What are the speakers mainly discussing? Why does the man mention the study-abroad notification form?

Listen to a conversation between a student and an employee from the department of housing. (S = Student, E= Employee)
S: Hi, I am a first-year student and I’ve been living in student housing for the past six months. A classmate just told me that I might have missed the application deadline for the next academic year. I didn’t know I have to apply again so early. I thought I’d better stop by. Has that deadline passed?
E: Well, housing is a three-stage process with a few different dead-lines. One of them is approaching soon, but none of them has passed yet, so you are fine.
S: Great. Oh, that’s a relief. Could you tell me then about what I’ll need to take care of?
E: Sure. For stage one, you only have until the end of this week to do two things. First, you need to go to the university homepage and complete the housing re-application online; and secondly, if that gets approved, you have to pay the $1,000 non-refundable housing deposit.
S: Oh oh, I mean the $1,000 is not a problem. It’s the non-refundable part that…
E: What do you mean?
S: Well, it’s just that I don’t know yet precisely where I will be next year. I applied for the University Study-Abroad Option, but they won’t make their decision for a few more months. So I do really need to plan for both possibilities, but if the $1,000 is non-refundable…
E: Well, you still have to meet our re-application and deposit deadline to remain eligible for any future guaranteed housing, otherwise you will always be put on the waiting list. However, the study-abroad program is an exception to our non-refundable policy. So if you get accepted into that program, you can submit a study-abroad notification form to our office.
S: But what will that do?
E: That way we can change your status, but you’ll still be eligible for future housing and the $1,000 will be credited into your account.
S: Oh, OK.
E: Now as part of stage two of the housing process, coming up in about a month, there’ll be an official open-house session. It provides students with an opportunity to visit the different student housing buildings and also to learn more about the surrounding communities. You know since we are a city college, some of those areas have different attractions, which give each of them a different personality. Take Chamber Hall for instance. It’s right next to a Weekend Farmers’ Market, and there is Clock Hall, which is on the same block of art museum. Lots of options to explore.
S: Great. I will plan to attend. And what about roommates? There are two friends I like to live with. Can I arrange that?
E: Yes. The day, the day after the open-house, submit a roommate preference card. Make sure only one person summits all the information on one card. Now we do the best we can to accommodate groups. However, please be aware that as space becomes limited, individuals in the group may be placed in different locations.
S: Got it. And what’s stage three?
E: That’s the final stage where you select the specific room that you would like.