Students may seem a bit more at home this weekend after the triples, singles, doubles, and open beds lotteries wrapped up many students' searches for housing.
On Tuesday night, groups of students flocked to Daggett Lounge to secure either triple or single residences next year.
Anna Noucas '11 was among those who left Thorne Hall on a high note after she and her block had the first choice out of all triples. The group elected to live in the Brunswick Apartments.
"We had a group of six and it worked out numbers-wise," said Noucas. "We lived in Brunswick [Apartments] this year and it's really spacious...We knew it would be tough to get into the Tower so we didn't try to make a group of eight. We thought the triples were big enough."
Brunswick Apartments were the favorites on Tuesday night. Halfway through the lottery, all of the two-bedroom residences had been claimed by students.
Although Brunswick Apartments triples were very popular, Associate Director of Housing Operations Lisa Rendall said, "There were more than enough triples for people to pick from."
She went on to say that many rising sophomores chose to live in forced triples in Brunswick Apartments over other residences. Brian Kim '13 and the rest of his block were among students in that category.
"I'm going for Brunswick apartments just because having that kitchen, the oven, there's a lot of room for customization," said Kim, whose block had the 36th pick of the night. "I thought that there was definitely a large chance that we could get screwed, but I was feeling lucky...There was no way we were going to get a quad."
Not everyone was as satisfied as Noucas and Kim, though.
Mike LeChance '13 and his block had the 75th out of 77 total picks in the quads lottery and the last pick of the 51 groups seeking triples. Though he did not get a quad, LeChance said he thought the situation was just.
"We were 75th out of 77th for our quad lottery and we got last here. I think it's a fair system—to put the upperclassmen before the underclassmen. I'm just happy that we have a place to live," he said before explaining that he and his block will be joining other friends in Stowe Inn next year.
The singles lottery also brought a mix of emotions for students who tried for rooms in residences such as Stowe Inn and Chamberlain Hall.
The singles lottery "went fine," said Rendall, who added that she has noticed a growing "trend" in the number of rising sophomores applying for singles on campus. Seven current first years chose to live in a single next year.
Thursday's doubles and open beds lotteries proved quite similar to Tuesday's, with one exception.
Each year, intensity fills the lottery room as students sigh, dance, clap, or shake their heads in frustration, depending on the outcome of their picks. But, this was the first night, according to Rendall, when two students "Skyped in from abroad" to participate in the lottery.
Rachel Cañas '13, lottery number 92 out of 98, waited to see if she could secure a double in the Brunswick Apartments for next year, but the chances looked slim. Brunswick doubles were the most popular choices for next year, again.
"[We want] Brunswick, of course. But there's no way we're going to get it...Chambo isn't that bad," she said. "It's not like they're going to put us up in a tent on the Quad or something."
The second-to-last Brunswick double was claimed by Adam Rasgon '13 and Steve Shieh '13, number 49. All Brunswick Apartments doubles were gone by number 56.
While doubles in Osher and West Halls filled by number 74, students with higher numbers waited to hear about open rooms and beds in Chamberlain Hall, Stowe Inn, Howell House and Elm Street Apartments.
But, as was expected, not all students left the lotteries completely satisfied.
Hugo Barajas '12 entered the singles lottery on Tuesday and explained his frustration with the entire system and its effect on sophomores, especially.
"I don't know why the lottery is so troublesome and ineffective," said Barajas. "Sadly, sophomores have the worst housing options. As a junior or senior, you're given priority over everything," said Barajas.
On the other hand, many students agree with the structure and organization of the lottery, where seniors have priority pick, followed by juniors and then sophomores.
Both Michael Hendrickson '13 (pick number 99) and Alisha Turak '12 (pick number 79) commented on how "fair" the system is, in spite of the how "stressful", as Turak said, it can be.
Moreover, most students recognized and appreciated the amount of work and organization that goes into organizing the housing lottery, regardless of what number they held.
Y. P. Peralta '11 who participated in the singles lottery, said that "the lottery process can be kind of noisy and a little disorganized some of the time, but they do the best they can. They do a good job with what they have—which is their own voices and a room full of kids."
At the end of Thursday night's lottery, Associate Dean of Student's Affairs and Director or Residential Life Mary Pat McMahon said that all students have beds for next year and there a even some left over.
-Melody Hahm and Sam Vitello contributed to this report.