Pratt’s Residential Life & Housing Office manages the housing and meal plan fees for 2000+ students each semester. The housing and meal plan fees appear as charges on Pratt Student Account balances each semester.
Managing Your Billing and Payments
All student fees, including tuition, tuition insurance, health insurance, housing, meal plans, lab fees, etc, are applied as charges to your Pratt Student Account, each semester. (Fall, Spring, or Summer Sessions)
Payments are applied to your Pratt Student Account as credits. This includes your one time Enrollment Deposit, and your Housing Deposit payments each year. Other credit items like Financial Aid awards, student/parent loan payments, and scholarship awards appear as credits on your Student Account too.
Your updated Student Account balance information, payment options, etc, are available to view 24 hours a day via the instructions on our Pratt Student Financial Services web pages
Our Student Financial Services web pages also have information about Financial Aid, payment deadlines, payment plans, refunds, etc. Questions about your housing and/or meal plan fees can be directed to reslife@pratt.edu. All other questions about your Student Account (your account balance, payment terms, deadlines, etc.) can be directed to Student Financial Services at sfs@pratt.edu
Pratt’s Academic Year is inclusive of both Fall and Spring semesters, from August Move In at the start of the year to Move Out in May. Housing contracts are for the full Academic Year (both Fall and Spring) or the Spring semester only.
Students who wish to stay on campus during the Summer Sessions may apply for Summer Housing, but this is not guaranteed (Summer Housing requirements apply.) You can review our latest Summer Housing webpage for more information.
When planning for your housing and meal plan budgets, please remember the housing and meal plan rates on our website are per semester, and are applied one semester at a time. So, the total Academic Year cost for housing and meal plans is the semester rate times two (if you live on campus for the two semesters, and have a Meal Plan for two semesters).
You can view our housing Options & Rates for more information.
When Your Housing and Meal Plan Charges Are Applied to Your Student Account
Your Fall housing and meal plan fees are applied to your Pratt Student Account in early July.
Spring semester housing and meal plan fees are applied in mid-December.
Summer Housing fees appear on your Pratt Student Account in early May.
Your Housing Contract
When you apply and receive a Housing assignment, either as part of the new student Housing Application process, or participating in the Returning Students Room Selection process, you enter into a contract with Pratt Institute. We want you to understand the legal and financial rights and responsibilities of your contract.
The Residence Hall License contains most of the conditions of the Housing contract.
In addition, students are expected to abide by the overarching Pratt code of conduct as listed in the Resident Living Guide and the Community Standards and Student Policies, which detail expectations of all students, living both on and off campus.
For most students, the Housing contract spans the entire year, both Fall and Spring semesters. While we allow students to break their contract, there can be significant penalties depending on when you cancel.
Please plan accordingly, paying particular attention to the contract cancellation deadlines and dates in Section V. Cancellation Penalty Schedule of the Residence Hall License.
Housing & Meal Plan Contract Cancellation Process
If you need to cancel your housing and/or meal plan contract, please complete the “Cancellation Request” form on our Housing Portal
If you cancel your Housing contract, the Cancellation Penalty you receive (if applicable) is determined by the date on which we receive your request to cancel your contract. Refer to the Residence Hall License, Section V. for the Cancellation Penalty Schedule. You can view the current Residence Hall License for more information.
Please Note: Canceling your current semester Housing contract requires you to move out of your on campus space within 48 hours. Residential Life & Housing can provide limited flexibility with your move out date, on a case-by-case basis, but we must be made aware of your Move Out plans.
If you cancel the future Spring semester, your Move Out Deadline is the last day of the current Fall semester.
Meal Plans at Pratt
Here is an overview of our Meal Plans at Pratt
Students who live in residence halls with mandatory Meal Plan requirements (all first year halls, ELJ Hall, some spaces without kitchens in Willoughby Hall) will normally cancel their Meal Plan as part of canceling their housing.
If you cancel your Meal Plan contract once the semester has started, the penalty is $250 in addition to the value of the weekly meal alottments you have received, and/or the Meal Points you have used. (A specific total can be provided once your Cancellation Request has been processed.)
Prattcard.com for Adding Meal Plan Points and/or Pratt Bucks
If you run low on Meal Points or PrattBucks, you can add to your balance at www.prattcard.com.
Please Note: Please be careful when adding Meal Points, not to add Pratt Bucks accidentally. Pratt Bucks are a distinct, taxable line of debit, for use at certain off campus locations, on campus at the Print Center (for example), etc, but they are not transferable into Meal Points at any time in any way.
Please note that any Meal Points added online are subject to the same plan expiration dates as your active Meal Plan. We recommend that you do not add on more Meal Points than you can finish by the end of the semester.
Some notes also for parents and others who may add Meal Points: For Yearly Plans that renew automatically, we suggest that you do not add on a lot of Meal Points at the beginning or end of the semester since we automatically refresh them the first week of each semester.
Prattcard.com is not a method to sign up for a Meal Plan, or method to pay for a student’s Meal Plan. It is only to add to low balances should a student during the semester. Transactions on prattcard.com are via credit or debit card.
Student meal plan and housing fees are paid via the Student Account at Pratt, not prattcard.com.
Prior to making any large credit card transactions on prattcard.com, please reach out to us (reslife@pratt.edu) if you have any questions, as credit card transactions cannot be reversed if you make a mistake.
Some Reasons to Cancel Your Housing/Meal Plan Contracts
If you are not returning to on campus housing for any reason – Leave of Absence, Withdrawal, study abroad, graduation, etc – you must complete the cancellation request form on our housing portal.
You cannot assume that because you are approved for graduation, or study abroad, or a Leave of Absence, etc, that your housing and/or meal plan contract will be canceled automatically.
Move Out Damage & Cleaning Fees
As a normal process of moving out at the end of the year, or when a student cancels their housing contract and moves out mid-year or mid-semester, they are responsible for restoring their space to the original condition as when they moved in: all clean spaces, all provided furniture is present, garbage is removed, walls returned to original color, etc. This includes any shared spaces like the bathroom and/or kitchen.
If the student is billed for any damage or cleaning needs, this fee will be applied to their Pratt Student Account, and they will be informed via email.
Room Key(s) and Lock Replacement Fees
Room locks are changed when a student loses their room keys or fails to return their loaner keys in a reasonable amount of time. The cost per lock is $27 and the cost per key is $3. When a lock is changed, new keys are issued to each student in the room/suite/house. The student who lost the key is responsible for the key replacement costs for each member of their room/suite/house. These fees are applied to the Pratt Student Account.
Housing Contract Extension Requests: Early Move In & Late Move Out
Moving in prior to the start of the housing contract or staying beyond move out will incur a fee of $100 per day. These extensions are not guaranteed, and need to be requested in advance by emailing reslife@pratt.edu. Students will be emailed when the Housing extension fees are applied after their Move Out.
Room Changes:
There are limited opportunities during the Academic Year to change your Housing assignment. In the event of such a change, your Housing fee will be prorated to reflect the amount of time you live in each room type. (If you move from a Triple room to a Double room, for example.)
Special Housing & Dining Accommodations Process
Residents with an approved housing or dining accommodation through Pratt’s Learning Access Center (LAC), may receive adjusted housing and/or meal plan fees. These adjusted fees are made after a student has moved into their room. Students are notified by email if an adjustment to their housing or meal plan fee has been made.
You can review the Learning Access Center Housing & Dining Accommodation Request Process to learn more.
If you have any questions about your Housing or Meal Plan fees, the application or cancellation process, etc, please email us at reslife@pratt.edu