Does anyone know when the Housing lottery timeslots are (usually) distributed?
When does the lottery actually begin?
Do you know immediately what dorm you get?
Anyone want to speculate…What are the chances of a freshman who received permanent housing status in late November of getting into White Creek (any room type) or, yes I know it is unlikely…Hullabaloo?
For D2018 & S2020, it was first come, first served. Both submitted dorm deposit in late November and received first choice. Personal preference, we stayed away from White Creek and Hullabaloo.
@labegg I was told mid-May for lottery time slots. They were shooting for late March/first part of April for roommate matching and then approx 5 weeks later for room assignments. My D is hoping for Hullabaloo and has a mid-September date for registering.
@texaggie - just curious, why did you stay away from Hullabaloo? Any input in appreciated.
@texaggie, when are hoping for a single…DD has an out of town BF who will likely be spending the night on occasion and she doesn’t want to end up with a roommate who wouldn’t be ok with an overnight visitor. And from what I have gleaned here on CC there are plenty of people who would not be ok with an overnight guest, particularly one of the opposite sex! Trying to avoid the drama before it can start!
New dorms/apartments are great and 4 stars resort style compare to older dorms. If $$ no issue. go for it. If DD has a car, a studio apartment maybe cheaper.
Just my opinion, Hullabaloo is too much $$, students only need a desk and bed. Freshman year is and always an adjustment period for kids and parents, self discoveries, see different points of views and personal responsibilities.
Good Luck and Welcome to Aggie family.
@labegg At our housing tour, we were told Hullabaloo usually fills up with Sept/Oct priority dates and White Creek stays open much longer. They are opening a new community center with dining and rec areas right by White Creek this Spring. It looks pretty cool - http://reslife.tamu.edu/white-creek-community-center/
@texaggie The housing changed completely for class 2021. They now get to select their own room, based on their housing application date, rather than be assigned.
This is the time slot schedule from last year (class 2021)
• Time Slot Schedule for all incoming students:
Confirmed LLP Mid-to-Late April
Priority Housing Early-to-Mid May
Guaranteed Housing Mid-to-Late May
I did not make notes on the housing availability from last year but from what I recall, a good course of action will be to determine your preferences of type of halls in descending order and list all of the dorms of that type in descending order. As kids went in to chose a dorm, that particular dorm may have been full, and instead of trying to pick out your second and descending choices during room selection time, while rooms are disappearing before your eyes, have a plan before hand.
Yes, you will know your room as soon as you choose it. You can only choose from existing available rooms. My other two college kids campuses did it this way. But have a back up plan in case the specific dorm is full.
Those one the waiting list who do not move up to be able to select, will typically be assigned. Your three preferences you put on the housing app helps them to place you. In the past, they would not place you in a higher priced dorm than you put on your pref sheet, even if it became available. So check your preferences you selected if you are on the wait list group. Caution: Don’t list one in a higher category than you can realistically afford.
So, for example, if you want one of the modular dorms, be prepared to select a room in any of the modular dorms and have that list handy when it is your turn. The specific one you want may be full when you log in to choose and you want to have your choices at your finger tips. Also, be familiar with the locations of the rooms on the floor plan. That is something you don’t want to have to figure out while you are in your window. Just like seats disappear in a class at registration in the blink of an eye, so do dorm rooms.
If all of the modular dorms are full when your selection window comes, you want to have at your fingertips, your second type of dorm preference. Say it is the Commons. Anyone can live in the commons, even the ones that house the engineering LLC’s. Pick which one is your top choice and work from there, like you did the modular. Do this for every category of dorm. You may not need to go down very far on your list, but you may as well. I recall many posting about dorms being full and trying to ask about dorms they had not even considered prior. In the end, it’s only for a year and while everyone may not get exactly what they want first choice. That’s life. How you handle it is key. There was one parent I recall (not on CC) that was livid with being set up in temp housing and how it ruined her students freshman experience, etc etc and she could not see how her own attitude contributed to that. The kid was actually ok with it and
Also, and this is IMPORTANT. If you signed a housing contract, you are obligated to pay for that housing, whether you select a dorm or not or you decide to live off campus. UNLESS you cancel your housing contract by May 1. Every year there are cases where people applied for housing and then decided to live off campus and never chose a room, or applied for housing but were on the wait list and to cover their bases, signed with an off campus place like Callaway House or an apartment. Then when the fall bill comes in, they are billed for a dorm room. They thought that by not selecting a room, got them out of the obligation of on campus housing. Not the case. You must cancel your housing contract by May 1, if you elect to live anywhere else than in university housing, which includes White Creek and The Gardens. I believe it is page 4 of the housing contract that shows the prorated penalty one pays past the May 1 deadline.
@Thelma2 Thank you for the very thorough and helpful response! Another question…I have been hunting high and low for documentation of whether DD has Priority or Guaranteed Housing status and can’t seem to find that exact wording. So am assuming it is just Guaranteed status. I do find wording on the housing portal that says DD has “permanent housing”. I am also assuming that if she had “priority” status we’d know and since we don’t it is not priority. Is that a safe assumption? This is what I find in the Housing Portal…
StarRez Portal Wed, Nov 22, 2017 09:45:28
Dear Aggie
This email confirms that you have Permanent Housing Status.
Regards,
Housing Assignments Office
Department of Residence Life
Texas A&M University
housing@tamu.edu
Also does that mean she is guaranteed housing every year (allmfour) if she chooses to live on campus (yes I know most move off campus)? Or does this process need to be followed each year? I am assuming, like my eldest DD at another university, that underclassmen have a date in the spring by which they must renew? (Prior to freshman housing opening) and then they all (fresh & upperclassmen) will go into the same lottery for a time slot to choose?
