As an ED admit, I’ve done a lot of research into all of the different housing options at NU and I REALLY want to live in Elder next year. The socialness, all freshmen, newness, North campus, etc – it has me sold. I know priority numbers are based off how soon you get your housing contract in, so assuming I get my housing contract in ASAP (does anyone want to clarify when this comes out?), what are my chances of getting a room in Elder? Is housing “competitive” at NU? Am I likely to get a good priority number? Any advice or insight is appreciated.
Priority numbers are NOT based on how soon you get your housing contract in. It is purely random. (Unless you apply to an RC. Elder is not an RC.) It’s true that this year Elder is having (quite) a great reputation but since it’s an all freshmen dorm, you never know what might happen next year. Lol. I don’t know what you should do but perhaps you can score a roommate that would want to go for Elder as well, so you have double the likelihood/chances for a high priority number (since if that’s the case, she will pull you in).
@ivyleaguefan http://www.northwestern.edu/living/about-us/faq/assignments/index.html
It specifically says in this FAQ that order of housing contract DOES equate to priority numbers (for freshemen at least, I know upperclassmen are random)
I’m a sophomore who lived in Elder last year, I can speak to this a little bit. For me, priority number was based on the order in which one submitted the housing contract. I haven’t heard of this policy changing, but it may have. Regardless, if you really want Elder and are willing to do whatever it takes to get Elder, you should have a pretty high likelihood of doing so. If priority number is based on when you submit your contract, make sure you do your contract as soon as it becomes available. Either way, you don’t necessarily need an incredibly high priority number to get Elder. Elder is very popular, but there are plenty of people who know they want south campus, or people who live in RCs or know they want Bobb, etc. I definitely knew people who got into Elder with priority numbers in the late hundreds. Even if you don’t get a good enough priority number and living in Elder is really important to you, you could try to find a roommate who has a high priority number. Finally, if you end up not being able to get into Elder, email residential services as soon as housing selection happens and explain the situation. They try to be as accommodating as possible, and I do know people who were able to switch into Elder from other dorms this way. No matter what happens you’ll be fine, but I definitely do highly recommend Elder as a freshman dorm. Either way, you’ve got a few months before you need to really start worrying about this stuff. Good luck!
So I’m a freshman this year and I have to say that I was under the impression that priority numbers were random last year despite what it said online. You may want email housing just to double check how they will do it this year. Last year I had priority number 441 out of the 2,000+ freshmen and I did NOT get in to elder, which was my first choice. Keep in mind that people pull in their roommates so even though a total of say 350 people live in elder it only takes 175 priority numbers to fill up the dorm. If I remember correctly though, when I picked my room there was still a girl room available (I’m a guy) so it’s safe to say that if you’re in the top 450 numbers you have a chance of getting in. Hope this helps!
Some tips for the housing process, I’m live in Elder at the moment (freshie). GET A DAMN ROOMMATE. The NU housing process is very biased towards those who have roommates. Seriously. Just get a roommate.
Priority numbers were completely random for us.
Elder is one of the most popular dorms so you have to have really good priority numbers. Like 300< good.
And even if you don’t get Elder, don’t fret, Elder is a bit overrated in my opinion and the other dorms aren’t that bad either. Also, if you think having a dining hall is a huge plus, it’s not as much as you think, the dining hall’s gotten better but it’s still far from great.
Allison is really good as well, they have a really good dining hall and it’s really close to downtown Evanston. Granted, if you’re an engineering major or something you’ll have a long walk everyday…
Elder, one thing that’s super annoying is how it’s on the wrong side of Sheridan and you have to cross the road for practically everything. And it’s tucked into the very northwest of campus, so there’s that.
And keep in mind, you have to think about where you want to live after your freshman year.
S is a sophomore and his year priority numbers did not seem random. He got a fantastic number (8?) because he sat at his computer and pushed the “send” button literally the instant the system opened, while friends who waited a few hours got much worse numbers. On the other hand, D who is a senior had almost zero choice of dorms as they didn’t use a number system then, so the housing assignment system is definitely subject to changes. That said, they were both perfectly happy where they lived freshman year (D got an apartment sophomore year and S moved in to his frat), so honestly I don’t think dorm assignment ends up being very important in the end.
Update: I checked an email I got from housing last summer and priority numbers were entirely random and not dependent on when you submitted your housing contract
And so the anxiety around housing begins! My daughter is a freshman this year and we fretted about her priority number. She did not get into Elder so chose Sargent and she loves it. There were so many negative rumors about Sargent which were just not true. Try not to obsess over it – you’ll make the best out of wherever you end up. Last year, those who had roommates were given priority over those who went random. I have no idea why they do this but most student do find a roommate through a Facebook page.
Housing for the class of 2017 was based on when the contract was signed. They’ve been switching it up recently I think.
Five years ago my son joined Northwestern’s version of a LLC that was housed in Elder. He loved living there, despite the fact that his classes were all over campus. Good luck, NU is such a fantastic place.
I also got admitted during the ED round and I want to live in Elder. I read somewhere that Elder has a very limited amount of single rooms. Is that true and will it be basically impossible if to get into Elder if I prefer not to have a roommate?
Most freshman won’t get single rooms. And honestly, I don’t think it’s a good idea to have a single unless you have a medical reason to. Part of the college experience is having a roommate, plus it’s very likely you’ll end up with a roommate off-campus or after graduation. It’s easier to get used to a roommate when you have a RA to help out with any issues you might have.
There are no singles in Elder.