UVA Dorms for First-Years: The 8 Areas, Explained

UVA dorms for first-years sit in eight housing areas on Grounds, from the McCormick Road houses to the Alderman Road halls and three residential colleges. Every first-year pays the same rate, $8,730 for 2026-27, and areas are assigned at random. A private, student-led tour of Charlottesville can show you where they sit.

Which dorms do UVA first-years live in?

UVA first-years live in eight areas listed by Housing and Residence Life, as of November 2026: five standard areas assigned at random, plus three residential colleges a student can opt into. In Fall 2024, 99% of first-years lived in university housing, per UVA's Common Data Set 2024-25.

| Area | Rooms and bathrooms | First-years | Walk to Central Grounds | |---|---|---|---| | McCormick Road Hall-Style | Doubles; about 45 students share each hallway bathroom | About 1,300 | 11 min | | Alderman Road Hall-Style | Doubles; 40 to 50 students per shared bathroom | About 1,600 | 16 min | | Alderman Road Suite-Style (Fitzhugh) | Ten-person suites, five doubles, a shared living area and bath | Up to 105 | 17 min | | Gooch/Dillard Suite-Style | Two-story suites for six to ten, mostly doubles | About 610 | 20 min | | Johnson, Malone and Weedon, from 2027-28 | Two-thirds singles; about 28 per floor share a bathroom | 290 places | 26 min | | Brown Residential College | Two singles share a bathroom | 56 | 5 min | | Hereford Residential College | Doubles for first-years | 60 | 24 min | | International Residential College | Doubles for first-years | 72 | 10 min |

Walk times are UVA's own, from each area's page. The McCormick Road houses are Bonnycastle, Dabney, Echols, Emmet, Hancock, Humphreys, Kent, Lefevre, Metcalf and Page. The Alderman Road halls are Balz-Dobie, Cauthen, Gibbons, Kellogg, Lile-Maupin, Shannon, Tuttle-Dunnington, Watson-Webb and Woody. Johnson, Malone and Weedon join the first-year list for 2027-28 and will not be offered to upperclass students that year (JMW page).

How much does a UVA first-year dorm cost in 2026-27?

A UVA first-year dorm costs $8,730 for 2026-27, and "First-year students pay the same rate ... regardless of which residence area they live in, or whether they are assigned to a single, double or triple room," per Housing and Residence Life, as of November 2026.

What adds to that number:

The meal plan. "All First-Year students are automatically enrolled into the All Access Plan," per UVA Dine. UVA's Common Data Set 2025-26 lists food at $7,340 for 2026-27, for a total of $16,070 for a first-year's room and meals.
Residential colleges. Each one "charges a program fee to support community events," and Brown and Hereford "require a Residential College meal plan" (First-Year Housing FAQ).
A mini fridge. Only micro-fridges rented through UVA's provider, Melvin Corp, are allowed in first-year halls, one per room.

What doesn't add to it:

No housing deposit. "The only deposit required is your enrollment deposit." Fall housing is billed during the summer.
No premium for a single. A single in Brown or Johnson, Malone and Weedon costs the same as a double on McCormick Road.

The meal plan is a full-year contract: UVA Dine bills it "once in the fall and again in the spring." Rates are set every year, so check the 2027-28 figure when it posts.

How do UVA first-year housing assignments work?

UVA first-year housing assignments work in five steps, and the area itself is random: "Incoming first-year students cannot select a specific first-year housing area," per the First-Year Housing FAQ, as of November 2026.

Pay the enrollment deposit. It can take 2 to 3 business days before a student can log into the housing portal.
Apply between May 1 and June 1. UVA says "there is no advantage to completing it early."
Opt in, if you want to. On the application, a student can opt into a residential college, the Scholars Community for Echols and Rodman Scholars, or mixed gender housing. None is guaranteed. UVA does not take preferences "for hall-style or suite-style housing, or for a specific building."
Request a roommate, or don't. Requests must be mutual and made in the roommate phase. Students who skip it get a roommate assigned.
Watch for late June. The room, the roommate and the move-in date arrive in late June for anyone who applied by June 1.