@labegg
Sometime in January, the students receive an email about dorm room renewal. Those that wish to stay on campus will respond to the process outlined in the email and those who are moving off campus, do nothing. If the deadline passes and they don’t have a renewal from a student, it is assumed he/she is going off campus.
My D’s best friend moved to Hullabaloo her sophomore year and has remained there. I don’t have knowledge on priority for upper classmen but I would imagine they get it.
They switched who gets priority - it use to be senior → freshman, now it is the opposite so many upper classmen that use to remain in the hall that was unofficially the" bonfire dorm", had to move out as incoming freshman were going to get that space. VERY few upperclassmen remain on campus beyond their freshman year – other than those looking to be Resident Assistants the following year. The change wasn’t a big impact except for those in the dorm that housed the bonfire group (they were pretty annoyed) this happened maybe two years ago (?) when the system was re-vamped.
For basic reference, they re-did the pricing of dorms in 2012. The higher the price, the more popular the dorm is – it is NOT based on square footage like it was pre-2012. Thus, modulars are priced equal to the Commons although the square footage & bath sharing situations are entirely different (modulars have 2 additional closets(4 vs 2), bigger floor space, bathroom share is (2 vs. 4) ) but popularity wise they both filled about the same time frame. Since then, Hullabaloo was built, then White Creek. Modulars & Commons were built in the 1970’s & 80’s. all others were built before that (other than H & WC) and one building is over 100 years old – so students can be in the same dorm as parent, grandparents & even great-grandparents. They have all gone through renovations – those are listed on dorm sheets-- take a look at those when deciding your lists. They list type of beds, sq footage, layout, bathroom situation, type of entrance ( indoor access like a hotel, outdoor access like a motel), # of beds, etc. It is very helpful information.
Silly question…DD is psychology major, obviously her freshman year will be taken up with University general/core requirements, nobody want to schlep across the entire campus to class; so, which buildings house the first year basics like English/History/Gov/Math, maybe a bio 201or chem 101? I would think it would make sense to pick a dorm that keeps you close to where you need to be…so clearly she doesn’t need to pick near engineering/ag /sci buildings.
I mean I suppose if she were looking to run into attractive disciplined young men, more often she might choose something in near the corp housing… ;
^^hahaha , love the last comment! Check out the interactive maps – https://aggiemap.tamu.edu/
or this map version you can pick and choose by category: https://www.tamu.edu/map/index.html
Dorms are basically clustered, southside (commons, modulars & corps) and northside (modulars, hullabaloo, balcony FHK, ramp,& others – all near Sbisa dining hall) and then the one complex that is on the westside of campus is white creek apartments (they are on the opposite side of the railroad tracks vs. the north/south locations)
Academics are grouped basically: engineering/sciences/ math
english/history/psych
business/AG
poli sci
note: some courses happen to be held in non-typical buildings, so your course might be elsewhere. Look at the catalog for locations then plug in on a map.
@labegg My son is currently a freshman on campus in a single white creek apartment and recently renewed his white creek room for next year. In the process he looked to see if there were any other single rooms available and did not see any in white creek or hullabuloo. I would think the chances of getting a single room would be low, however, she could elect a suite style apartment in white creek and get her own bedroom.
Upper classroom are able to register and pick homes on campus before the freshman coming in next year. Actually the process for on campus students staying on campus to pick their rooms is ongoing now and will end 3/31. If you have a room you want to stay in and it is not in a designated freshman only building you are able to “squat” and keep your same room.
You would have got an email stating your priority housing status which is duplicated in the message area of the Housing Portal. You might want to check there for something.
As for staying near your classes, that will be difficult as my son’s classes seemed to be spread all over the place this year. Check the Howdy class search feature to see where her classes may be. Keep in mind freshman will preregister for classes after everyone else so she may not get her ideal location/teacher.
Hey guys, I am an international student trying to plan my trip to A&M. In the case where I am offered housing, does anyone have an idea around which date move-in day can be.
Move in day for dorms is typically the weekend before Howdy Week, which is the week before classes begin. You can certainly move in anytime after the first day day of official move in.
Early move in requires a request.
A quick google search brings up the TAMU reslife move in calendar http://reslife.tamu.edu/movein/
The academic calendar is here http://registrar.tamu.edu/Catalogs,-Policies-Procedures/Academic-Calendar.
The first day of classes is Monday August 27, 2018. Move in for dorms will be
You can swing the trifecta – NSC then Fish Camp then dorm move in week - all back-to-back provided your major is offered in the NSC session. We did that with my oldest so we didn’t do multiple trips, it is an exhausting schedule but it saves you from going back and forth. There is normally a one nighter that you’ll need to stay somewhere in between NSC & Fish Camp- the university does offer housing or you can grab a hotel. You can also ask for early move in for the dorm (we did that) between Fish Camp & dorm move in (fee was nominal --maybe $40?).
Anyone heard from housing about roommate selection?
We got an email a couple of days ago that said …
*Howdy!
Roommate selector will be opening within the next couple of weeks. Please check your email for instructions coming soon.
Thanks,
Housing Assignments Office*
We did as well. Looking forward to finding out what dorm she will be in, this will be the first step! I am adsuming rhat she does not have to select a roommate and can just go rogue on her own and spin the roulette wheel waiting for room selection (which is the 2nd step…right?)
How does the roommate selector work?