Housing Lottery Information for 2022-2023 Academic Year

The information here should answer and explain almost anything & everything you ever wanted to know about applying for the TAPSI Housing Lottery & the General Housing Lottery, and selecting your room for 2022-2023 academic year.

The Williams Housing Portal (“the Portal”) is used to conduct the lotteries & selections online. Not only will you apply online to the lottery for a number & selection time, you’ll select your room online as well, from wherever you may be, and on whatever connected device you’re using (though we believe a computer will work best).

It is VERY important that you pay attention to all deadlines, due dates, and schedules for the process, as well as any additional information that comes out from the Housing team. Deadlines are deadlines, and once they’ve passed, they’ve passed.

Housing staff will be available by chat in the Housing Portal during room selection for questions & concerns.

We understand that choosing your pick group and room can put a lot of pressure on you. Do your best to stay relaxed about everything, and if you have a question, contact us. We’re here to help, and we’ll respond as soon as we can. Thanks!

Important Dates & Deadlines

• February 21: Lottery Application Opens in the Portal for both TAPSI and General Lotteries (same application).
• March 3: Lottery Application Closes in the Portal.
• Late April: TAPSI Lottery Numbers & Pick Times Run, Conveyed in Portal; Room Selection Timeslots Open in Portal; Room Selection Closes in Portal.
• TBD in May: General Lottery Numbers & Pick Times Run, Conveyed in Portal; Room Selection Timeslots Open in Portal; Room Selection Closes in Portal.

Eligibility

Eligible Upperclass Students are those who meet ALL of the following criteria:

• will be on campus in the fall of 2022;
• do not have a study-away petition for the fall or full-year on file with the Study Away Office, or are indicated by the Study Away Office as being more likely to be on-campus than studying away;
• have not yet selected or been assigned on-campus housing for 2022-2023;
• have not signed a release to live off-campus for 2022-2023;
• do not have a Lottery Hold on their record.

Housing Accommodations

All Williams students are expected to utilize the College’s regular housing assignment processes, and are expected to abide by all College policies and procedures having to do with housing. However, if a student has a significant diagnosis, condition, or situation that cannot be addressed via the regular processes or within College policies, they may submit a Housing Accommodations request via the Housing Portal & follow the process.

Click here for more information on Housing Accommodations.

• Lottery Applications

  You can apply as an individual or in a group of up to 6 total. After a group of students has decided to live together or an individual has decided to enter the lottery independently, they must create and/or join a “Room Draw Group” (yes, even as an individual).

  Step 1:  Sign into the Portal when the application process is open.

  Step 2:  Follow the step-by-step instructions found there – make sure to go to the point where it says that your application is complete.

  Step 3: Upon successful completion, you’ll receive an automated email. If you don’t receive the email, contact the Housing team.

  If you need to remove yourself from a group, you can do so in the Portal on the Groups page.

• Getting & Understanding your Lottery Number

  On the day that your lottery number & pick time will be ready, we will email you to let you know, and you will find the following information in the Portal:

  • Your Timeslot (eastern time)
  • Your Group’s Rank
  • Number of Students with Timeslots Earlier than Yours
  • Total Number of Students in the Lottery

  How the Lottery Numbers are Determined
  

  Each lottery applicant is assigned a point value – 3000 points for rising seniors, 2000 points for rising juniors, & 1000 points for rising sophomores. Your class year is based on your academic standing via the Registrar’s Office. Students who are one semester off-cycle are typically given the better point value. If you have questions about what your class year may be for the purposes of the lottery, please contact the Housing team.

  Group applications receive an average point value. A group of all rising seniors will have a point value of 3000. A group of three rising seniors and a rising junior will have a point value of 2750. A group of two rising sophomores and two rising juniors will have a point value of 1500. A group of all rising sophomores will have a point value of 1000. And on and on. Higher point values will have better lottery pick numbers than lower point values. And within identical point-values, the system randomly ranks the applications.

• Pick Times

  The online process via the Portal means that “Pick Times” are actually when the Portal opens for the correlating group to select a room. You can take as long as you want to finalize your assignment (until each overall process concludes) – however, the next pick group will have access to the Portal ten minutes after you have access, and the next group ten minutes later, and so on & so forth, and they won’t have to wait until you’re finished. So the longer you take to select, the higher the chance that the room you want may be taken by someone else.