For the class starting in 2027, UVA's 2027-28 academic calendar sets Fall Arrival and Welcome for August 19 to 23, 2027, with classes starting August 24. First-years do not choose between McCormick Road and Alderman Road, so a family doesn't need to rank them before May.

Where do UVA first-years eat?

UVA first-years eat at three all-you-care-to-enjoy dining halls: The Dish at O'Hill on Observatory Hill, Fresh Food Co. at Newcomb Hall, and Runk Dining Hall, per UVA Dine's Meal Plans 101, as of November 2026. Meal swipes work at all three.

Which hall sits near which first-year area, from each area's housing page:

McCormick Road: Observatory Hill Dining Hall and Newcomb Dining Hall
Alderman Road hall-style: Observatory Hill Dining Hall and the Crossroads food court
Fitzhugh and Gooch/Dillard: Runk Dining Hall and Observatory Hill Dining Hall
Hereford and Johnson, Malone and Weedon: Runk Dining Hall
Brown and the International Residential College: Newcomb Hall

Outside the dining halls, a meal plan carries two more ways to pay. Meal Exchanges turn a swipe into "select combo meals at retail locations outside of the dining halls, including Subway and Crossroads." Dining Dollars buy food at any on-Grounds dining location; the ones that come with the plan carry from fall to spring and expire at the end of the year.

For 2026-27, dining service started August 20, the first day of first-year move-in, and spring plans begin January 17, 2027.

Can you tour a UVA first-year dorm on a visit?

No, you can't tour the inside of a UVA first-year dorm on a visit. UVA's admission office says, "For the safety and privacy of our current students, tours of Grounds do not visit our residence halls" (Admission, Visit, as of November 2026).

What families can do instead:

Floor plans. Every first-year area's page on the housing site has sample floor plans and a furnishings list, down to the 80-by-36-inch extra-long twin beds.
Video. The McCormick Road page carries a "Tour & Talk" video of the hall-style rooms.
The self-guided tour. Admission's app has a "student-narrated, self-guided tour" of Grounds.
Walk past the areas. By UVA's own walk times, McCormick Road is 11 minutes from Central Grounds and the Alderman Road halls are 16.

Two rules help a family plan move-in, too: "First-year students are not permitted to have a car on Grounds," and the housing office sits in Gibbons House, 425 Tree House Drive, in the Alderman Road area. To see the first-year side of Grounds from the outside with a current student, a private tour is $150 for your family, 60 to 90 minutes.

Frequently asked questions

Do UVA first-year dorms have air conditioning?

Yes, UVA's first-year dorms have air conditioning: every first-year area's housing page lists it, as of November 2026. McCormick Road lists air conditioning among its amenities, Alderman Road hall-style says "Air conditioning in all buildings," and Fitzhugh, Gooch/Dillard, Johnson, Malone and Weedon, Brown, Hereford and the International Residential College all list it too.

Can a UVA first-year live off Grounds?

No, in almost every case a UVA first-year cannot live off Grounds: "All first-year students must live on Grounds," per the First-Year Housing FAQ. Married students, single parents and non-traditionally aged students can ask for an exemption by emailing housing@virginia.edu. Transfer students are not covered by the rule. After first year, most students move off Grounds; see UVA off-campus housing.

What is a residential college at UVA?

A residential college at UVA is a living community that, in UVA's words, fosters "social and intellectual interaction between faculty and students of all years." UVA has three: Brown, founded in 1986 as the first, Hereford on Observatory Hill, and the International Residential College, about 30% international. First-years opt in on the housing application, and by our count from the housing pages the three hold 188 first-year places.

When do UVA first-years move in?

UVA first-years moved in August 20 and 21 in 2026, per Housing and Residence Life. For 2027, the registrar's calendar sets Fall Arrival and Welcome for August 19 to 23, with classes starting August 24, 2027. Each student's exact move-in date comes with the room assignment in late June.

Sources, read November 7, 2026: Incoming First-Year Undergraduates · First-Year Housing FAQ · area pages for McCormick Road, Alderman Road hall-style, Alderman Road suite-style, Gooch/Dillard, Johnson, Malone and Weedon, Brown, Hereford and the International Residential College · 2026-27 housing dates · UVA Dine · UVA Common Data Set · Admission, Visit