Living Off Campus
Living on campus is a unique experience that is unparalleled in uniting students with Stetson's vibrant on-campus community. If exploring off-campus options and joining Stetson's community of commuter students interests you, please familiarize yourself with our residency requirement and exemption process.
Requesting to live off campus is an important financial decision. Financial Aid is calculated based on your overall expense to attend Stetson, which includes housing costs. By canceling your residential housing to live off campus with a family member, your overall expense to attend Stetson is reduced. This WILL affect your Financial Aid. Please contact the Financial Aid Office to understand how living off campus with a family member will affect your Financial Aid awards BEFORE submitting a Request for Residency Exemption on Housing Central.
If you are participating in the following programs, you are required to live on campus to be eligible for funding:
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- Presidential Fellows
- Stetson Entourage
- National Science Foundation (NSF) Scholars
- Honor Scholars
Exceptions to the residency requirement may be granted to those students who satisfy one or more of the following criteria for the Fall Term on or before August 1 and for the Spring Term on or before January 1 AND submit the Request for Residency Exemption found on Housing Central.
- Academic: The student has earned 22.5 or more academic units (90 or more credit hours).
- Transfer: The student enters the university with 30 or more credit hours and is classified as a Transfer Student.
- A high school graduate with dual enrollment credits is not classified as a Transfer Student.
- Age: The student is 22 years of age or older.
- Partnership: The student is married or in a legal domestic partnership.
- Documentation Required: Marriage license or certificate/registration of domestic partnership
- Approved Internship/Program: The student is participating in a University-approved, off-campus academic internship/study abroad/program that requires them to live outside the local area.
- Documentation Required: Letter from the internship/program verifying participation and dates of duration
- The exemption will be approved only for the duration of their internship/academic program.
- Living with Family: The student resides locally within a 45-mile radius of the University with an immediate or extended family member
- 45-Mile Radius: A distance calculator is used to determine if the address where the student will be staying is within a 45-mile radius of campus. To confirm that your address is within the radius, visit the Distance Calculator website, type the address into the "Distance" field, and click Calculate Distance. We use the Distance measurement, not the Driving Route.
- Immediate Family Member: If the student is living with their immediate family member (parent(s)/guardian(s)), a driver's license or photo ID of the immediate family member with the address where the student will be residing off-campus must be submitted with the Request for Residency Exemption.
- Extended Family Member: If the student is living with an extended family member (grandparent, sibling not attending Stetson University), a driver's license or photo ID of the extended family member with the address where the student will be residing off-campus must be submitted with the Request for Residency Exemption AND a letter notarized by the student's parent/guardian confirming the family member's relationship to the student and the address where the student will be residing.
- Documentation Required: Students who do not meet one or more of the criteria above but still wish to be exempt from the residency requirement may request an exemption based on an exceptional and compelling individual circumstance that cannot be accommodated within campus housing. As part of the exemption request, the student must provide a personal narrative and documentation illustrating why they feel they should be provided an exemption to the residency requirement. These requests are reviewed and decided upon by the Executive Director of RLL or designee.
Florida State Law: Address changes must be updated on BOTH your driver's license/ID Card within 30 days after changing your address.
Residency Exemption Request Process
Students who meet one or more of the criteria above and wish to live off campus must submit a Request for Residency Exemption on Housing Central.
Students who have not attended Stetson for three academic years and do not yet meet the above criteria will not be granted an exemption. These students must complete a housing application and live on campus per the university Residency Requirement. Those who fail to complete a housing application and live in campus housing will be assessed a housing charge equal to the lowest published housing cost for each semester of the applicable year of enrollment.
After the start of classes, a student who wishes to withdraw from all enrolled classes must submit a request to withdraw. Please follow the proper steps to complete a withdrawal from your classes currently in session.
After the start of classes, a student wishing to withdraw from all enrolled classes because they are unable to complete the current semester of courses due to professionally documented medical concerns must submit a request for medical withdrawal. Please follow the proper steps to complete a medical withdrawal from your classes currently in session.
Before the start of classes or before enrolling in classes, students may decide that they do not wish to attend Stetson for the upcoming academic term/year. These students should complete a request for Approved Leave (for students planning to enroll in a future term at Stetson) or a University Exit (for students who do not plan to enroll at Stetson in the future). Please follow the proper steps to request an Approved Leave or University Exit.
Please familiarize yourself with the proper procedures for moving off-campus to smooth your transition process between living spaces without fines.
Upon moving off-campus, you will join Stetson's community of commuter students. Check out the Stetson University's Commuter Student Service web page!
Frequently Asked Questions
We recognize that many students have questions as they consider on-campus housing. You are invited to review our frequently asked questions page for more assistance!
Housing FAQs