• Proxies

  Because selection is online, students can access the draw from anywhere as long as they have an internet connection – so there are no proxies, per se. If you are a member of a multi-student group, any other member of your group can select your room for you. If you are an individual entrant and absolutely cannot access the Portal at any point between your Pick Time and the conclusion of the process, contact the Housing team for assistance.

• Study Away & Housing

  For students who have a petition on file to study away for the fall of 2022 or the full year 2022-2023 who have not yet heard back from their program as of room selection, the Housing team will work with the Study Away office so we can include students who are more likely to be here than they are to be away.

• Doubles (including Flex Rooms Being Used as Doubles)

  Doubles cannot be picked by an individual until all singles in the house (TAPSI) or across campus (General) have been filled, and only after doubles have been filled within a pick group. If you do select a double as an individual, be aware that:

  • Doubles taken within a pick group will be required to be filled within one’s pick group regardless of gender – so be sure to talk that through in advance with your pick group.
  • Another student of the same gender who is choosing housing after you may take the other spot in the room.
  • After the Room Draw, open spots in doubles will be listed as available for all mini-lotteries for the 2022-2023 academic year.
  • OCL reserves the right to place another student of the same gender into the other spot in the room at any point.
  • Doubles which are chosen by only one person, will not be guaranteed as singles.

• Flex Rooms - Ensuring Adequate Bedcount Numbers

  Flex rooms will be used as DOUBLES for the 2022-2023 academic year.

  OCL conducts an annual analysis of the College’s upperclass bed capacity in comparison to the number of students anticipated to be eligible to enter the annual general housing lottery processes for housing for the following academic year.

  Rooms designated “Flex” will be used as doubles when necessary to ensure that there are enough beds available for the draw as well as some flexibility for situations that arise which require students to move or need a temporary housing location.

  Click here to see a list for Flex Rooms for 2022-2023

  Flex rooms will have two sets of furnishings at all times, whether being used as a single or a double for the year. Both sets of furniture must remain in the room, regardless of single/double usage.

• Preparing to Select Your Room - Things to Consider

  Some things to think about as you prepare for housing selection.

  Who to Live With (if anyone)
  The point of pick groups is to ensure that you & your friends get to pick at the same time, although your group is allowed to split & pick into different locations if you choose to do so or when choices get slim. Although sometimes students agonize over the idea of being apart from their friends, history has shown that new friends & opportunities can arise from what may seem at first like a less-than-optimal housing situation.

  Please Note: the size of your group does not make your lottery number better or worse, nor does the timing of your application (as long as it’s submitted by the deadline).

  Where to Live

  • Floor plans & other building information can be found on the OCL website; they include approximate square-footage per room (please note: square footages are estimates only – if you are unsure of a square footage listed for a room, visit the room ahead of time – and if it seems like the square-footage listed is significantly inaccurate, let OCL know).
  • Available Rooms – you can see which rooms are still available, regardless of your lottery timeslot.
  • Rosters (indicating who will be living in what rooms) are available in the Portal and will be updated in real-time by the system during room selection. Each building roster shows current residents first, so scroll down to find the list of future (next year’s) residents.

  Have a good number of ideas in mind BEFORE the Portal opens for you. The most-prepared students rank-order their options in advance and simply work their way through them until they get to the best-available option.

  An Important Note about Campus Construction
  Due to on-going development and renovations to various areas of the campus, any college-owned student housing may be affected by construction/maintenance activities that result in noise, dust, detours for walking paths and/or driving, or temporary parking closures. Every student is responsible for familiarizing themselves with campus construction projects that may have an impact on their current residence or future choices. Click Here for more information.

  Do Your Homework
  Even Room Draw has homework. Review the online floor plans & rosters. Take room dimensions. Figure out where the sun rises in relation to the room’s window. Pace off how many steps it takes to get to the bathroom. Determine how close in proximity you can tolerate the Lasell bells. Do what you need to do – but we strongly recommend that you do it BEFORE the Portal opens for you to select a room.

• What to Expect when the Portal Opens for you to Select a Room

  The Room Selection section of the Portal will open to your group as of your group’s Timeslot. Every member of the group will have access to select housing simultaneously, regardless of seniority within the group. Each group will have 10 minutes before the Portal opens for the next group. The Room Selection section of the Portal will stay open until you finalize your room selection OR the time room selection closes in the Portal, whichever comes first.

