<p>@michigangem, Their number is good for 2 yrs. senior yr is a new number. My son said since his sophomre and junior number is not good, so his senior number is good.</p>
<p>@Momyel, when did your son get off the waiting list? I am still confused with the timing. From momworried, her son found a house in Fall Oct/Nov. If a student got off the waiting list in July next yr, how can he not look for a house before July to make sure he has a place? I might miss understand something here.</p>
<p>@fromcalifornia, if you decide to live off campus you don’t try to get a dorm room at all. If you want to get a dorm room, you’re essentially risking not getting a place and scrambling last minute to find a place to live. But from what people on this thread said it seems like the juniors that want a dorm room eventually get one. But seems like it’s all last minute. But I believe most juniors live off campus. Everyone that my son knows are living off campus.<br>
The lottery number is different every year. All 3 of my son’s numbers were not great. Just below average. His senior number is the worst one so hopefully he’ll just stay in the same house. </p>
<p>momworried: ’ If you want to get a dorm room, you’re essentially risking not getting a place and scrambling last minute to find a place to live.’</p>
<p>that is exactly what I am thinking. I want my son to stay on campus to avoid all the issues (not sure what he wants though). so I thought if the student got the notice so late, that is so dangerous. He might not have a place to stay. But like you said they might eventually get one. But if there is no guarantee, then that’s a big risk. I don’t understand why school can not let the student know if they can have a dorm in Fall or earlier to let us have a peace of mind. They can notify the student exact dorm later which I think is not that important, at least he has one even he might not like the location or whatever. </p>
<p>@fromcalifornia I’m sure your son will have it figured out with his friends. Don’t worry. They generally don’t want to stay on campus. All it takes is one organized friend. From what I understand the prices go down the further from campus you are and the earlier you start looking. </p>
<p>Looks like there aren’t many students commenting… I graduated two years ago so things may have changed, but here’s my take</p>
<p>Lottery numbers - you’re assigned all three lottery numbers as a freshman. Your sophomore lottery number is a reciprocal of your senior one; that is, if you have a ■■■■■■ one soph year you have a good one senior year and vice versa. However, if you have a mediocre one one year then you also have a mediocre one the other year.</p>
<p>The housing lottery used to take place in the spring (and probably still does). It’s over a short period in March or April. The one year I was involved (spring 2009, going into my sophomore year) it was incredibly stressful but I believe they’ve improved the process by moving it online.</p>
<p>For leasing, though, most leases on apartments close to campus are signed between September and November for leases starting in June of the following year. That means if you plan on participating in the lottery you generally forgo the option to lease a convenient apartment unless you manage to find someone to sublet from.</p>
<p>For subletting, it’s generally not hard to find a place to live for the semester or for the summer if you cast a wide enough net. I suspect the same is true if you’re looking for a subletter - posting on TuftsLife may not be enough but it’s common for students at other schools who are working in Boston (or just visiting) to want to sublet at Tufts for the summer. There’s no reason not to advertise on Craigslist - you still have the opportunity to vet any potential sublettor and decide if you do or don’t want to sublease to them.</p>
<p>I know $800 is for each kid. But is he sharing the room with another one or one room for him? If sharing a room, and pay $800 per month (so each room is $1600) it is really expensive. Thinking about utilities. It’s going to be around $900 per month. Way more than on campus. I don’t understand why kids want to live off campus.</p>
<p>My son wants to stay on campus, but due to no guarantee, so he will look for an apt with friends. Too bad.</p>
<p>They usually rent a house. So it’s 4 or 5 kids sharing, not 2. It’s 1’room per person, but the rooms are tiny. Maybe as little bigger then a single in a dorm. Don’t know how much the utilities are yet but I hope it won’t be $900 per month. But @fromcalifornia you’re right, it’s going to end up to be more expansive then living on campus. If your son has a good lottery number maybe he can stay. Mine didn’t. Aldo it doesn’t have to be $800. The further from the campus the cheaper it is. I saw a sublet being advertised for $600 but it’s 15 min walk from the gym. That’s pretty far. </p>
<p>I think rents have been rising but my impression is you can still find an apartment for $700/room/month if you look hard enough. I lived off campus in two separate houses in the 2010-2011 and 2011-2012 school years, paying $600 a month for my room in a 4 bedroom apartment my junior year and $575 a month for a room in a 6 bedroom apartment my senior year.
My living conditions were definitely much better off-campus than on-campus, but I also lived in Lewis my sophomore year right before it was renovated. My room junior year was probably the size of many on-campus doubles and my room senior year still had space for a queen sized bed (much nicer than a twin-xl), a desk, dresser, etc, and some floor space. My apartment junior year had a fairly nice kitchen and living room, as well as both front and rear balconies and a basement shared with two other apartments. Senior year the house was a little run-down but there were two apartments for a total of 3 bathrooms and 2 kitchens and I was living with 9 of my friends. I’m honestly not sure if it was cheaper than the dorms or not but even if it was a little more it was definitely worth it for me.</p>