What is the lottery and how does it work?
Each year about one-third of our summer classes have more applicants than there are places in the class. We needed a method for enrolling applicants into classes that was as fair as possible. Catalog mail delivery varies greatly based on location, which meant that people who got the catalog first could apply first–giving them an unfair advantage in a first-come, first-served situation. Our website helps get information to people more quickly, but it could be a disadvantage to people who do not have access to the Internet. The only fair solution we could find was to set a lottery deadline and treat equally all applications received by that deadline. Once the application deadline for the lottery passes, students are enrolled on a first-come, first-served basis. We continue enrolling students right up to the day a class begins. Fall and spring registration is generally on a first-come/first-served basis as these classes fill much more slowly than summer classes.
Around Thanksgiving, all residence hall students will be sent a letter explaining the lottery that contains a form for you to complete if you are interested in living on the lower campus for the next academic year. After the submission deadline has passed, students will be randomly selected to fill the spaces allotted for upperclass students. You will be notified if you have been selected, and if you have not, you will be sent a letter that details your housing options for the next year.
