Lottery cutoffs for fall 2012

Colleges and Universities A-Z Rutgers University
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<p>NJmom I wanted to add that if she finds a compatible roommate for a double on FB or Roommate Gateway with a good number, she will have more options as to which campus she is able to choose. </p>

<p>She shouldn’t give up; I couldn’t believe that yesterday I was seeing people with low numbers posting ‘oh yeah, I got a good number and I need (apartment) roommates by tomorrow’.</p>

<p>Also realize that when people are shut out of apartments, and then suites, there will be groups re-organizing for doubles. She has to keep looking.</p>

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<p>People are still looking for apartment roommates as of 15 min ago. Keep checking FB.</p>

<p>At this point, I am willing to bet that they will take you with no interview required. Just as long as you have a name and student ID #.</p>

<p>Someone actually just posted 35 min ago, “Need a fourth in the next forty minutes”.</p>

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<p>Livingston apartments as per housing office: "3,622 students applied for a 4 bedroom apartment and only 224 apartments were available. </p>

<p>The highest eligible lottery number for the 4 bedroom apartments was #390"</p>

<p>So 3622 divided by 4 = 905.50? 905.5 groups applied for 224 4 bedroom apts? I thought there were 1000 spaces for undergrads. Where did 26 apartments go? </p>

<p>Maybe RUKnight knows >.></p>

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<p>They gave some apartments away to people who have Asthma before the lottery process even started. I have some friends who have gotten them that way weeks ago.</p>

<p>Not many people knew that you could get them simply by saying you have Asthma and you need clean living quarters.</p>

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<p>This process is contrary to how a business would operate! The most desirable units should close out & be allocated first, so the people who don’t get them can regroup and move down the list. It makes no sense that the application date for regular dorms rooms closed 2 weeks ago. </p>

<p>It’s also crazy to think that freshman can navigate this process on their own and figure out roommates for the next year a week into their 2nd semester.</p>

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<p>jpstevens I agree. I think we will see a big increase in asthmatics applying for spaces next year. </p>

<p>nj2011mom-I don’t know what you are talking about as doubles selection occurs in March. I think you are referring to Douglas Residential College? That was held earlier, probably because it is more limited. Livingston apartments were limited and popular, so they held that lottery first. Other apartments will follow. I think there are still some dorms on Douglass/Cook allocated for doubles (just not DRC spaces). Maybe RUKnight knows.</p>

<p>Many, many people do not get their first selection of campus/building during the lottery. </p>

<p>Personally, I think Rutgers needs to rethink how they prioritize housing for certain groups. It should really all be done by seniority, then lottery number. That way each student has some chance of getting what they want by senior year. </p>

<p>Also, this ‘switching option’ needs to be changed. Too many people are redistributing their ‘unused’ numbers to friends and then switching places during the summer. Switching needs to be a more formal process/evaluation to be sure that people aren’t manipulating the lottery system unfairly.</p>

<p>The Livingston apartments are on the Business School campus. I am perplexed as to why this wasn’t designated a ‘Business Learning Community’ with priority being given to business students. So many other living options are based on community parameters.</p>

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<p>You’re so right rualum. My son is a business student who was dying to get an apartment on Livingston since he’s basically there all the time anyway and with a lottery number in the 500s he felt like he had a good shot. Now he’s back to square one and feels that there are no other alternatives on the Livingston campus and finds the locations of the other apartments and suites inconvenient.</p>

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<p>mamajay my son had a number in the 400s and I thought that would be enough to get Livi apts but there were a good number of spaces allocated for special needs. The ones I read about, and that housing confirmed when I spoke to them on the phone, were asthma sufferers, who requested ‘clean rooms’. </p>

<p>My son lived in Allen freshman year, and when he moved out, his personal items were coated with a layer of fine black dust. There were also moldy spots in the carpet, and the A/C continually leaked. The dorm always smelled moldy to me. No student should have to live under those conditions; all students deserve ‘clean rooms’. </p>

<p>All housing (except freshman dorms and honors) should be based on seniority. It seems like the fairest way. It would also alleviate the bus problem if more students were based on their school’s campus. </p>

<p>They also need to stop the ‘room swapping’. Students with ‘good numbers’ are splitting up and then requesting roommate swaps as early as the summer in order to circumvent the lottery process. Anyone can do it and there are no requirements besides 2 students willing to do the swap; there needs to be more accountability for room swaps.</p>

<p>Here is the person who I was told is responsible for the housing parameters:
Benjamin Gelb Assistant Director for Administration
<a href=“mailto:brgelb@rci.rutgers.edu”>brgelb@rci.rutgers.edu</a> </p>

<p>Here is another email for housing comments: <a href=“mailto:oncampus@rci.rutgers.edu”>oncampus@rci.rutgers.edu</a></p>

