Office of Housing and Residence Life @ Mason

Answering a few questions…

March 9, 2011

When do I select my room?

We have been contacted by a few students who think that by filling out their housing application, they are done, and that an assignment will be sent to them.  Housing Selection is a three step process – the application is Step 1.  Step 2 is to research the available rooms so that you are ready for Step 3 – Selecting Your Room.  You (or your roommate/suitemate) will select your room during an assigned window of time in late March/early April.  The full selection schedule will be posted when lottery numbers are emailed out at the end of Spring Break.

• If you are selecting on your own, you will select your own room.
• If you are selecting with a roommate, you OR your roommate will select your room.  Generally the student with the lower (better) lottery number will do the selecting, since he/she will be able to enter the selection software sooner.
• If you are selecting with multiple suitemates/roommates, you or one of  your suitemates will select your room.  Generally the student with the lower (better) lottery number will do the selecting, since he/she will be able to enter the selection software sooner.

Once you or your roommate/suitemate has selected your room, you will receive an email prompting you to pay your housing deposit.  Remember, the deposit should be paid immediately after selection, or by April 8 at the latest.  If you do not pay your deposit, your assignment will be canceled.  Be sure your roommate/suitemate(s) pay their deposits!

Will I go through selection if I am retaining my room?

We recently posted a page about retention on our website that covers this, but the gist is:

• If you indicated on your application that you want to retain your space on your own or that you want to retain and live with the same roommate, then you will not go through a further selection step.  Your assignment will be booked by OHRL over Spring Break, and you will receive an email with instructions for paying your housing deposit.  If you do not pay your deposit by April 8, your assignment will be canceled.
• If you indicated on your application that you want to retain a space and pull in a new roommate or suitemates, then you will go through a selection window after Spring Break.   Students retaining and pulling in new roommates/suitemates will be assigned a selection window for Tuesday, March 22.  Detailed selection instructions will be posted on our website by the end of Spring Break.  After you retain, you and your roommates/suitemates must pay the housing deposit.  If the student who is retaining does not pay his/her deposit, ALL students who they pulled in will have their assignment canceled, so make sure everyone pays their deposits!  If one of the students pulled in does not pay his/her deposit, only he/she will have their assignment canceled.  We want to ensure that no one tries to use pull-in as a way to get around the lottery process!

Can I pull in a transfer or a student who lives off-campus?

We’ve said this a few times, but it keeps coming up.  Housing Selection is only for students who currently live on-campus.  Transfers and off-campus students will go through separate processes, so no, you cannot pull them in.

Can I pull suitemates in during the doubles/roommate selection windows?

Yes…. mostly.  Any roommate pair who mutually requests to live together will be eligible to select or be pulled in during the doubles/roommate selection windows.  Students who are not part of a confirmed pair will not be recognized by the selection software as eligible for pull-in during the doubles/roommates windows.

A scenario that will work:

Four students want to live together in a suite with two doubles.  They pair up so that on their applications A asks for B and B asks for A, and then C asks for D and D asks for C.  They are now two confirmed pairs.  Person A has the earliest lottery number, enters the selection software, places themself, and then pulls in B, C, and D.

Scenarios that will not work:

Four students want to live together in a suite with one double and two singles.  A and B are a mutually requested pair and can select during the doubles window.  C and D are hoping for singles. Person A has the earliest lottery number and can pull in Person B, but cannot pull in Persons C and D because they are not a mutually requested pair (and there won’t be any singles visible during that session, so he can’t place them in their preferred room size anyway).

Four students want to live together in a suite with two doubles.  A and B are a mutually requested pair and can select during the doubles window.  C and D did not originally request each other, but are now interested in a double. Person A has the earliest lottery number and can pull in Person B, but cannot pull in Persons C and D because they are not a mutually requested pair.

You may have noticed that we didn’t ask for suitemate information on the application.  That is because it doesn’t matter who your preferred suitemates are.

• If you are participating in the doubles/roommate selection windows, if they are mutually requested pair, then you’ll be able to pull them in, regardless of how late their lottery numbers are.
• If you’re not participating in the doubles/roommates selection windows, then you will be able to pull in any suitemates who still haven’t picked a room, regardless of how late their lottery numbers are. This scenario is the same as how all of RAP worked last year.

Can I pull in roommates/suitemates during general selection?

Yes – once the doubles/roommates windows close and we enter general selection, you will be able to pull in any student who is participating in Housing Selection and who does not yet have an assignment.

Entry Filed under: Housing Selection 2011-2012. Posted in  Housing Selection 2011-2012 .