In an effort to simplify the housing lottery, the Office of Residential Life announced Wednesday the approval of several changes to the process, the most notable of which will shorten it to just three nights.
This year, the lottery will take place on March 20, 21 and 23. In past years, the lottery has been spread out over four weeks.
In addition, all units of housing - including apartments, suites, doubles and singles - will be available at once. This change replaces the prior lottery structure, under which different segments were divided by type of housing.
Instead of dividing up the three lottery nights by housing type, ResLife plans to separate students by lottery number. Once ResLife knows how many groups are applying to the housing lottery, administrators will assign each group a number. The system will still be based on seniority, with rising seniors receiving the best numbers and rising sophomores the worst.
All groups with numbers in the top third will be called the first night; groups with numbers in the second third will be called the second night; and groups with numbers in the last third will be called on the final night.
Under the new system, every participant will know exactly when his number will be called, so students will only have to attend one night of the lottery.
"In the past, first-years would go into every segment of the lottery, and the first segments were just not realistic for them," said Rosario Navarro, assistant director of ResLife. "Now you know when you're going, and you have a realistic perception of what's open to you," Navarro said.
Another significant change involves special interest housing options, such as same-sex or substance-free halls, which have been separated from the traditional housing lottery. Students who wish to live in special interest housing must apply before the lottery.
In the past, rising sophomores with very high lottery numbers would often end up in special interest housing even though they had never requested it.
"It just hurts the community when people live there and don't follow the rules," said Justin Glavis-Bloom '07, chair of the Residential Council's Lottery Committee.
Glavis-Bloom said the changes to the lottery were "pretty drastic" but "won't affect the outcome all that much."
"I think it will be an overall better experience, but it will require more planning and be more stressful when you're there," Glavis-Bloom said.
In offering advice for students applying to the lottery, Glavis-Bloom stressed the importance of planning in advance.
"Do your research," he said. "If you come into the lottery with a good plan, you'll find something you like."
ResLife will hold information sessions about the new lottery system on Feb. 21, 23 and 28. More information about the sessions and the lottery is available on Web sites for ResLife and ResCouncil.
