The housing lottery at Connecticut College is problematic. Some students despise it with their whole being, while others are thankful every day that the odds were in their favor. No matter where you stand, most students around campus agree that the lottery system needs to be changed.
As of 2023-2024, the housing lottery for non-first-year students was based on randomly assigned numbers granted to each class. 1-500 is for seniors, 501-1000 is for juniors, and 1001-1500 is for sophomores. These numbers are an approximation based on class size. The numbers will adjust if the class is bigger, like the Class of 2026.
In the past, once you were assigned your lottery number, housing may have granted you a deduction based on the room you lived in that year. Almost all rooms on campus qualified for point deductions. Basements, multiple occupancy rooms, and common rooms were some of the main reasons for deductions. Because almost all students received deductions in the lottery, they were rendered useless. Director of Residential Education and Life Eric Barnes, saw this and knew there needed to be a change.
Barnes decided not to enforce point deductions during the 2023-2024 housing lottery, which enraged many students, including myself. In my first year, I lived in a triple with two roommates who had picked each other, leaving me feeling unwelcome. After this negative experience, I hoped for better odds in the next housing lottery.
Students would often choose to live in “less desirable” rooms in hopes of receiving a future point deduction. With that incentive now gone, most students wanted to live in single rooms for the upcoming semester. This led to a crisis. There are about 2,000 students at Conn, but only 913 single rooms. This includes the Manwaring apartments in downtown New London and the River Ridge and Winchester apartments. As you can predict, most upper-class students did not get the rooms they desired.
Some students played it smart, forming large groups for housing, which got priority over individual singles. Those who were unfortunate were placed in doubles, triples, or even quads. While waitlists and other changes have since allowed many of those students to switch their living situations, it was overwhelming to receive initial housing notifications this year.
In my case, I was assigned to three different rooms with four different roommates throughout two and a half months. I was the girl who cried roommate. Major anxiety ensued as I met four new random roommates in a short period.
Mia Whipple ‘27, a spring admit, has faced this challenge twice. Whipple shared that her initial housing assignment changed during her spring move-in as there was no bed in the room for her.
Instead of receiving a better lottery number next time, Whipple was placed in a quad for the Fall 2024 semester. She tried her chances on the waitlist, eventually being placed in a Johnson double.
According to Barnes, when students do not get assigned a room during the housing lottery, they are placed in a holder room, typically a triple or a quad, for the time being. Over the summer, more rooms open up as the first-year class size is revealed. The number of students going abroad and those who transferred also play into the available rooms.
The housing staff then looks at the “unhoused” students’ preferences via the waitlists and adjusts their assignments accordingly. The issue with this is that the system is automatic; when it sees an open room that a student may want, it moves them and places another student in the original space. Without student input, students can lose opportunities for roommates or living spaces that they find desirable.
The housing lottery is difficult because each year, more rooms become unlivable or are removed from the system. This summer, for instance, many dorms were reverted to common rooms, multiple-occupancy living spaces were reduced from triples to doubles, and other rooms were deemed unlivable for safety reasons.
One might think the best solution would be to live off campus, but that is easier said than done. Since Conn is a residential campus, its philosophy relies on the large majority of students living on campus. Each year, some students can be approved to live off campus, but this depends on the number of students enrolled. If there are enough spaces on campus for all students to live, no students would be approved to live off campus.
So, which is the safest option? Barnes and Becky Pritchett, Associate Director of Residential Life, are more than willing to meet with students. If you have a lot of plants and need a room with the best sunlight, they will help you find every room that meets your needs. Their power does have its limitations. If the room you are looking for is so unrealistic that it does not exist, they cannot help you, but it is still good to try.
Barnes also hopes to shorten the housing process. Right now the lottery takes two and a half months, stressful for students and housing staff alike. They want to allow for enough flexibility so that if students do not get their first housing choice, they still have time to apply for another option.
All these planned changes to the system are great, but what will happen with the lottery and deductions themselves? Since deductions based on room quality failed in the past, housing is looking for new solutions. The major idea at the moment is to award lottery deductions to students who are involved on campus. Their philosophy is that if you are bettering this campus, you should be rewarded. This may present itself as attending events run by the college, or even holding leadership positions. There are no official guidelines yet, as housing is still in the brainstorming phase.
No matter what the case is, housing wants to hear from you. Administrators can form the ideals they think are best, but that does not always match the students’ perspective. Solely complaining on YikYak does not create change. Reach out to Barnes or Pritchett via the housing email, housing@conncoll.edu. Addressing your concerns through the proper channels creates change. If you live in an unsafe environment, file a work order. Facilities take notes on the conditions of residential rooms and can move you if you are unsafe.
Conn has seen time and time again that students hold the power. If we do not like the conditions around us, we have the power to change them, but this will only happen if done properly.
