Living on Campus

Time on the weekends at Loomis is less structured than during the week allowing you more time to unwind, socialize, participate in recreational activities, and catch up on academic work as necessary.

There are many options available to students for recreation and entertainment, including sporting events, cultural celebrations, student and professional performances, talent shows, lip sync battles, dances, game nights, and club activities. Weekend activities also often include off-campus excursions to local shopping, popular restaurants, movies, and bowling, all organized by faculty and students who run the Student Activities’ program. One weekend in the fall, all students compete in the Pelican Games which is an epic community competition. You will be assigned a team (for life!) and compete for the Pelican Cup. 

Student Activities

For new students, decisions are made after a careful review of your admission application and with information gathered from the housing survey you submit in June. Returning students submit their requests for dorm and roommate assignments in the spring term and the school considers those requests over the summer when assignments are made.

The deans and dorm heads make the dorm and room assignments at the end of the summer and you will receive this information shortly before arriving on campus.

Yes. Loomis Chaffee offers an all-gender housing option. All-gender housing is a housing opportunity for students to live in a space where gender is not the organizing principle. If you have any questions, please email Dean of Community Life Chris Howes at chris_howes@loomis.org.

Yes. Your housing assignment will include your roommate’s contact information so you can communicate before arriving on campus.

Each boarding student will be provided with a bed and mattress (extra-long: 80 inches), bureau, desk and chair, garbage and recycling cans, and closet/wardrobe. All dorms also have kitchens and common rooms, and laundry facilities.

You provide your own linens and should bring clothing for different types of weather, including raincoats. We also suggest you bring items for extra-curricular activities such as sports and music. You should bring toiletries, towels, a desk or reading lamp (not halogen), an alarm clock/radio, and at least two blankets. A more comprehensive packing list is available in the Information for Boarding Families page.

Generally, class day attire will follow the Casual Attire guidelines below. Attire must allow students to engage with the activities they are participating in throughout the academic day. There will be select times students are asked to wear Pelican Attire in order to fully engage with a specific school activity. Examples of these include, but are not limited to, class dinners, classroom presentations, meetings with visitors to campus, away games, or invited speakers.

Casual Attire (for class)
Shorts, pants, jeans, sweatpants/joggers, leggings, skirt, dress, t-shirt, polo, long sleeve shirt, sweater, sweatshirt, hoodie; and shoes. Hats are allowed, provided they do not prohibit a student’s engagement in class as determined by the teacher.

Not appropriate for casual class attire: sleepwear, bath robes.

For the complete Dress Code, please refer to the Student Handbook. 

Every student’s experience is unique, but you should know it is perfectly normal to feel some homesickness, especially if this is your first time living away from home. Your advisor, dorm faculty, and dorm prefects and resident assistants (junior and senior students) are here to help you when you are missing home. One strategy that works well for a lot of students is to stay busy — be sure to get involved on campus by joining clubs that interest you, participating in athletics as a player and/or spectator, attending evening and weekend events, and hanging out with friends.