As students get ready to attend college and live on-campus in dorms, many of them don’t want to leave behind their beloved pets. It can be hard to part with your animal companion and start school in a new place, which is why you may be looking for colleges that allow pets in dorms. Many colleges do have designated dorms where pets are allowed, though you will need to consult specific dorm policies to determine which pets are permitted and how large your pet can be in the dorms.
Our article gives you more details about the benefits of bringing your pet to college and the most notable pet-friendly college dorms around the United States.
What Are the Benefits of Pets in College?
Our animal companions bring us plenty of benefits, and many studies have shown that the presence of an animal in someone’s life can reduce stress, increase happiness, and combat the symptoms of conditions like anxiety and depression.
Keeping your pet in your dorm while at college can help you feel less lonely and homesick, and the support of your companion animal can reduce stress, allowing you to achieve better grades and success at school.
Pet-Friendly College Dorms
Many colleges recognize the benefits of having an animal companion for students, and some colleges dedicate certain dorms as pet-friendly housing. The majority of college dorms will allow fish or other small, caged animals, like hamsters, though larger animals, like cats and dogs, are less likely to be allowed unless a college has specific animal-friendly housing.
The following colleges are all known for their pet-friendly policies where you can live with your cat, dog, or other smaller animal in the dorms:
- Arizona State University
- California Institute of Technology (Caltech)
- Clarion University of Pennsylvania
- Duke University
- Eckerd College
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
- Stephens College
- University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
- University of Washington, Seattle
Keep in mind that if you are interested in living on campus at one of these colleges with your pet, you will need to double-check the requirements for pets in the dorms, ensure that you submit any relevant paperwork or documentation for your pets, and pay any applicable pet deposits or fees.
Can I Bring My Pet to Any College?
While most colleges allow animals like fish in the dorms, you cannot bring a large pet to just any college. You will need to find a college that has dorms specifically dedicated to animals in order to bring a dog or a cat with you to college.
Alternatively, if your chosen college does not have dedicated pet-friendly housing, you can choose to live off-campus or in an apartment near the school that accepts pets, allowing you to live with your beloved companion.
Service Animals and College Dorms
Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), service animals are allowed to accompany their handlers into any public or private space, with the exception of certain religious organizations. This means that even if the college dorm you wish to live in does not allow pets, you can bring your service animal to live with you. As you look into registering for college dorm housing with your service animal, you should indicate that you are bringing your service animal to live with you to ensure that the dorm can ensure your accommodations are met.
Keep in mind that the only questions that housing staff are allowed to ask you about your service animal are the following:
- Is your animal a trained service animal?
- What work or tasks has your service animal been trained to perform?
You are not required to show any kind of registration or documentation that your dog is a service animal, nor are you required to demonstrate your dog’s training. Your service animal is unlikely to be turned away unless they are posing a severe risk to other students, such as being aggressive or destructive within the dorms.
Can I Bring My Emotional Support Animal to College?
It is possible to bring your emotional support animal to college with you, but you will need to make sure that your ESA is valid. Only official emotional support animals can take advantage of the housing protections granted by the federal Fair Housing Act.
Under these protections, most college dorms are required to admit official emotional support animals to live alongside their owners as long as the ESA does not pose a severe threat or risk to others in the dorms.
How Do I Get a Valid Emotional Support Animal?
Obtaining an emotional support animal letter is essential if you wish to bring your ESA to college with you. Your ESA letter is what allows you to take advantage of your fair housing rights and live alongside your support animal within college dorms, even those that do not typically allow animals inside.
To ensure your emotional support animal is official, you must speak with a mental healthcare provider licensed in your state. Your provider can evaluate your condition and eligibility for an emotional support animal; if you are approved, your provider will write you an ESA letter.
Keep in mind that some states require that you have at least a 30-day relationship with your mental healthcare provider before they are able to write you a letter stating your emotional support animal needs.
Where Can I Learn More About Bringing My Pet to College?
If you are interested in bringing your pet to college, and your pet is not an official emotional support animal or service animal, you will need to check the housing website of your chosen college. The housing website can give you specific details on whether or not pets are accepted in on-campus housing, in addition to information on applying for pet-friendly housing and any paperwork or deposits that are required before you can live on-campus with your pet.
Keeping Your Companion In Your Dorm
Leaving for college and having to leave your animal companion behind can be stressful, but fortunately, many colleges are starting to accept animals and dorms or dedicate pet-friendly housing to students’ pets.
If you want to keep your beloved animal companion in your college dorm alongside you, you will need to attend a college where pet-friendly dorms exist, or you will need to ensure that your animal is an official emotional support animal or a trained service animal.
For more detailed information about animal policies in dorms, consult the housing website of the college you are interested in.