General information about the housing lottery

Welcome to Residence Life Campus Housing Lottery "Question and Answer" web page. This page is designed to make your life easier by allowing you to access only the specific information you seek concerning the lottery process. Below you will find a series of housing-related questions, and the answers to those questions follow. It is very important that you read the entire website to fully understand the lottery process. If you need additional clarification or have a question not listed below, please contact the Office of Residence Life. You can contact either Mrs. Candy Rains (8277 / crains@presby.edu) or Ms. Jenni Evans (8276 / jlevans@presby.edu).

1. What if I cannot attend the lottery, or what if my roommate cannot attend the lottery? What is a proxy statement? What happens if neither my roommate nor myself can attend the lottery?

If an individual cannot be present at the lottery for any reason (i.e., currently abroad, class, practice, etc.) then that person can give a classmate a written statement that he/she can sign up in a room for the absent individual (this is what we call a "proxy statement"). The proxy statement must be signed by the absent individual and should include the lottery number of the person who is not present. You can pick up lottery numbers for currently abroad students in the Office of Residence Life (ORL). The easiest way to complete a proxy statement is to print a copy of your lottery number from BannerWeb, write a statement that indicates who you want to serve as your proxy, and then sign that paper. You do not have to contact the ORL before the lottery to do this. If neither your roommate nor yourself can attend the lottery, then both of you will need to sign a proxy statement allowing another student to select a location for the two of you. This student will basically take your place in the lottery process, and can sign the two of you up for a campus location.

2. Do I really have to register for classes before the lottery? What happens if I have not registered for classes when it is my turn to sign up for a room in the lottery?

You must be registered for Fall 2008 academic classes to sign up for a room in the Campus Housing Lottery. Please remember that must have met with your academic advisor before you register for classes on-line. If you show up to the lottery and your name is on the list stating that you have not registered for classes, then you and your roommate will NOT be allowed to sign up for a room. To be clear, if you have not registered for classes, you will not be allowed to sign up for any residence space at the lottery until you are cleared by the Registrars Office. You do not have to be registered for a designated amount of academic hours to participate in the lottery; you merely have to be registered for classes.

3. How did I get my lottery number?

PC assigns lottery numbers by means of a computer program that randomly assigns numbers to students based on the amount of PC academic credit hours achieved, including hours signed up for in the spring semester. By a resolution from the SGA, only hours earned at PC are considered - transfer and AP hours do NOT count towards your total hours for the lottery.

Students in the lottery will be divided by gender. Females will receive lottery numbers that begin with the letter "F" and males will receive lottery numbers that begin with the lottery "M." All of campus housing (including senior housing) will be designated either male or female housing.

4. How are changes made to the lottery?

The Office of Residence Life paired with the Student Government Association in the fall of 2003 and started exploring ways to make the lottery easier to understand. Since that time, there have been numerous discussion groups with students and a forum open to the entire student body where individuals asked questions as well as made suggestions to improve the lottery. College officials also attended an SGA meeting to discuss possible changes to the lottery process. The Office of Residence Life used these meetings to gain student consensus about any changes that were to be made. The College holds the ultimate decision in terms of changes to the lottery.

5. I am positive that there has been a mistake with my number I am a rising junior and I know that a rising sophomore has a better number than I do; what should I do?

Every year there are students who feel that there has been a mistake in terms of their numbers. If you believe there has been a mistake, you are more than welcome to contact the Office of Residence Life to set up an appointment to speak about your question. There are, however, several reasons why someone who has been at PC for a shorter period of time than you have, may have a "better" number. First, remember that lottery numbers are issued based on PC academic hours earned only. If a student has taken a high number of classes, including summer school classes, it is possible that the student may be considered a junior by academic hours, even though they have only been at PC for a year. Secondly, you need to check your own hours and remember that only PC academic hours count towards the lottery. AP hours or summer school hours from another institution do not count towards your lottery tier classification. If you think there has been a problem, please read over the section above detailing how lottery numbers are issued and then check your facts again if there are still questions, then contact the Office of Residence Life to set up an appointment.

6. Why is GPA or student achievement not considered when assigning lottery numbers?

There are few colleges in the country that use GPA as factor is assigning lottery numbers. While the College was open to discussions about adding GPA as a factor, massive student input on the issue dictated that the lottery numbers be left to hours earned alone.

