Housing and Meal Plan Rates
We believe that living on-campus provides students with access to the kind of support and amenities that will help them succeed in the classroom. Housing and meal plan rates are approved annually by the board of trustees during their spring meeting before the upcoming academic year.
Housing rates
At Earlham, we use a flat-rate billing structure for campus housing. This means that all beds on campus are the same price regardless of room type of whether or not that bed is a residence hall, college house, or campus apartment.
The college also offers a limited number of what we call “double-single” rooms to second-year, third-year, and fourth-year students when we have the space available to do so. These spaces are standard double-occupancy rooms that the student can request to be used as a single-occupancy room for an additional cost. These are the only spaces that are billed at a different rate than our standard housing rate and can only be obtained by request from Residence Life.
For the 2024-2025 year, our housing rates are:
| Bed Type | Semester Cost | Annual Cost |
| Standard Bed | $3,693 | $7,386 |
| Double-Single Bed | $5,539.50 | $11,079 |
Meal plan costs
All students who live on campus are required to have a meal plan.
New students living anywhere on-campus are required to have a 19-meals-per-week plan during their first semester with the ability to select a different plan in subsequent semesters.
Returning students living in the residence halls can choose from our 10, 14, or 19 meals per week plans. Returning students living in our college houses or campus apartments also have the option of selecting a smaller 5-meals per week or 80 meals per semester plan.
While not required, meal plans are also available to students who commute. In addition to our standard residential plans, commuting students can also select from two plans designed specifically for commuters – our 20-meal-per-semester plan or our 40-meal-per-semester plan.
For the 2024-2025 year, our rates are:
| Plan | Semester Cost | Annual Cost | Notes |
| 19 meals/week with $175 Quaker Points | $3,299.50 | $6,599 | Default plan assigned to all new students in their first semester |
| 14 meals/week with $200 Quaker Points | $3,063.50 | $6,127 | |
| 10 meals/week with $225 Quaker Points | $2,809 | $5,618 | |
| 5 meals/week with $200 Quaker Points | $1,050 | $2,100 | Only available to commuters, students living in college houses, or campus apartments |
| 80 meals/semester with $200 Quaker Points | $1,080 | $2,160 | Only available to commuters, students living in college houses, or campus apartments |
| 40 meals/semester with $50 Quaker Points | $490 | $980 | Only available to commuters |
| 20 meals/semester with $50 Quaker Points | $280 | $560 | Only available to commuters |
Each meal plan has the option to add additional Quaker Points for an equal increase in cost. For more information on Dining Services on campus, please visit our Dining Services website.
Break housing and meal rates
The college offers limited housing to students during periods between semesters (i.e. winter break and summer break). While other campus breaks like spring break and fall break are included in a student’s semester housing costs, there is a cost for students requesting to stay in campus housing over the summer or during the winter break.
Because there are fewer amenities available and many campus offices are closed or have reduced hours, break housing is offered at a reduced nightly rate for students.
Dining options are limited during these break periods, and hours of operation are set based on the number of students in residence and the availability of staff. Costs and hours are set in the weeks immediately preceding each major break by our campus dining services team and are shared with students registered for break housing.
More information and resources
The Office of Residence Life supports and encourages students by providing guidance in contemplative inquiry, opportunities for dialogue, sponsoring celebratory communal events, and supporting opportunities that enable students to put their most cherished beliefs into daily practice.