Most students will remember the anticipation of waiting inside Heggblade, watching rooms on the monitor slowly turn to red, signaling the room they wanted was no longer available, and having to quickly come up with another plan of action. Fortunately, no student will have to wait inside Heggblade for their turn because Room Draw selection will be online! In August 2019, Residential Life introduced a new online software program called Residence, and this is where Room Draw 2020 will take place. Room Draw is essentially the same as it always has been--the only exception is that you get to do everything from the comfort of your own room.
For first years or anyone confused about how room draw will be happening next month, I’m here to break down all the nitty-gritty details of the process to hopefully ease any anxiety you might be feeling!
When is Room Draw?
ResLife has not released the official time slots for Room Draw, but expect it to be happening the week of April 13th-April 17th. All students who are not retaining their rooms, who were not approved to live off-campus, who did not get an apartment through the Apartment Selection process, or who did not select a room during Sub-Free Selection must participate in Room Draw.
How do I know when it is my turn to select my room?
All students will be given a random computer-generated number. Along with this number will be a selection time. The selection time is what you want to pay the most attention to because it is the exact time you will be allowed to access Room Draw. ResLife has not given a specific date for when the numbers will be sent out, but you will have plenty of time between finding out your number and Room Draw to prepare.
How are the numbers assigned?
The numbers are randomly assigned within each class based on the matriculation class designations. This means during Room Draw week there will be one night dedicated to a specific class of students. For example, the first night of Room Draw will include all students who are deemed juniors and seniors (those who started CMC in the Fall of 2017 and Fall of 2016.) The SympleSelect process within Residence will have time closures for contingencies or updates that need to happen during the process. When the process is closed, you will not be able to access the site until it reopens. Room availability is updated in real-time. As students select spaces, rooms will be removed from the queue, including while you may be in the system making a selection.
With that being said, ALWAYS have two back up plans in case your first choice is taken early on in the process.
What if I want a roommate?
If you would like to have a roommate for the 2020-2021 academic year, you must form a group via Residence. To form a group, enter into the Room Draw process in Residence and enter your roommate's code to send them an invitation to group with you. The system will automatically choose the earliest selection time from amongst the group members (i.e the time you pick your room is based on which roommate has the earlier time slot.) You will only be able to form a group with those students whose application has been submitted and approved. ResLife suggests waiting until the afternoon of March 13th to begin forming groups, as that is the deadline to submit housing applications.
Can I draw into a double without a roommate?
The simple answer: No. An individual student will not be permitted to draw a double without a roommate. Any students who do not have roommates arranged will be able to select into a room on the last day of Room Draw, but only after all other groups have selected their rooms.
My friends and I want to live in North Quad, how does that work?
In North Quad half-suites, groups of four students may draw into the traditional half-suites of either both north-facing rooms or both south-facing rooms. “Traditional half-suites” is basically the code word for every room that is not in the pod. Half-suite student groups may not draw into one northern room and one southern room in the traditional suites. This means you and your friends will either have your suite all on the north side or the south side of the dorm, not on both.
In the pod suites (i.e the rooms above the lounges in North Quad,) groups of four students may draw into either both east-facing rooms or into both west-facing rooms. Just like the traditional half-suites, pod suite student groups may not enter into one eastern room and one western room in the pod suites. For the 2020-2021 academic year, Green and Wohlford pods will be male-designated and Boswell and Appleby pods will be female-designated.
To exercise this housing option, the group leader for the group of four students will need to select the room at their designated time (i.e the group leader should be the student with the earliest time for your best chances.) If there are no half-suites available when your selection time comes, you will need to split up and follow the instructions for roommates.
If any member of the four-person group withdraws from their selected room after Room Draw, the remaining roommates may be reassigned to a new location at the discretion of Residential Life staff (i.e make sure everyone in your group is 100% sure they want to live in North Quad.)
Will block housing be offered next academic year?
Block housing will not be offered because of the changeover to Residence. Auen and Claremont Hall used to offer block housing, but will not be possible for the upcoming year. There is no way to manage the system effectively because rooms need to be grouped together in as suites (as with NQ half-suites) and that is not possible with the way Auen and Claremont Hall are set up online.
Can I know who will be living near me in my desired residence hall?
Yes! ResLife has confirmed that boards of the outlines of each dorm will be available for students to see every night of Room Draw week in McKenna Auditorium. Residence does not have a feature that allows that, but ResLife understands it is an important part of living in the CMC community.
I hope this answered some of your questions about how the process works and what it will look like this year! If you have any other questions feel free to ask Jennifer Guyett or Victor Diaz in the Dean of Students Office. However, do not waste your time, or theirs, asking about your “chances” of getting a specific room; the process is all about the unpredictable nature of human behavior. Your room and where you live on campus is what you make of it, so plan ahead and have a positive attitude to save yourself some stress.