Commuter Students

First-Year Student Housing Requirement

All single, full-time (12 or more credit hours) matriculated first-year students must live in University residence halls while enrolled for classes at SUNY New Paltz. However, first-year students who meet any one of the following requirements may apply for a waiver of the first-year housing requirement:

The student is legally married.
The student will be 21 years or older on or before the first day of classes for the Fall.
The student is residing at home with their parent(s)/guardian(s) at a distance of 25 miles or less form the college.
The student has extenuating circumstances that make it necessary to live at home and commute to classes. PLEASE NOTE: Registering to take all classes online is not sufficient grounds for waiving the housing requirement.

Requesting A Waiver Of The Housing Requirement

First-year students can formally request a waiver of the housing requirement to commute from home by submitting a Commuter Student/Housing Requirement Waiver Application.

Once completed, the application must be notarized by a licensed Notary Public.

If the student is 18 years or older, the student must complete, sign and have the application notarized.
If the student is not yet 18, the student must complete and sign the application, and have a parent/guardian also sign the application and have it notarized.

The hard copy of the signed and notarized application must be mailed to:

Office of Residence Life

1000 Hawk Drive

New Paltz, NY 12561

If the first-year student lives within 25 miles of the college, the waiver will be approved automatically when the application is received, and a confirmation will be sent to the student's New Paltz email address.

If the first-year student lives further than 25 miles from the college, the decision would be under the discretion of the Director of Residence Life. For that reason, the application should include a statement outlining the reason(s) the student is requesting a waiver of the housing requirement, including but not limited to, being 21 years or older when Fall semester classes begin, legally married at the time the application is submitted, or for financial, medical or other extenuating circumstances.

Should they deem it necessary, the Director of Residence Life reserves the right to request additional/supporting documentation which confirms the reason(s) cited on the application. An email will be sent to the student's New Paltz email address to inform them on whether their statement on the application is sufficient for approval, or if supporting documentation is required before a decision can be made.

Before you apply for a waiver of the housing requirement:

Please be advised that once a student chooses to commute, that student can request on campus housing in future semester/years, but we cannot guarantee that we will have space available at that time.

First-year students who are approved to commute their first semester, who request housing in a future semester will be placed on a waitlist and will be granted a room on campus only if space permits.

Please take this into consideration when making your decision.

Click the link below to download the application: