UG HALL ALLOCATION POLICY FOR RY2023-24
Eligibility for Student Accommodation
All full-time registered UG students of the University (except students in the categories listed below) are eligible for consideration for limited University housing.
Students in the following categories are NOT eligible for student housing:
- Termination of Study
- Program Completion
- Leave of Study
- Exchange-Out
- Extension of Length of Study
[with reference to AR3.4 of the Academic Regulations; refer to http://acadreg.ust.hk/ugreg for details]
Once a student's registration status falls into one of the above mentioned categories or a student is no longer a full-time registered UG of the University, any associated University housing offer will be canceled or adjusted accordingly. Those who are already residents of a student hall will be required to vacate University housing by a specified date.
UG Hall Admission Methods
All applicants will be considered and assessed in the following order:
1. Priority Housing
• Non-local students in their first two years of study (2 years)
Non-local students are those holding student visas/entry permits valid for study at HKUST; they are provided with student accommodation in their first two years of study at HKUST upon submission of an application for University housing.
• Yr-1 local students (one semester minimum)
Yr-1 local students are provided with at least one semester of University housing either in the Fall or Spring Term of their first year of study at HKUST; a certain number of quota shall be reserved for applicants with the highest one-way traveling time(TT)who will be considered for a full-year University housing offer.
• Yr-1 and Yr-2 local students with no home base (NHB) in Hong Kong (2 years)
Legitimate documentary evidence is required of local students who claim to have no home base in Hong Kong. (Please refer to Annex I for details.)
• Yr-1 and Yr-2 local students with a one-way traveling time (TT) > 120 mins
Two years of University housing in the first two years of study, and they may apply for priority consideration by the discretionary committee of Residence Masters in their Yr-3 and Yr-4. The method for determining the one-way traveling time (TT) of each applicant is detailed in the relevant section below.
• Incoming exchange students
• By Decision of the Residence Masters’ Discretionary Committee
A committee of the University’s Residence Masters will, by discretion, consider special applications for University housing. Students demonstrating exceptional health, access, financial, or personal difficulties will be considered for University housing. (e.g., local student with a one-way traveling time greater than 120 minutes to the HKUST campus may apply for priority consideration in their third and fourth years of study.)
2a. Hall Point System
Hall places not allocated in the above means will be divided into 2 pools for local and non-local students/local students with no home base in Hong Kong respectively, based on an average ratio of hall offer results of the recent 3 years.
Eligible students, not already provided with University housing by other means, will receive hall points according to the following criteria and be prioritized in respective pool subject to their local or non-local/NHB status, mainly based on the rationale to cater the housing need of students with Hong Kong home base who live far away from HKUST and to facilitate all students in active campus involvement.
| Section | Allocation Criteria | Max Points for Local Students | Max Points for Non-local/NHB Students* |
| 1 | Travelling Time to Campus | 60 | - |
| 2 | Leadership and Contribution to Campus Life | 25 | 50 |
| 3 | Outstanding Achievements | 10 | 30 |
| 4 | No Prior Hall Experience | 5 | - |
| 5 | No Hall Offer in Previous Year | - | 20 |
| Total | 100 | 100 | |
| *Approximately 25% of non-locals quota in point system will be reserved for random lottery for non-local students/local NHB students who do get housing offers from hall points. | |||
Section 1 Travelling Time to Campus (for Local students with home base in Hong Kong only)
• This section is only applicable to local hall applicants with home base in Hong Kong. Non-local students and local students with no home base in Hong Kong will NOT be given hall points in this section.
• This section refers to the average one-way travelling time between the shortest route & the cheapest route from local hall applicant’s home address to HKUST Campus as given by the HKeMobility of the Hong Kong Transport Department during hall application period.
• The one-way traveling time (TT) determined by HKeMobility is not necessarily the actual traveling time that a student spends on any given day, nor does it necessarily reflect the actual transport modes that s/he utilizes. However, it provides a common base and an officially verifiable reference point for the University’s housing allocation which is considered standardized and official. Therefore, this is the only reference point that will be honored by the University.