<p>Everyone should send them useful comments and suggestions regarding the housing lottery. It is certainly not optimal in its current form.</p>

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<p>Well I did hear that there was a lot of outrage and the people rejected from the Livingston Apts now have until Sunday to apply for other apts.</p>

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<p>It really gets under my skin to know that a lot of the students who are able to select an apartment on Livi, are the same students who detested the idea of living there on their freshman year and ended up getting dorms in Stonier Hall. The students who were forced to live in Livi their freshman year are the ones who should have priority to choose first.</p>

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<p>@rualum, I agree with you wholeheartedly. Seniority and business school students should have been given at the least, a small portion of the apartments. There are probably some rising seniors in the business school whose only convenient choice for 3 years has been the quads. I feel the same way about BEST being 60% reserved for freshman, and Busch apartments/suites not being allotted for engineering and pharmacy schools. I understand that the lottery system is supposed to be the fairest process, but they shouldn’t be making it a free-for-all battle. This school is too spread out for anything to be “fair” about this process. The housing lottery wasn’t nearly as bad last year because off-campus students and commuters could not “apply for fun,” as a lot of them did this year.</p>

<p>@yarip, I don’t really understand the connection you’re trying to make. Could you explain it a little more?</p>

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<p>Very good points, drexeler.</p>

<p>Another point I wanted to make about housing is the disparity. Who decides how housing resources will be distributed? You’ve got the Livi apartments with A/C dishwashers, treadmills, and a communal ‘learning kitchen’. Meanwhile you’ve got freshman in Davidson, which is old army barracks, people in the towers, sweltering in the summer, the moldy BAMM dorms, etc. Why do they need treadmills when every campus has its own rec center?</p>

<p>I understand they want to build better housing but I think they should have thought about building more, basic units rather than building fewer ones in which every one has 4 singles, a D/W, etc.</p>

<p>Then, they advertised the hell out of it and seemed surprised when students, in their excitement, only applied for Livi and shut themselves out of other apartment housing. Now they have reopened apartment housing applications, angering those who got all their choices in on time, as advised. </p>

<p>The lottery process needs a major overhaul, for sure. </p>

<p>I see students complaining on the housing FB page and yet they seemed resigned that they are helpless to effect any change. That is a sad statement on the bureaucracy of this university: when it’s bad, it’s really bad.</p>

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<p>My son will be attending this fall and the only thing we have heard is “housing app out soon”. Regardless of RU’s academic reputation, in state tuition, this is my biggest concern. Part of me wants to buy a house and rent out rooms for the next four years :(</p>

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<p>cherryhillmom- I would want him to live on campus at least his freshman year; he will make lots of friends who are in the same position as he is. Have him apply for housing as early as possible in order to get his first choice of campus. </p>

<p>I partcipated in the lottery when I went to Rutgers & now my son is a sophomore at Rutgers so this is our second lottery ‘experience’. </p>

<p>The pros are that Rutgers has added a lot of new housing and everyone should be able to secure a spot on campus, although it may not be their first choice of campus, or building.</p>

<p>The bad news is that many people feel that the housing lottery could be run better. It seems to go on forever and the stress involved can distract them from their schoolwork. </p>

<p>Currently, some housing choices are based on seniority for upperclassmen, such as singles and Easton Apartments. Many feel that all upperclassman housing choices should be based on seniority. I think it would alleviate a lot of the sense of unfairness as you would have better chances as you move up in credits. Priority based on campus of major might also factor in.</p>

<p>Livingston apartments, which are brand new and contain features not found in other apartments, reserved over 100 spaces, out of 1000 total undergraduate spaces, for ‘special medical’ situations. I would like to know if these particular students were allowed to bring along 3 additional people to complete their 4 person apartment; this seems unfair.</p>

<p>Also, Rutgers allows anyone to do a ‘roommate swap’ with a simple email so some people trade their ‘extra, lower’ numbers between groups and then swap back during the summer with little effort. The kids see these things, and realize that the ‘fair’ lottery system is actually not so fair.</p>

<p>Campus choice will also impact your ease of attending classes–</p>

<p>You should realize that Rutgers is a huge university, with four campuses that require bus rides between them. This is a lifestyle issue and one should be prepared to deal with that aspect. Sometimes you’re lucky and your classes are on one or two campuses, and sometimes you aren’t. </p>

<p>Housing priority is given to some specialty groups, while most students must depend on the luck of the draw. There has to be a more equitable system and I hope that housing is continuing to work on it, given the recent, rather disorganized, lottery situation.</p>

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<p>I agree with you on most points rualum. </p>

<p>I’m in the Business School, but I’m a Freshman and live on Busch. For now, most of my classes are on Livi and Busch, with a mix of College Ave, but when I declare my major I expect all of them on Livi. It will be a waste of time to travel to Livi everyday. That is if my get the Busch apartments/suites with our number of 3000. </p>

