Over the past two weeks, rising sophomores, juniors and seniors participated in the housing lottery for the 2025-26 academic year. The lottery consisted of Round 1 for rising seniors on April 7, Round 2 for rising juniors on April 10 and Round 3 for rising sophomores on April 15. This year’s lottery saw singles go more quickly, as well as changes in the senior RA lottery policy from the Office of Residential Life (ResLife).

According to Assistant Director for Residential Life Alex Gates, the last single was taken in the latter half of Round 2, shutting part of the current sophomore class and the entire current first-year class from picking singles. Gates says that in recent years singles have gone more quickly.

“There were roughly 25 [rising] juniors who didn’t get to pick into a single if they had wanted to, and the entire rising sophomore class wouldn’t have gotten a single if they’d wanted it. That definitely gets a little earlier and earlier every year,” Gates said.

However, Gates says that he thought students were able to quickly adapt to this change, especially rising sophomores in Round 3 of the lottery. According to Gates, many were able to build quads and quints to take rooms in buildings like Howard and Stowe Halls.

“I was pleasantly surprised with the last night of the lottery,… how well people adapted to there not being singles left and built quints,” Gates said. “And for the first time in a good chunk of time, we filled Stowe Hall and Howard Hall, which is great.”

Additionally, fewer rising seniors selected Pine Street Apartments during Round 1, and more of the rising senior class chose Coles Tower than expected.

This year’s lottery was also the first with recent changes to ResLife policy regarding senior housing. Under the previous system, three units in Harpswell Apartments and two units in Park Row apartments were reserved for returning senior ResLife staff and allotted through an internal lottery. The new policy discontinued this, with ResLife staff going through the lottery alongside other students.

According to Associate Director for Residential Life SJ Tinker, the new system resulted in fewer RAs being placed in Harpswell and Park Row Apartments.

“We ended up with fewer ResLife staff in Park Row and Harpswell Apartments than we did previously,” Tinker wrote in an email to the Orient.

However, ResLife still has RAs in both Harpswell and Park Row Apartments next year. Gates says he views the new policy as a success for ResLife because it gives everyone a fair shot at the most desirable senior housing.

“We want to make sure it feels fair to everybody. I’m sure we’ll be listening for the next couple weeks to see how it pans out,” Gates said. “But for us, it felt good.”

Harrison Forland ’26, a ResLife staff member who will be an RA next year, appreciated that the new system let him both live with his friends and be on ResLife. Forland, whose block selected Harpswell Apartments, says the previous system often forced rising seniors who didn’t get their top choice of senior housing through the ResLife lottery to choose between living with their friends or being an RA.

“With this system, I’m able to still live with my friends and be an RA,” Forland said. “It just might not [have been] in the best housing, which is a gamble I was willing to take.”