The 2013 housing lottery commenced on Tuesday at 6 p.m. in Daggett Lounge with quads and quints, Students filedthe 377 beds available.
In addition to the new regularly updated web file showing availabilities, the Office of Residential Life (ResLife) once again sent text messages and tweets to help the process run smoothly.
Ninety-five rising sophmores in 18 blocks entered the quints lottery to secure a room in Stowe Hall or Stowe Inn. No quints were passed on as the first ten groups to be called were able to claim spots in Stowe Hall. Blocks 11 and 12 were forced to opt for Stowe Inn.
“It’s an overwhelming process but we just have to get ready to try again for triples” said Lucy Tomb ’16, whose block did not get a quint.
The first block of five students chose a room on the fifth floor of Stowe Hall. William Goodenough ‘16 chose to live there with his friends because they liked the room’s layout and location.
“In the quints lottery, almost everyone was there because it’s all the first year class and they’re pretty excited to be picking in Stowe Hall so they all want to sign their contracts,” said Lisa Rendall, associate director of housing operations. Upperclassmen tend to send one or two members of their block to the lottery, unless there happens to be some contention regarding whether they want natural light at sunrise or sunset—a choice that determines top or bottom floors.
Three hundred and forty-eight students entered the quad lottery and 268 were successfully placed. Ten blocks were absent. The block of students with the highest lottery number chose a quad in Chamberlain Hall for the second year in a row. Coles Tower remains dominated by seniors, especially on the upper floors. A mix of juniors and seniors will occupy the lower floors.
The last quads chosen were at Pine Street, where 24 rising sophomores will live next year. The last number called for the quads lottery was 70. Two Pine Street apartments were not selected and will be available later in the doubles and open rooms lottery.
Seven groups were at the quads’ lottery but chose to wait for a future lottery when it came down to just Pine Street. All other quad blocks that attended the lottery were given housing for next semester.
Because this can be a hectic progress, ResLife has many ways to keep up-to-date on the lottery process.
Rendall explained that students are big fans of ResLife’s social media presence. Using Twitter was also really helpful because it meant fewer people went to the lottery in Daggett “which makes it less stressful,” she explained.
The lottery will continue through Tuesday, April 23. About 90 percent of Bowdoin students live on campus.