• Local applicants in Year 2 or above may be required to upload valid address proof(s) via the online hall application system to substantiate their claim of reported home address for this Section during the application period. Otherwise, the hall point in this Section will be forfeited. For details about valid supporting documents, please refer to Annex I.
• The hall point conversion will be 2 minutes to 1 hall point, in which students with 120 minutes or above average one-way travelling time will be given maximum of 60 hall points.
• The average one-way traveling time (TT) is determined by the HKeMobility according to the following parameters:
- The English version of the HKeMobility shall be used;
- Use the default tab “Ride” and “Service Mode: All Services” to search for public transportation;
- Under the Search Settings (by clicking the down arrow/pull down menu in "Route Search"), the following settings will be adopted: “Shorter” in Walking Distance:”,“Normal” in Walking Route; “Adult” in Fare;
- “Departure Time” is set at a designated time and date as specified in the hall application;
- The home address (with block number or name of block, if applicable) as “From”;
- "The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology" as “To”;
- The route with shortest estimated traveling time and the route with cheapest fare shown in search results will be used for calculating an average time.
Section 2 Leadership and Contribution to Campus Life
This section is to facilitate students’ involvement and promotion of student activities, enrichment of campus and hall life in the coming year, as well as recognizing their contribution in the current academic year.
| Roles to be counted | Ratio |
Total Max Points for Local Students |
Total Max Points for Non-local/NHB Students |
| 1st Role in current year | x 30% | 25 |
50 |
| 2nd Role in current year | |||
| 1st Role in coming year | x 100% | ||
|
2nd Role in coming year |
Only 1 position would be considered in each category for each applicant. The maximum point is capped from at most 2 positions of the following student bodies or University teams from each year
➢ In hall application for RY2023-24, a flexible arrangement will be adopted in the counting of roles in coming year: (Only positions of recognized student bodies of HKUST in Academic Year 2022-23 and/or Academic Year 2023-24 are eligible)
- Roles in current year: Positions being taken up and University representation in Fall 2022 (i.e., September 2022 to January 2023).
- Roles in coming year: Positions or University representation being taken up or confirmed to be served between Spring 2023 & Academic Year 2023-24 (i.e., February 2023 to May 2024).
➢ For hall applications after RY2023-24, roles/positions will be defined as below:
- Roles in current year: Positions being taken up and University representation at the time of hall application period.
- Roles in coming academic year: Only positions or University representation confirmed to be served between the start and the end of the coming Academic Year are eligible.
➢ Each student group/team may nominate up to 3 students within the group/team for higher points.
➢ If a student holds more than 1 position in the student bodies of the same category, only 1 position would be counted.
➢ Students may declare roles or positions of the coming academic year which are not able to be confirmed at the time of hall application but it will subject to SHRLO’s consideration to assign respective hall points or make relevant top-up/ waitlist arrangements if the official information is available for verifications during the hall admission process.
➢ Hall offers of students who received hall points from this Section but leave the position in the middle of the term will be put under Hall Selection Committee's deliberation.
| Categories | Positions | Points for Local Students | Points for Non-local/NHB Students |
|
Student Societies (including HKUSTSU, HKUSTSU Affiliated Societies, ISA and MSSS) |
Higher Points by nomination | 15 | 30 |
| Basic Points | 10 | 20 | |
|
Sports Societies & Teams (HKUSTSU Affiliated Sports Clubs and Associations, and Sports Team recognized by DSTO) |
Higher Points by nomination | 15 | 30 |
| Basic Points | 10 | 20 | |
|
Non-Sports University Groups & Teams (including Robotics Team and Department-associated groups, except ISA and MSSS) |
Higher Points by nomination | 15 | 30 |
| Basic Points | 10 | 20 | |
|
Outreach/ Staff-led Student Groups (including URAO and Schools’ student ambassadors, and Residential Life teams of Hall VI-IX) |
Higher Points by nomination | 10 | 20 |
| Basic Points | 5 | 10 |
• Points gained from maximum 2 positions from different categories in each year will be added up as total points in this Section.
• Applicants should declare their eligible roles/positions in the hall applications. Student data of this Section will be validated against information from schools/ departments/ centres/ offices and/or student organizations under DSTO. Submission of documentary proof from applicants for this section is not required unless deemed necessary by SHRLO for further verifications. Students are advised to approach the record-reporting units for amendments before and/or during the hall application period to avoid missing records or errors.
• Only verified name lists of serving positions in the eligible groups to be submitted by the representative of the group and endorsed by The Council, HKUSTSU, the Dean of Students' Office and/or respective School of study will be considered for hall points in this Section. Eligible groups would be informed of the schedule and arrangements for submission of name list in separate cover.
Section 3 Outstanding Achievements
Outstanding Achievements refers to Personal prizes/awards or being a member of the prize-winning team in the previous year by recognized institutes such as government bodies, academic institutions, non-governmental organizations or public listed companies, etc. The events/awards must be organized at city level or above in order to be eligible for this criteria.
| Awards/Prizes | Point(locals) | Point(Non-locals & NHB) |
| Champion | 7 | 21 |
| 1st Runner up | 5 | 15 |
| 2nd Runner up | 3 | 9 |
| Extra Points for each national or international award/prize | 3 | 9 |
| Maximum Hall Points from this Section | 10 | 30 |
• The maximum point for this section is capped at 10 points for local students and 30 points for non-local students for personal or team award/prize representing HKUST/Hong Kong SAR/applicant’s home countries by recognized institutes in the previous year before hall application.
• In hall application for RY2023-24, a flexible arrangement will be adopted in the counting of acceptable achievement/awards: 1 January 2022 to 31 March 2023. The documents must be issued between the captioned dates in order to be considered.
• Applicants should submit records with supporting evidence such as official records, registration, appointment letter or certificate of being the winner or member of the winning team for SHRLO’s verification during the application period. Sufficient information should be shown to proof that the applicant represented HKUST/HKSAR/students’ home countries in city level or above event(s). Hall point in this Section will not be given or be forfeited if the reported award or its representativeness could not be verified.
• For details of valid supporting documents and definition of city level or above events, please refer to Annex I.
• In case of doubts, applicants should contact the Student Housing and Residential Life Office before submitting the application.
Section 4 No Prior Hall Experience (for Local students with home base in Hong Kong only)
• 5 hall points will be given to local student with home base in Hong Kong who did not receive a hall offer at HKUST (excluding New Students’ Orientation Camp/Summer Residence).
• Information of student’s hall experience will be loaded to SHRLO’s online hall application system.
Section 5 No Hall Offer in Previous Year (for Non-local students & local students with no home base in Hong Kong only)
• 20 hall points will be given to non-local student who have no hall offer in the previous residential year at HKUST (excluding New Students’ Orientation Camp residence/ summer residence and students who rejected a hall offer in the previous residential year).
• Information of student’s hall experience will be loaded to SHRLO’s online hall application system.
2b. Lottery (for Non-local/NHB Hall Applicants who do not receive housing offer in 2a)
Approximately 25% of non-local/NHB hall places in point system will be reserved for random lottery in order to provide certain chance to all 3rd year or above non-local/NHB eligible hall applicants for housing offers.
Non-local/NHB eligible hall applicants who are not provided with University housing by hall point system in 2a) will undergo a random draw with equal weighting.
3. Waiting List
Eligible local and non-local/NHB hall applicants who do not receive a hall offer for the Residential Year 2023-24 in the admission streams will be placed on 2 separate waitlists of their respective pools, i.e. a waitlist for local students and another waitlist for non-local/NHB students.
Waitlist rankings will be available SHRLO’s online hall application system for students’ checking and will be updated after each round of top-up exercise. When bed spaces become available, released from the respective pool of hall places, students on the waitlists will be contacted with an offer of University housing according to their ranking on their waitlists.
Applicants not receiving any housing offer but who can demonstrate exceptional need or hardship may contact the Student Housing and Residential Life Office: ughousing@ust.hk with supporting documents.
Annex I
Important Notes for Submission of Supporting Documents
Verification of Reported Home Address:
➢ Non-Local Applicants
Applicants who are verified as non-local UG students (according to the records at the Academic Registry) are not required to submit an address proof.
➢ Local Applicants with a Home Address in Hong Kong
Year 2 or above hall applicants under this category will be requested to submit relevant proofs to confirm their claimed home address for travelling time calculation. Some examples of the documents required include utility bills, bank statement and/or other personal residential proofs.
Students may also be required to submit additional proofs as supporting when requested by SHRLO at later stage of the hall admission process to substantiate the home address of applicants/ their parents. Example of documents include:
- Utility Bills
- Rate Receipts
- Tenancy Agreement of Public Housing
- Stamped Tenancy Agreement for Rented Apartment
- Proof of Relationship between student and his/her parent (e.g. birth certificate)
➢ Local Applicants who Claim to have a Home Address Outside Hong Kong (NHB)
To be eligible for NHB, students will need submit hall application within the application period with the required documentary proof to SHRLO upon request. Only when the application is approved will successful applicants be confirmed as NHB.
Applicants under this category may be requested to submit relevant address proofs to substantiate the claimed home address. Examples of the required documents are:
- Proof of home address outside of Hong Kong of both parents (e.g. utility bills, bank statements, etc.)
- Proof of both parents' work outside of Hong Kong
- Student's education history
- Proof of Relationship between student and his/her parent (e.g. birth certificate)
- List of standard documents required for submission will be detailed in the hall offer letters to successful applicants. Applicants should note that any submitted documents may be further reviewed by the UG Hall Selection Committee. Applicants may be asked to submit supplementary documents by a stipulated deadline. Applications will be rejected if applicants fail to provide proofs as required.
Applicants should contact the Student Housing and Residential Life Office in case of doubts.
List of eligible student bodies for Leadership and Contribution to Campus Life:
- Students who hold any post(s) or leadership role(s) of the following University’s student bodies will be given hall points according to the corresponding categories, positions and their status as local or non-local/NHB students.
*This list may be reviewed and subject to change or update.
| Categories | Student bodies | Remarks/Examples |
| Student Societies | HKUSTSU | Refer to HKUSTSU’ list of Affiliated Societies |
| HKUSTSU-Affiliated House Associations | ||
| HKUSTSU-Affiliated School Societies | ||
| HKUSTSU-Affiliated Departmental Societies | ||
| HKUSTSU-Affiliated Art & Cultural Clubs | ||
| HKUSTSU-Affiliated Independent Clubs | ||
| International Students' Association | https://isa.hkust.edu.hk/#excos | |
| Mainland Students and Scholars Society (UG Section) | https://msss.hkust.edu.hk/ | |
| Sports Societies and Teams | Sports Teams & HKUSTSU-Affiliated Sports Associations and Clubs | Refer to list of DSTO Sports |
| Non-Sports University Teams | Department-associated Groups (except ISA and MSSS) | Refer to list of Department-Associated Groups |
| American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Student Branch at HKUST (AIAA@HKUST) | ||
| HKUST Robotics Team | ||
| Wu Zhi Qiao Charitable Foundation HKUST Chapter | ||
| Staff-led/ Outreach Student Groups | URAO Student Ambassadors | URAO SA Program |
| Schools’ Student Ambassadors (if any) | Business Student Ambassadors, Engineering Student Ambassadors, Science Student Ambassadors, SHSS Student Ambassadors and IPO Student Ambassadors | |
| Residential Life Teams of SHRLO | Connection Team of UG Hall VI | |
| Leadership Team of UG Hall VII | ||
| Organizing Team of UG Halls VIII & IX | ||
| Peer Companions (CWC@DSTO) | Peer Companions |
Verification of Outstanding Achievements:
• In order to be considered in this Section, the events or awards must be at city level or above and sufficient evidence must be shown to proof that the applicant represented HKUST/HKSAR/students’ home countries in the events/awards.