<p>I think the lottery system should an algorithm based on two things. GPA and living distance. If you live far, you should have priority over people who live close to Rutgers. If your GPA is high, you are a hard working student who should get priority as well.</p>

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<p>"I think the lottery system should an algorithm based on two things. GPA and living distance. If you live far, you should have priority over people who live close to Rutgers. If your GPA is high, you are a hard working student who should get priority as well. "</p>

<p>jpstevens my son is currently a sophomore, living on Cook. He wanted an apartment on Busch (to be close to Livi) and had a lottery number ~2000 last year. Newell and Starkey on C/D was the only thing left, but I think the numbers for Newell went up to about 3000. It may be lower this year because suite selection is after, not before, so you will have those people competing for apartments as well.</p>

<p>First semester this year, his classes were all over. It was trying at times with the buses; you have to plan well, and things don’t always go as planned, especially in bad weather. </p>

<p>This semester he declared his major and all of his classes are on Livi. The good thing is that he was able to schedule them close together, so he takes one round trip bus ride to Livi each day. He fills in down time at the dining hall. The bad thing is that this semester, a lot of the professors assign group projects, so meeting times can be challenging. Also, if there is a review session, or he needs to go to office hours, it requires much more planning than if he were based on Livi.</p>

<p>Busch would be a good option, either suites or apartments. I would not recommend Newell unless you absolutely have to live in an apartment. The Quads are a good location, but then you’re in a dorm :(</p>

<p>ps I like your algorithm but it sounds ambitious as this is Rutgers. Seniority as a minimum would be a good improvement.</p>

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<p>I’m a second semester sophomore as of now and my lottery number is in the 2000’s, and I was hoping that I could live on Easton Ave because I’m a political science major and almost all of my classes will be on college ave. I’m only on Busch for football games, Cook for one class or Livingston to eat better than Brower food, and now that they reopened the apartment application my chances of living in Easton Ave have changed from a possibility to an extreme longshot. I sent an email to the housing office voicing my concern, and I’m extremely mad at how the lottery process is going along this year. I’m shocked that there weren’t more livingston apartments to go around, and now those who failed to put a backup choice on time, are being given an unfair second chance for those who were responsible. </p>

<p>I’ve been reading this thread for a couple of days and I agree with everything that everyone has said!</p>

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<p>Ncheer you’ve got 2 things in your favor right now: (1) Easton is next on the lottery schedule (before Busch selection) and (2) Easton Ave. goes by seniority, with priority to (upcoming) juniors and seniors.</p>

<p>People who want to get into Busch apartments will not risk applying for Easton first because if they select on Easton, they will automatically be shut out of Busch, so that diminishes your competition a little bit. If you have any freshman in your group currently that will be sophomores next year, that would be a problem, as those groups select after all groups of (fall 2012) juniors and seniors have selected.</p>

<p>It is good that you sent your opinion in an email. There is no reason for the Housing Office to change things if no one says anything, and any written mail is better than a FB rant. </p>

<p>I hope other people sent their constructive comments and opinions to <a href=“mailto:oncampus@rci.rutgers.edu”>oncampus@rci.rutgers.edu</a> </p>

<p>Even a one line comment is better than nothing. Housing is an important issue that will impact your college lifestyle for a full year, so speak up about what you think is unfair or could be improved upon.</p>

<p>I wish you good luck and hope you get the apartment you want. If not, make sure you have a backup, whether it be another apartment, suite, or double.</p>

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<p>There are so many problems with this system. When my son was closed out of the Livingston Apts he tried to get back into his honors dorm and was told he couldn’t because honors housing had to be requested by the beginning of February. He couldn’t request the Honors housing at that time because that would have locked him out of trying for Livingston (which he thought with a number in the 500s was a good possibility). Now with the reopening of the apt apps his group of 4 is trying for Easton Ave even though they are all Business majors and it is not the most convenient location for them.</p>

<p>Ncheer92 I thought my son said the cutoff last year for Easton Ave was 1200 so I would definitely have a backup plan or find someone with a lower number to go in with.</p>

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<p>Thank you rualum for the confidence, I really appreciate it since this whole housing debacle has left me so stressed and with midterms and papers coming up, it seriously doesn’t help. Thankfully my three other roommates are also future juniors so hopefully that does improve my chances, and if not my friend and I will just end up in a double on college ave, I’m thinking Stonier. I live in Clothier Hall now and love it, but don’t want to live there twice in a row. Now I can only hope for the best and maybe even hope that the housing office takes into account the time as to when the apartment applications were sent. I doubt it would happen, but if they see that people were not wise in applying for a back-up apartment instead of solely applying for Livi, then there may be hope for the school yet. </p>

<p>It’s all in their hands, and I find out Tuesday.</p>