7. Why does the College only count PC hours earned? This places transfers in a difficult spot!

In 2003, the SGA passed a resolution whereby only PC hours earned would be considered for the lottery. The SGA used the following as a basis for its decision: there were multiple instances where students were coming to PC with a massive amount of AP hours, and, thereby, "jumping" classifications. The result of this was that there were instances where juniors were receiving numbers well below that of first-year students. Because of the fact that many students felt that lottery numbers should only be based on the number of years that a student actually attended PC, the SGA approved the resolution only to count PC hours. The SGA was aware that transfer students would be placed at a disadvantage in the lottery, but felt that there were safeguards in the lottery to help these students. By safeguards, the SGA knew that transfers could sign up with another student who had a high number of PC hours, and that their lottery number would not count in that case. Additionally, the SGA knew that the "Senior Waiver" existed to insure that transfer students could sign up for senior housing during their actual senior year.

8. What happens if I was not issued a lottery number?

If you were not issued a lottery number then, most likely, the College has information indicating that you are not returning to PC in the fall or that you are graduating soon. It is true that mistakes might happen, thus you need to contact the Office of Residence Life as soon as possible. We will investigate the situation and work with you on an individual solution.

9. How do I register as a commuting or married student?

Students who will be commuting daily from their family residence, or who are married and wish to live off campus, must receive approval from the Office of Residence Life. To receive approval, a form must be submitted and then have approval granted by the ORL. These forms can be obtained in the Office of Residence Life located on the second floor of Douglas House. Any student found to have made a misrepresentation of this form (i.e., be registered as a commuting student, and not actually living at home), may be charged with an Honor Code offense and be forced to pay the College fees that would have been paid if the student were living on campus. A $100 fine may also be imposed.

10. What if I want to pay to live on campus and also have an off campus apartment?

The College will not investigate students that are paying to live on campus. If a student is able to pay to hold an on-campus room, and also hold an off campus location, then there are no actual violations of College policy. If, however, it is determined that a students academic or athletic scholarship is paying for the on campus room, then that information may be turned over to the scholarship provider.

11. What if I am going abroad or studying in Washington during the Fall 2008 semester?

You cannot signup in a room for the fall during the Campus Housing Lottery, unless you are willing to pay the entire cost of having that room held for you while you are away. We insure that all students who are abroad during the fall semester have housing during the spring. We communicate with you via e-mail while you are away, and keep you updated about what housing options exist for the upcoming semester. If you sign up for a room in the lottery and then leave, the Office of Residence Life will place a student with your roommate at our discretion. You may contact us with additional questions about the possibility of paying for a room on campus while you are away to hold your place, but this is the only situation that would allow you to participate in the Campus Housing Lottery.

12. What do I do if I cannot find a roommate?

If you do not have a roommate and/or are having difficulty finding one, you may visit the Office of Residence Life. We will keep a list of students seeking roommates. Stop by and fill out an information sheet in order to be added to the list. You may also want to check with your RA to see if they are aware of any students looking for roommates.

Students without roommates will NOT be allowed to sign up for a room in the Campus Housing Lottery and will be placed with other students at the discretion of the Office of Residence Life at the conclusion of the Campus Housing Lottery.

13. What if I am a current upperclass PC student who wants to room with a transfer or incoming first-year student?

Returning students will not be permitted to live with transfer or incoming first year students, unless special permission is granted by the Office of Residence Life. If you are in this situation, please contact us as soon as possible before the lottery.

14. Can I stay in my current room without taking part in the lottery?

No! "Squatting" in your current room is not allowed. All students must go through the lottery to get a room.

15. What if I want to live in a single-occupancy room or in CIH?

The Office of Residence Life will assign all single-occupancy rooms before the lottery begins. Please click here to get more information about single rooms. The ORL will then post the names of the students living in these locations. CIH selects students by means of an application process that has been completed for 2008-09. If you wish to speak to someone about the possibility of living in CIH, please contact Teri Cugliari at 833-8322. If you are not living with an RA or Bluefish, placed in a single room, in a fraternity house, in CIH, or receive off-campus status, then you will have to go through the lottery.

16. Tell me more about living in a suite-style room!

All of the rooms in Clinton Hall & Georgia Hall are suite-style (two double-occupancy rooms joined by a bathroom). Rooms in Barron and Grotnes that have doors in between them will NOT be considered suites in the lottery. Groups of 4 should arrive together at the lottery (proxy statements are allowed) and can sign up for a suite based on the lowest lottery number among the 4. All groups of 4 (NOT 3) may sign up in a suite-location if they are available.

17. What do I do if I lost my lottery number?

Once lottery numbers have been assigned, you can always find your lottery number and tier on BannerWeb:

• Log into BannerWeb
• Click on "Student and Financial Aid"
• Click on "Housing Lottery Number"

18. How will I know what housing is available when I am at the lottery?

The Office of Residence Life keeps large housing charts on the wall of Springs so that students can have an idea of what is open when they arrive to get in line. Students will be able to look at these charts before they sign up so that they can see what is open. These charts also contain the names of students who have already signed up in the rooms as well as the RAs on the floor; this allows students to understand what their living accommodations will be like.