• City level or above events refers to those in which participants are open at the state, province, sub-provincial, autonomous area, special administrative region, or directly-administrated municipalities scale. For example, the Business Case Competition (HK and China/overseas region) organized by Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants, which is open to all undergraduate students in Hong Kong (and China/overseas region), can be accepted. On the other hand, case competition organized by individual School Departments or inter-Universities societies will not be accepted.
• Acceptable achievement/award Proof include certificates, medals, formal documents or notifications such as letter or email with official English translation issued by recognized institutes such as government bodies, public listed companies, academic institutions or non-governmental organizations, etc.
• Full name of applicant and date of issuance should be shown on the achievement proof.
• All achievement proofs need to be combined into a single file for uploading.
• In hall application for RY2023-24, a flexible arrangement will be adopted in the counting of acceptable achievement/awards: 1 January 2022 to 31 March 2023. The documents must be issued between the captioned dates in order to be considered.
• For hall applications after RY2023-24, only achievement/awards issued in the past 1 year, i.e., between 1 April 2023 and 31 March 2024, will be considered.
• SHRLO reserves the right of final decision and interpretation in case of any dispute.
Annex II
Other Important Notes
Non-Local Continuing Students
Non-local UGs are NOT guaranteed with University housing starting in their 3rd year of study. Students are advised to plan ahead for their accommodation arrangements. If they are interested in living outside of HKUST campus, they may approach the Off-Campus Housing Section of the Student Housing and Residential Life Office at off-camphouse@ust.hk for assistance. Information on off-campus accommodation is also available online at https://offcamphouse.hkust.edu.hk/ .
They may still apply for on-campus accommodation but spaces are limited and to be allocated according to a hall point system, and then lottery after hall places are allocated to those with higher hall points among non-local/NHB students.
Students who are Currently/ Plan to be On Leave of Study/ On Exchange
Students who wish to apply for student housing for the Residential Year 2023-24 are required to submit a hall application within the specified application period regardless of their registration status during the application period. Late applications will not be considered. Students with unconfirmed leave/ exchange plan in Year 2023-24 are required to submit a hall application within the application period as there will NOT be additional round of hall applications.
Serving Positions in Eligible Groups for Hall Points
The Student Housing and Residential Life Office works with Schools, Offices and the HKUST Students’ Union Council on the hall allocated for assigning hall points to positions in eligible groups. Eligible groups will receive detailed information on the terms and arrangements from SHRLO for submitting name list in around April to May 2023. Upon submission of name list, SHRLO will verify the information against the information submitted by hall applicants.
* Hall points are only valid for hall applicants who successfully submitted their hall applications within the hall application period with serving positions verified during the specified period.
Allocation of Hall Places
UG Halls I to IX in HKUST Campus and Jockey Club Hall in Tseung Kwan O are available for UG students.
Applicants may indicate a maximum of 3 hall preferences in the housing application.
All successful applicants (within the same batch of housing offers) will be considered together by the order of their three hall preferences. A system generating random numbers is applied to each hall preference indicated by the applicant, in case demand for a particular hall is greater than supply - in which case, allocation to the hall is determined randomly.
In case applicants are not assigned to any of their preferred hall(s) due to high demand and limited supply, they will be assigned to another hall on a random basis.
Residence Masters’ Discretion
Applicants who are not offered a hall place in the 1st batch of main round offer and are in situations demonstrating exceptional hardships may apply to the Residence Masters’ Discretionary Committee for special consideration. Applicants should write to ughousing@ust.hk with detailed description of their circumstances and provide supporting documents if applicable. Cases will be reviewed by the Residence Masters’ Discretionary Committee on a case-by-case basis.
Waiting List
General admission procedures (e.g. acceptance of hall offer) still apply and are required to be completed by the applicants receiving top-up offers within the specified period as indicated in the hall offer letters. Schedules of procedures of receiving top-up offers differ from the schedule announced above and the successful applicants will be informed individually. Failure in completing in any of the required procedures within deadlines shall result in cancellation of hall offers.
Waitlisted applicants should be prepared for not getting any hall offers and are advised to plan ahead for their accommodation arrangements.
FAQs
For frequently asked questions regarding the new UG Hall Allocation Policy for RY2023-2024, please refer to our FAQ Section.