for housing based on where you are in your academic career here at our university!

New First-Year Undergraduate Students and Transfer Students with <24 credits

You can now apply for housing! Instructions and eligibility are detailed below. More information on how First Year housing is assigned can be found here.

To apply for housing you must be matriculated (accepted, confirmed, and deposited paid) for a minimum of 48 hours before your access will be updated in the housing portal to allow you to submit an application.

To be eligible to move into housing you need to be registered for a minimum of 6 credits unless you are approved for an exception by the Disability Services Center or the Office of Residential Life.

Tip: Keep your MaineStreet student ID number handy for the next steps. You will need it to sign your housing contract.

In the housing application, students will be able to rank shared interest communities that determine their housing placement. Click here for more information about the shared interest communities!
You will automatically be assigned to the required Unlimited Meal Plan for your first semester. Meal plans are required for all residential students who are in any room type other than apartments with full kitchens.

The $75.00 housing deposit does not show up on your MaineStreet account as a bill to pay like other charges. Pay your deposit when you fill out the housing application.

You can pay in one of two ways:

Online: Log in to MaineStreet and navigate to the Dashboard. On the left hand side in the column of links click on Financials > View/Pay Bill > Deposits > Select Term > Select a Deposit > USM_Housing_Deposit > Payment Amount = $75.00 > select method > continue to PayPath, then finish following instructions.
By mail: Make a check or money order payable to USM and mail it to USM Residential Life, 37 College Ave., Gorham, ME 04038. Include your name and MaineStreet ID number!

If you have someone specific you would like to live with for the upcoming semester, you will need to form a roommate group! You do this step after you have filled out and submitted the housing application. (Although we try to honor roommate requests whenever possible, they are not guaranteed).

To form a roommate group, go to your MyUSM portal (https://my.usm.maine.edu). On the left-hand side click “USM Quick Links” and then “Residential Life and Housing Portal.” Select “Update My Application” and then “Roommate Group.” There are two roommate group types; choose the type that best corresponds with your group. From there, click the green +, enter your friend’s 7-digit student ID number, and then click select. An email will be sent to your groupmate. They will follow the same steps as above but, instead of clicking the green + to form a group, they will click “accept” next to their name.
There are three important components that need to be met for roommate groups:
- You must both have a housing application on file.
- You must both be first-year students.
- You’ll want to coordinate your roommate to rank your shared interest communities the same way to ensure a placement you are both happy with. We will prioritize requested roommates even if your community preferences are different.

If you don’t have a preferred roommate, don’t worry! You don’t need to form a roommate group on your own. We will match you with a roommate as closely as we can, based on the lifestyle questions you answered on your application. To ensure the best match possible, please make sure that you have answered these questions as accurately as possible, and that you don’t have anyone else answer them for you, even if they are helping you with the rest of your application.

Vegan? Gluten-free? Halal? Kosher? We have that! Our updated Gorham campus dining hall features diet-specific food stations, including dedicated areas for those with food allergies. Explore options.

New Undergraduate Transfer Students with >24 credits

We’re glad you are interested in being part of our campus community! Transfer students are manually assigned to housing , and cannot be pulled into a room, or self-select a room during returner housing selection. Let us know if you have questions!

To apply for housing you must be matriculated (accepted, confirmed, and fully deposited) for a minimum of 48 hours before your access will be updated in the housing portal to allow you to submit an application.

To be eligible to move into housing you need to be registered for a minimum of 6 credit unless you are approved for an exception by the Disability Services Center or the Office of Residential Life.

Tip: Keep your MaineStreet student ID number handy for the next steps. You will need it to sign your housing contract.

You’ll notice the residence halls aren’t listed as choices, only room types. We will try to assign you to your preferred room type(s), though we may place you where we have open spaces in upper-class student communities.
Select your meal plan from one of three options. Meal plans are required for all residential students with the exception of those assigned to apartments with full kitchens who may opt-out by emailing us at usm.reslife@maine.edu.

