Frequently Asked Questions

Residence life is an incredibly diverse and unique experience. The opportunities for creativity, success and exploration are endless. Sharing your space and your life with others is a humbling experience that can teach you a lot about who you are and who you want to become.

Every student living in residence is encouraged to make a personal connection with their Communtiy Assistant (formally Residence Assistant). Community Assistants can be the first point of contact and referral to many services on campus, including academic advising, health services and counselling services.

Residence Life Managers are trained professional staff equipped to handle any crisis big or small with care and compassion. Professional residence staff both live and work in our residence buildings so they are easily accessible.

Each individual student finds their own balance between studying and the rest of life. Both halves of the modern student are an important part of their development. Residence is a great place to study and it’s easy to find a quiet space to tuck away and be productive. We have lots of dedicated spaces to study and complete assignments inside our residences and we also have very fast WiFi.

We do everything we can to make our residences (and campus) as safe and secure as possible. Community Assistants, professional residence staff and security are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week to respond to any concerns.

Residence buildings have secured entrances along with staffed front desks and evening checkpoints in some locations.

There are so many different ways and plenty of opportunities to get involved and meet people on campus and in Halifax or Truro. Community Assistants organize events and educational opportunities.

Dalhousie has hundreds of clubs and societies covering many different interests and hobbies, plus an incredibly diverse offering of intramural activities. If your student is having trouble meeting people, encourage them to seek out something that matches their personality so that they can meet others interested in the same thing.

If your student has any dietary needs, like an allergy or intolerance, we encourage you to get in touch with the on-campus dietitian (Halifax Campus only).

She is available to work with students to accommodate their dietary needs and ensure they are comfortable navigating our dining halls and enjoying their meals.

On our Agriculture Campus, you can reach out to our Manager of Residence Operations. She will be able to connect you with dining hall staff to meet your student’s dietary requirements.

No need to panic. If your student continues to see the error message, it’s important to confirm that the $200 admissions deposit has been paid. If not, please pay the deposit and wait two to three business days for it to be processed before trying again. If you have paid the admissions deposit, try clearing your browser history. If the problem persists, please contact the Registrar’s Office to have your status updated so you are able to apply. You can contact them at admissions@dal.ca.

We begin sending room offers to new direct-from-high-school students who have completed a residence application by May 15. This is done in the order in which the applications were received and continues throughout the summer. Returning residence students will begin to find out in January.

We have created a step-by-step guide to help your student through accepting their offer. Visit dal.ca/acceptingyourroom to find out how they can finalize the acceptance process. Please be aware that the $500 deposit must be paid before their offer can be officially accepted.

For new students, the deposit is due ten days after they receive their offer. For returning students, the deposit is due on May 15.

It’s very exciting for your student to find out who they will be living with during their time in residence. Encourage your student to email the Residence Office at residence@dal.ca to find out who they will be living with. If their roommate has agreed to release their personal information, we can share their first name and Dal email. We feel it’s a great opportunity for roommates to begin connecting even before they arrive on campus.

We aim to make living in residence as convenient as possible for your student by including many of the essential furniture items they need. Each room on the Halifax campus has an extra-long twin-sized bed and mattress, a desk and chair, a closet or wardrobe, bureau (or drawers under the bed), a mirror, and curtains for the window. Some rooms on our Truro campus do have a double bed and students with those rooms will be notified. By providing these items, we hope it makes the move to residence a little easier and less costly than furnishing an apartment off-campus.

It’s essential that your student feels at home during their time in residence. To make the transition as smooth as possible, we’ve created a list of suggested items to help with packing and to ensure your student has everything they need for a comfortable stay. Visit the what to bring to residence page for the complete list and more information.

Due to high demand and limited inventory, room transfer requests will only be considered for exceptional circumstances.

Sorry, early move-in requests are typically not granted with the exception of international students or to students whose programs begin early.

Travelling can be challenging and we recognize there can be times when students are unable to make it to move-in day until very late. If your student is arriving after midnight, they will be let into their room by a staff member. It’s important to remember that while they will have access to their room, this does not officially check them in. They will need to return to the front desk in the morning to complete their check-in process.

If your student has specific room requirements while living in residence, we are happy to help meet their needs. Please ask your student to indicate their medical or accessibility requirements on their application form. Once receiving the application, we work closely with the Accessibility Office on our Halifax Campus to best accommodate these needs. For questions, or additional information, please contact the Residence Office.

It’s very important that residence rooms and common areas are maintained to a high standard. Students should fill out a Maintenance Request Form online through their Residence Hub Page in Dal Online. Maintenance lists are provided to our staff for repairs Monday through Friday, and requests will be completed in a timely manner. In the case of an emergency situation, like a water leak or broken window, these and other issues should be reported right away to residence staff or their front desk.

Students are permitted to have cars, however the availability of parking varies across campuses. On our Halifax campuses, there are a limited number of reserved parking spaces for residence students at the Risley Hall parkade. If you are interested in acquiring parking at Risley, contact reserved.list@dal.ca with your name, Dalhousie ID and telephone number. Please specify that you are looking to be considered for the Risley Hall parkade. Requests are approved on a first-come, first-served basis.

On our Truro campus, Students who wish to bring a vehicle must obtain a parking pass from our security department that allows them overnight parking. Residence students must park their vehicle in the overnight parking lot behind Chapman House. Parking passes can be completed online before going to the security office. Please make sure you bring your Dalhousie ID with you when you go to pick up or purchase your pass.

We know that family members can be anxious to book flights and make travel arrangements for their students for the holidays and end of term. While it can be difficult, we suggest students wait until the final examination schedule has been released before making travel plans. When confirming the details for your student’s trip home, an important thing to consider is that students are required to leave residence 24 hours after their last exam.

All packages being delivered via Canada Post are processed through Dalhousie's central mail room, which is closed from Dec. 24 - Jan. 2. All mail and packages received by the mailroom will be distributed when it re-opens. 

Packages being delivered via courier (Purolator, UPS, Fedex) may be delivered to the residence building, as the front desks will be staffed to receive them. 

If your student decides to stay in residence for another year, they will have to pack up their room during the summer months. However, we do offer summer storage. Students who are planning to return to residence can store up to five items (fridge plus four medium-sized boxes) at no charge. If your student does not return to residence, there is a $50/month charge.

If your student has yet to pay their fees, there is no penalty and no fees are due. If they have paid their fees and cancel by Aug. 1, $250 of the $500 deposit is refundable. If they cancel after Aug. 1, there are no refunds. Please note that the $50 application fee is also non-refundable.