Where will your student live next year?
The room selection process for the 2008-2009 academic year will be getting underway in the Spring 2008 semester! Our process is a multi-phased one in which students may obtain on-campus housing through a variety of means. The first two phases of the room selection process – squatting and intra-hall squatting – are used primarily by returning upperclass students. Both of these processes involve students selecting to remain either in the same room from one academic year to the next, or in the same building. These individuals may pull in roommates in most instances, and from time to time, will pull in a first-year student or a student from off campus who is a friend of theirs.
The third phase of our room selection process is the one that will be of interest to the majority of you, and this is called the All-Campus Lottery. First-year students or anyone trying to come into the residential system from off campus will most likely get their rooms for next year by joining the All-Campus Lottery. Students simply sign up, are issued a lottery number, and select a room based on that number. Lottery numbers are randomly generated, and are not based on class year or number of academic credits, as is the case at many colleges and universities. The Lottery process lets students invite roommates to live with them, or select an apartment or adjacent rooms with friends. Students sign up for the Lottery in Residence Life between March 20 and April 4. Below are some of the most frequently asked questions about our Lottery process:
How does someone sign up?
Just complete a Lottery Card (available at the Residence Life Office) and return it to Residence Life between March 20 and April 4 or attend an information session in any residence hall to learn how the system works, get answers to questions, and sign up. Notices about each residence hall’s information session will be posted on the RA’s bulletin board.
What about roommates?
Some students hope to get a single through the lottery, but most end up with either one or more roommates. Even if a student wants a single, it’s best to plan for both possibilities.
Which is better, to sign up individually or with others?
Every lottery card receives a number. This means that every name on the card has the same lottery number. Everyone with the same lottery number may select a space when their lottery number is called, and then pull in roommate(s) if they wish.
Signing up by group:
- PROS: Ensures that the student and his/her friend(s) may choose rooms at the same time, therefore making it easier to select rooms near each other.
- CONS: The student and his/her friend(s) have less lottery numbers in the process than if everyone signed up individually.
Signing up individually:
- PROS: The student receives his/her own lottery number, and if (s)he wants to live with someone else, (s)he and his/her friend(s) have more lottery numbers in the process.
- CONS: If the student and his/her friend(s) have high lottery numbers they may not find a room together.
What is the best way for four people to sign up so they can pick two double rooms adjoined by a bathroom? We recommend that the students sign up in two groups of two (not roommates). This provides the group with two lottery numbers. The two people with the lowest (best) lottery number can each select a double room and invite in their roommate.
What is the best way for four or six people to sign up so they can pick an apartment or suite? We recommend that the students sign up on individual lottery cards. This provides each individual with a lottery number, and then the person with the lowest (best) number can select an apartment/suite and invite in the rest of the roommates.
Lottery numbers are not transferable. If a student does not use his/her number, it becomes void and we go on to the next number.
What happens on Room Selection Day?
On Sunday, April 13 at the time noted on the lottery receipt, students report to the Russell Sage Dining Hall. All students with the same number must attend or send a proxy (with their ID and a not authorizing the proxy to choose a room). After completing a Residence Agreement, the students will look for available space in the areas of interest to them.
Students may invite to fill the space when they select a room. Anyone being invited into the room or apartment must be with the student with the lottery number when (s)he selects the room. The ability to invite applies only during the Room Selection Process.
There are some limits to how rooms can be selected. Individuals choosing alone can select singles or an open space in a partially filled room or apartment. A student cannot take a space in an empty double if partially filled rooms are available in the same area. In RAHP, Stacwyck, and in Sharp, it takes two people together to open an empty apartment or suite, provided there are not partial apartments or suites open. This keeps whole doubles, triples, apartments and suites available to roommate pairs and groups who want to live together.
After the student has selected his/her room, the agreement will then be finalized and the student is on their way.
An Important Note About Room Availability
Because the number of students at Rensselaer exceeds the number of rooms on campus, Rensselaer does not guarantee housing to upperclass students. However, because predictable numbers of students move off-campus, or into sororities or fraternities each year, we have been able to accommodate virtually all returning students who wanted to live on campus. For the last few years, students applying to be assigned over the summer have had fewer or no spaces to choose from. If a student wants to be on campus next year, we urge them to choose a room during the Room Selection Process!
If anyone has questions regarding any phase of the room selection process, please contact Residence Life at (518) 276-6284 or by emailing res_life@rpi.edu. Updated information about Lottery will be posted on our web site in the Spring semester, and we will continue to keep that information updated on a rolling basis throughout the process. Please visit http://reslife.rpi.edu for more information.