Online: Log in to MaineStreet and navigate to <Student Self-Service > Student Center > Financials > View/Pay Bill > Deposits > Select Term > Select a Deposit > USM_Housing_Deposit > Payment Amount = $75.00 > select method > continue to PayPath, then finish following instructions.
By mail: Make a check or money order payable to USM and mail to USM Residential Life, 37 College Ave., Gorham, ME 04038. Include your name and MaineStreet ID number!

If you have someone specific you would like to live with for the upcoming semester, you will need to form a roommate group! You do this step after you have filled out and submitted the housing application. Although we try to honor roommate requests whenever possible, they are not guaranteed and are dependent on the availability of open spaces.

To form a roommate group, go to your MyUSM portal (https://my.usm.maine.edu). On the left-hand side click “USM Quick Links” and then “Residential Life and Housing Portal.” Select “Update My Application” and then “Roommate Group.” There are two roommate group types; choose the type that best corresponds with your group. From there, click the green +, enter your friend’s 7-digit student ID number, and then click select. An email will be sent to your groupmate. They will follow the same steps as above but, instead of clicking the green + to form a group, they will click “accept” next to their name.
There are two important components that need to be met for sophomore and upper-class roommate groups:
- You must both have a housing application on file.
- You must both be sophomores or above (first-year students are housed on first-year floors in Shared Interest Communities).

If you don’t have a preferred roommate, don’t worry! You don’t need to form your own roommate group. We will match you with a roommate as closely as we can, based on the lifestyle questions you answered on your application. To ensure the best match possible, please make sure that you have answered these questions as accurately as possible, and that you don’t have anyone else answer them for you, even if they are helping you with the rest of your application.

You can change your meal plan during the first two weeks of the semester. If you try your meal plan for a week and find it’s not working for you, no problem! Visit Dining Services to complete a meal plan change form and we can swap it for another residential meal plan.

Graduate and Law Students

Find community on campus either in Gorham or in our new residence hall on the Portland Campus!

To be eligible to move into housing you need to be registered full-time (a minimum of 3 credits each semester) unless you are approved for an exception by the Disability Services Center or the Office of Residential Life.

Tip: Keep your MaineStreet student ID number handy for the next steps. You will need it to sign your housing contract.

You’ll notice the residence halls aren’t listed as choices, only room types. We will try to assign you to your preferred room type(s), though we may place you where we have open spaces.
Select your meal plan from one of three options. Meal plans are required for all residential students with the exception of those assigned to apartments with full kitchens.

Online: Log in to MaineStreet and navigate to <Student Self-Service > Student Center > Financials > View/Pay Bill > Deposits > Select Term > Select a Deposit > USM_Housing_Deposit > Payment Amount = $75.00 > select method > continue to PayPath, then finish following instructions.
By mail: Make a check or money order payable to USM and mail to USM Residential Life, 37 College Ave., Gorham, ME 04038. Include your name and MaineStreet ID number!

To form a roommate group, go to your MyUSM portal (https://my.usm.maine.edu). On the left hand side click “USM Quick Links” and then “Residential Life and Housing Portal.” Select “Update My Application” and then “Roommate Group.” There are two roommate group types; choose the type that best corresponds with your group. From there, click the green +, enter your friend’s 7-digit student ID number, and then click select. An email will be sent to your groupmate. They will follow the same steps as above but, instead of clicking the green + to form a group, they will click “accept” next to their name.
There are two important components that need to be met for upper-class roommate groups:
- You must both have a housing application on file.
- You must both be upper-class, graduate, or law students.

If you don’t have a preferred roommate, don’t worry! You don’t need to form your own roommate group. We will If you don’t have a preferred roommate, don’t worry! You don’t need to form a roommate group on your own. We will match you with a roommate as closely as we can, based on the lifestyle questions you answered on your application. To ensure the best match possible, please make sure that you have answered these questions as accurately as possible, and that you don’t have anyone else answer them for you, even if they are helping you with the rest of your application.