19. What happens if you run out of rooms at the lottery?

If we run out of rooms at the lottery, we will place all of those students who do not have a room in a temporary assignment (on Clinton 4th Floor for women and Georgia 3rd Floor-long hall for men). At that time, we will ask students placed temporarily to indicate their preferences for housing if they are required to move. If the space in Clinton and Georgia is needed for incoming students, then we will move temporarily placed students to open spaces in other housing areas.

We will only examine the possibility of allowing those senior students who signed the off campus wait list to move out of their hall and then replace them with students not yet housed if we determine that we absolutely need the space to house incoming students. There is no reason to worry, however, because the College will place all students before the start of the Fall 2008 semester. While we will make every possible effort to insure that groups of roommates stay together, that may not be possible if the accommodations are not present.

20. What if I want to change rooms after the lottery?

For obvious logistic reasons, the Office of Residence Life does not allow room changes after the lottery. No room changes, unless officially approved by the Director of Residence Life, are allowed until after the first week of class in the fall 2008 semester.

21. What happens if the roommate I sign up with during the Campus Housing Lottery decides not to come back to PC in the fall?

That departing individual places students whose roommates do not come back to PC in a difficult spot. Students who have an open spot in their room before the start of the Fall 2008 semester will be placed together at the discretion of the Office of Residence Life in order to maximize space. Again, to be clear here, if your roommate leaves you, then you may have to accept another roommate if called on to do so by the Office of Residence Life. While we will work with you to find an acceptable situation, the Office of Residence Life has the ability to move students and place them together at our discretion.

22. What if I know someone is signing up with a roommate who will not be returning in the fall, because that student wants a single room?

If you know someone who is intentionally manipulating the housing lottery by signing up with a roommate who will not be returning, then please let the Office of Residence Life know immediately. Any student caught manipulating the system by using another students lottery number, signing up an individual with a false proxy, misrepresenting ones self, signing up to room with an individual you know will not be at PC next year, or other similar acts, will be subject to a $100.00 fine and being placed in whatever rooming accommodations are open at the conclusion of the campus housing lottery by Residence Life Staff. This may also be considered an Honor Code offense. You also need to know that the student who was attempting to manipulate the lottery will have another student placed with him or her should that persons roommate not return.

23. What are the costs for living on campus next year?

The costs for the 2008-2009 academic year are (as of 3/1/08 and subject to change):

24. How do I check to see if I am "financially cleared" to participate in the lottery?

If you were able to register for classes, then you should be OK to participate in the lottery. To both register for classes and participate in the lottery, you will need to pay your advance deposit. Before the lottery, the Office of Residence Life sends out two or three campus-wide e-mails with a list of students who have "holds" on their accounts. "Holds" are placed on students accounts for multiple reasons. We encourage you to look at every e-mail that comes from Residence Life about the lottery; if there is "Hold List" in one of these e-mails, and your name is on it, then you will not be allowed to participate in the lottery until the hold is removed. If you have any questions about a hold on your account, please contact the PC Business Office at 833-8208.

25. Do I have to be on a meal plan next year?

All residential students will be required to be on a campus meal plan in the 2008-2009 academic year. Students in the Senior Hall, Scottish Arms, or Townhouses may choose from a 8, or 17 meal plan; students in the traditional halls, in CIH, at the fraternity houses must be on a 17 meal plan. Off campus students may also elect to be on a meal plan if they choose.

26. What if I do not want to be on a meal plan?

As stated above, all residential students must be on a meal plan. Students who wish to receive special permission to not be on a meal plan for health-related reasons should first contact Mr. Don Sawicki in the dining hall (833-8398). The student will need to meet with Mr. Sawicki and demonstrate that current dinning options cannot meet the student’s health needs. Following this meeting, Mr. Sawicki will make a recommendation to the Vice President for Student Life, who has the ultimate decision in this situation. The Vice President for Student Life may schedule an appointment with the student at his discretion.

27. What happens if someone is caught manipulating the lottery system?

Any student caught manipulating the system by using another students lottery number, signing up an individual with a false proxy, misrepresenting ones self, signing up to room with an individual you know will not be at PC next year, or other similar acts, will be subject to a $100.00 fine and being placed in whatever rooming accommodations are open at the conclusion of the campus housing lottery by Residence Life Staff. This may also be considered an Honor Code offense.

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