<p>I'm currently a freshman who was looking forward to applying for the BEST suites on Busch. Since the housing calendar excluded BEST, I called the housing office for inquiry. It turns out that students who are currently living there get to reapply for next year.</p>
<p>I mean, how does that make any sense? The new Livingston Apartments will be opening up in September, so obviously SOME students who are currently residing in BEST will apply for the Livi apartments. This will empty a few rooms in BEST, so if only students who are living there right now can live there again next year, it's saying that they will live in BEST with several unoccupied rooms. How the hell does this make any sense?</p>
<p>Was the housing staff drunk when I called or is she correct about this?</p>
<p>They might guarantee the rooms because it is more of an honors housing type of situation. Not sure what system they will use to fill vacancies, but those rooms will all be occupied, eventually. </p>
<p>I’m not too sure either. Last year we had the option of doing a completely separate application with an essay. This didn’t even guarantee you a spot in BEST, and a couple people from my building had gotten “rejected.” </p>
<p>Since it’s a living-learning community, my guess is that they want a lot of people to return and contribute to the program in some way, so that a strong community of residents is made.</p>
<p>If you’re interested in BEST, this is what the housing website says for “Special Programs”:
</p>
<p>But I’m not sure where the eligibility requirements are posted lol, and they don’t provide contact information. :/</p>
<p>Can someone describe me why the housing system is a “crapshoot?” I still don’t really understand the lottery process as fully as I should. As I understand, when I apply for a lottery number (which I did), they will give me a randomly generated number. The lower the number, the better; correct? (For example 42 is better than something like 12519).</p>
<p>Second, applications for each housing option is on a different date. If I am planning to live on a place where I’m allowed to apply for in March, does that mean I cannot apply anywhere else? Also, how high is the chance of my being assigned to the place of my choice?</p>
<p>It’s a crapshoot because of the lottery numbers lol. If nobody you know has a good number, then you are screwed and might not get the housing you originally wanted. But if you, or a friend, receives a very low number it could be a miracle. You’ll receive your lottery number on oncampus.rutgers.edu on February 1st if all goes as planned. I remember it being postponed or delayed last year, because I got my number pretty late at night. The number is completely random, and yes, the lower the better!</p>
<p>You can apply for as many options as you want. I would advise this in case your number is ineligible for the housing you want. For example, if you want a Livingston apartment, still apply for all the other apartments. I wouldn’t get my hopes too high about getting the housing you want, but the circumstances are completely dependent on yours or a roommate’s number. It could be the smoothest running or the worse experience.</p>