Senior Incentive Credit
Each fall, Residential Life offers a $2,000 senior year credit to the first 200 sophomore students who commit to live on-campus as seniors. Recognizing that many students choose senior year off-campus housing as early as sophomore year, the University is offering up to a $2,000 senior year incentive credit to students who commit in the fall of their sophomore year to remain on campus as seniors. This offering underscores our belief in the need for senior leaders in residence halls, while better aligning this discernment process with the current practices of local property owners who often market senior year housing to students during their sophomore year. These commitments will also help the University more effectively plan for future residential capacity as we seek to attract more seniors back to campus.
Below is important information regarding the 2025-26 senior incentive credit.
Quick Links:
Application Dates
The application for the 2025-26 senior incentive credit is available on Tuesday, October 10, 2023 at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time. The application closes on Monday, October 23, 2023 at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. Late applications are not accepted.
Eligibility
Sophomore students for the Fall 2023 semester are eligible for the 2025-26 senior incentive credit. Eligible students will receive an email by Friday, September 29, at 5:00 p.m. confirming their eligibility and providing details on how to apply. Only the first 200 applicants will receive the incentive credit.
Terms and Conditions
When students apply, they will be asked to read and agree to the senior incentive credit terms and conditions. Interested students should read this document in advance of the application opening to ensure this is a commitment they wish to make.
Terms And Conditions - Senior Incentive Credit - 2025-26
Frequently Asked Questions
Quick Links
Eligibility
How does Residential Life determine who is a sophomore eligible to apply for the 2025-26 senior incentive credit?
Students who matriculated to Notre Dame as New First Time students in Fall 2022 or Spring 2023, or as Transfer students in Fall 2023, are eligible to apply for the 2025-26 senior incentive credit.
I am classified as a sophomore by the Registrar’s Office but I matriculated to Notre Dame in Fall 2021; am I eligible for the housing credit?
No; only students who matriculated as New First Time students in Fall 2022 or Spring 2023, or as Transfer students in Fall 2023, are eligible.
Do I have to be full time to be eligible to receive the housing credit?
You must meet all existing requirements to live on-campus in the undergraduate residence halls. Please visit https://residentiallife.nd.edu/undergraduate/room-information-and-policies/ to review the housing contract and other important housing policies and frequently asked questions.
Credit Amount and Timing
When will the senior housing incentive credit be applied to my account?
If you have been confirmed to receive the credit, it will be applied to your student account in two parts - one for the fall semester in July 2025 and one for the spring semester in December 2025.
I receive financial aid; how does that affect my ability to receive the senior incentive credit?
A student cannot receive aid in excess of demonstrated financial need or the total cost of attendance. To the extent the Senior Incentive Credit would increase a student’s total aid for the senior year beyond demonstrated financial need or total cost of attendance (which evaluation is made by the Office of Financial Aid), then the student may be ineligible to receive the Senior Incentive Credit, or a portion of it.
Will I receive the incentive credit as one lump sum, or will it be spread out through the 2025-26 academic year?
The housing credit will be split into two credits - one for the fall semester and one for the spring semester. The fall semester credit will be applied to eligible student accounts in July 2025 and the spring semester credit will be applied to eligible student accounts in December 2025.
Will I still receive an incentive credit if I am hired as an RA?
No; students hired as RAs for the 2025-26 academic year are not eligible to receive the incentive credit, even if they have already received confirmation they were one of the first 200 students to apply.
Will I still receive an incentive credit if I am hired as a Senior Fellow my senior year on-campus?
Yes, the Office of Financial Aid will determine the final amount based on your aid package for the 2025-26 academic year.
Will I still receive an incentive credit if my aid covers my housing costs?
The credit total cannot exceed the total cost of attendance. The Financial Aid office will determine whether or not you are eligible to receive the credit when they are preparing your aid package for the Fall 2025 and Spring 2026 semesters.
Applying
I missed the request period for the senior incentive credit - can I still apply?
No, unfortunately the Office of Residential Life cannot accept late requests.
Can I apply for the incentive credit as a part of a group?
No; you may only apply for this credit as an individual.
Cancellation
I have decided I want to live off-campus my senior year, but I am confirmed to receive the housing incentive credit. Can I cancel this commitment? How?
Yes; you must email the Office of Residential Life at residentiallife@nd.edu as soon as possible. There is a $1,000 fee for cancelling, which will be applied to your student account. If the Senior Incentive Credit has already been applied to a student’s account for the 2025-26 academic year at the time of cancellation, Notre Dame may adjust the credit amount total based upon standard charge and aid adjustment rules so as to reflect the student’s time actually spent on-campus. Students on the waitlist for the Senior Incentive Credit will not be subject to any cancellation fee in the event they cancel their request by withdrawing from the waitlist.
My friends and I were going to live on-campus together as seniors, but they decided to move off-campus. Can I be released from my commitment to live on-campus since they are no longer living on-campus?
No; the senior incentive credit application is an individual commitment between a student and the University. Notre Dame does not accept group applications.
Waitlist
Is there a waitlist for the 2025-26 senior incentive credit?
Yes; the Office of Residential Life will announce the first 200 applicants who are confirmed to receive the credit and then notify all students who applied for the credit but were not in the first 200 applicants that they are on the waitlist. If spaces open up on the confirmation list due to cancellations, Residential Life will move a student up from the waitlist to the confirmation list.
Is there still a chance I could receive the senior incentive credit if I am not one of the first 200 students who commit to on-campus housing for their senior year?
Yes; the Office of Residential Life will maintain a waitlist of interested students and routinely review the confirmation list for available slots. If a spot is available, the next eligible student on the waitlist will be transferred from the waitlist to the confirmation list. The student will then receive a confirmation email.
I’m on the waitlist for the senior incentive credit - what does that mean?
The Office of Residential Life will maintain a waitlist of interested students and routinely review the confirmation list for available slots. If a spot is available, the next eligible student on the waitlist will be transferred from the waitlist to the confirmation list. The student will then receive a confirmation email.
How long will Residential Life keep a waitlist for the senior incentive credit?
The Office of Residential Life will maintain a waitlist for the 2025-26 housing credit until the confirmed student list is sent to the Financial Aid office in April 2025. Students may only join the waitlist during the request period during the Fall 2023 semester.
Other
I submitted a request for the housing credit, but I haven’t received a confirmation or a waitlist notice from the Office of Residential Life. What should I do?
If it is more than one week after the request period has closed for the housing credit, please reach out to the Office of Residential Life to learn more about the status of your request. Initial status emails will not be sent until one week after the request period closes.