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Housing Lottery
Keep your current room, or look for a new one.
The Housing Lottery is held every spring semester and is the method by which students can keep or change what rooms they have between academic years. The system is made to be fair and equitable, allowing you to choose a room closest to your preferences from those that are available.
General Process
- Each student draws a random number from those assigned to their class.
- Students who want to keep their current room, regardless of their number, notifies the Residential Life office before any new rooms are chosen.
- Students with disabilities documented before the lottery have first choice of rooms not already being kept.
- Over the course of a few days, ranges of numbers will be called in order. The student with #1 will pick their room, then #2 will pick theirs, etc.
Dates & Times
Drawing Lottery Numbers
- Time: 9:00am-11:30am and 12:30-4:00pm
- Location: Office of Residence Life, Whitney Hall
- Days: To Be Determined
Keep Your Current Room and Special Accommodations
- Time: 9:00am-11:30am and 12:30pm-4:00pm
- Location: Office of Residence Life, Whitney Hall
- Days: To Be Determined
New Room Selection
- Time: 4:00pm-6:00pm
- Location: DKs, Pearsons Hall
- Days: To Be Determined
Details for 2019-2020
- All-Female Hall will be Porter Hall.
- Gender-Inclusive Hall will be Whitney Hall.
- Quiet Floor will be the 4th floor of Bushnell.
- Alcohol/Substance Free Spaces will be 609 and the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd floors of Bushnell.
More Information
Drawing Lottery Numbers
Come to the Residential Life Office located in Whitney on the designated dates and times. Each student will randomly choose a random number from those assigned to their class. The Registrar determines class year.
- Juniors (& Seniors): #1-250
- Sophomores: #251-550
- First-Years: # 551-950
The number you pick will determine when you get to choose a room. Lottery numbers are not transferable! Your name and number are both recorded when you pick your number.
Students with documented disabilities (SWD) needing housing accommodations (established at least 10 days in advance of the “Keepers” first date) will choose rooms after the “Keepers”.
SWD will be allotted times based on their selected lottery number.
Students with an Emotional Support Animal (ESA), as an FHA regulation (not ADA), are not eligible for this priority lottery process.
Please let the Residential Life office know if you will use this process.
Keeping Your Room
All students, regardless of class year or lottery number, can choose to keep their current room. Choosing to keep your current room is final; you cannot switch to another room later during the lottery.
- Draw a lottery number on the day your class chooses.
- Appear in the Residential Life Office on the days assigned for keeping rooms.
- Sign up for your current room. You may “keep” your room with your current roommate or new roommate at this time.
- Two (2) or more current residents must return next fall.
- If either of the Two (2) returning residents leave, the whole group is dropped and asked to select from the available rooms at that time.
Halls are regularly renovated each year, so your current hall must be available the following year in order to keep it. If you cannot keep your room, you must participate in the new room selection process.
All unclaimed rooms enter the selection pool at 4:00 p.m. on the first day rooms are chosen. The option to keep your room ends at 3pm the same day: no exceptions will be made after this time.
Details for Specific Housing Options
All doubles must be filled by two students. You are strongly encouraged to find a roommate before lottery time!
Both students should both draw numbers separately. Then, when it is time to select a room, line up using the lowest number between the two of you.
Draw a Lottery number, and pick from the available rooms when your number is called. If there are no singles, then you must choose from the available doubles.
If you have #551-950, have a double option in mind in case all singles have been selected.
Fraternities/sororities must select their residents early in order to turn in their house lists before the lottery. Contact the House President/Manager as soon as possible if you are a member and want to live in a Greek house. You will be notified if you are selected to live in the house.
If so, you do not participate in the Lottery. Your name MUST appear on the list of next year’s residents submitted to the Residential Life Office if you are going to live in the house.
All financial aid forms must be on file and all accounts in order before the list is adopted. Please be sure all is in order.
Special Interest Houses must select their residents early in order to turn in their house lists before the lottery. Contact the House President, Manager or RA as soon as possible if you want to live in a Special Interest House. You will be notified if you are selected to live in the house.
If so, you do not participate in the Lottery. Your name MUST appear on the list of next year’s residents submitted to the Residential Life Office if you are going to live in the house.
All Special Interest Houses must have an active alternate list. If you sign as an alternate you agree to move into the house if a space opens.
All financial aid forms must be on file and all accounts in order before the list is adopted. Please be sure all is in order.
Townhouses and Clary Street Apartments are open to seniors and juniors. They are selected in groups of four (4) students. The two (2) lowest Lottery numbers of the group are averaged to determine who picks a Townhouse or apartment.
There are twelve (12) apartments available in the Moore Townhouses and four (4) available in the Clary Street apartments.
The lower lottery number students must occupy the apartment in the fall. If they drop out, the entire apartment may be given to the next group and the remaining residents will be asked to select rooms from the open spaces once Lottery is over.
If you are interested in an apartment, the names and class years of the four (4) residents must be submitted to the Residential Life Office before the lottery. We will inform you of selection options prior to the room draw.
Emerson Apartments are open to juniors and seniors. They are selected using the normal lottery process. Students will use their selected lottery number, pair up with a roommate and select an apartment using the lowest lottery number.
There are 28 apartments available (19 one bedroom units for two people, 5 two bedroom units for two people, and 4 studio apartments for one person).
All apartments for two (2) people must be completely filled at time of selection. The lower lottery number student must occupy the apartment. If they drop out the apartment may be given to the next group on the waiting list and the remaining resident asked to select from open rooms after lottery is completed.
We anticipate we will hold at least 1 one bedroom apartment for students needing accommodation. You may keep your Emerson apartment by following the normal keeping process.
Only students who have completed six (6) terms in residence are permitted to live off-campus. Participation in a college approved Seminar Program counts as a term in residence. Check references on landlords with other students. Talk to your friends about their experience.
If you have lived on-campus for six semesters and are now planning to live off-campus, please email the Residential Life Office (reslife@beloit.edu) and let us know your plans before the lottery begins.
- 1. You must file all financial aid forms and your account must be in order before April 12th to participate in Lottery. If all is complete, you will draw your number and choose your room according to the chart on the back page.
- If you have lived on-campus for six semesters and are now planning to live off-campus, please email the Res Life Office (reslife@beloit.edu) and let us know your plans by Friday, April 6, 2018. Page 7 3.
- A room selected by a proxy (see proxy policy on page 8) will be held for 24 hrs. The on campus student must come to the Res Life Office within 24 hrs. to sign the room agreement. Rooms with unsigned agreements will be returned to the Lottery pool.
Proxies
If you are unable to draw your number or choose your room, you may ask Residential Life to do so for you.
Waiting List
If you are dissatisfied with the room you chose in Lottery, you may elect to participate in the waiting list procedure. If you participate, you will then choose up to two (2) other residence halls in which you would rather live. As vacancies develop, and after transfer/exchange students are placed, individuals on the list will be assigned rooms. Ranking on the list is determined on a first-come, first-served basis.
If you sign the waiting list, you agree to be moved to any open space that matches your request. You will be notified of any such change over the summer.