  The No Pressure Rule
  If you or your group feel pressured negatively at any point during the process, inform the Housing team. Students found to be pressuring other students may have their eligibility for room selection revoked by OCL (thus delaying room selection to August), and may be referred to the Dean’s Office for disciplinary action.

• Roommates & Gender

  Bed spaces in double rooms will be open to all genders.

  Doubles taken within a pick group will be required to be filled within one’s pick group regardless of gender – so be sure to talk that through in advance with your pick group and plan accordingly.

• Quiet Housing - Lehman Hall

  Quiet Housing will be located in Lehman Hall for the 2022-2023 academic year.

  All Williams’ student residences have residential community standards & expectations, including those regarding neighborly noise & sound level considerations. Quiet Housing at Williams is a residential community which thrives through a focused approach to ensuring a quieter living environment for its residents.

  By living in Lehman Hall (Quiet Housing), students agree to (this may be expanded by the Office of Campus Life):

  • Have respect for designated quiet hours and for other residents’ need for quiet
  • Abide by quiet hours that are minimally from 10PM – 7AM (may be expanded by the community)
  • Help the House Coordinator to create and maintain additional guidelines for quiet living, along with the rest of the house community
  • Abide by any additional rules and regulations set forth in the Quiet Housing Agreement

• Winter Break Housing

  Winter Break Housing will be available in Gladden for the 2022-2023 academic year. 

  Students who pick into Gladden within the lottery should expect to lend their rooms to students in need during the Winter Break.

• Quarantine/Isolation Housing

  TheWilliams Inn has been designated as quarantine/isolation housing for the 2022-2023 academic year. 

• Students Who Plan to Study Away in Fall 2022 or Full Year 2022-2023

  The Housing team will be in close communication with the Study Away Office regarding students who have applied to study away. If the Study Away Office determines that you are more likely to be on campus than studying away, you may be allowed to participate in these lottery process for next year’s housing. If your plans change later and you expect to be on-campus for the fall of 2022, you may enter the August Lottery.

• FAQ's

  Q:  If I submit my lottery application earlier, do I have a better chance at a good number?
  A:  No. As long as you enter the lottery by the deadline, the system does not take the time applications were submitted into account.

  Q:  Does the size of the pick group determine the pick order?
  A:  No. Pick order is based on group average point value, then randomized within the same group average point values.

  Q:  I can’t get online right when the Portal opens for me. What do I do?
  A:  You can still select a room until the Portal closes for the selection process you’ve entered. Or, if someone else in your group is your Group Leader, you can give the Group Leader permission to select your housing for you via the Portal. If all else fails, contact the Housing team.

  Q:  I’ve already chosen/been assigned a spot in an earlier housing process. Can I still enter one of these lotteries to see if I can get a better spot?
  A:  No. If you’ve already selected/been assigned a spot for next year on- or off-campus, you are not eligible to enter these lotteries.

  Q:  It looks like some rooms are already taken – why?
  A:  It may be due to RD’s, HCs, Housing Accommodations, pull-ins, and/or previous lottery participants.

  Q:  What’s a Lottery Hold?
  A:  Various offices on campus may place a hold on your eligibility to participate in a housing lottery/room draw. Student Health Services, Student Financial Services, Dean’s Office, Facilities, Campus Safety, and the Office of Campus Life all have authority to place a lottery hold. Typical reasons include but are not limited to: incomplete paperwork, late payments, unpaid parking tickets, disciplinary issues, etc.

  Q:  How do I know if I have a Lottery Hold?
  A:  You’ve likely already heard from the office that placed the hold. You can also look in PeopleSoft Self-Service under Lottery Holds – click there, and if you have one, it’ll be noted there along with the name of the office(s) that has placed the hold. Also, if you have a Lottery Hold, you will *NOT* be able to access the Portal.

  Q:  How do I get a Lottery Hold released?
  A:  Contact the office that placed the Lottery Hold – once they confirm with OCL that the situation is taken care of, the hold will be released.

  Q:  What’s the deadline to get a Lottery Hold released so that I can participate in one of these lotteries?
  A:  March 10, 2022.

  Q:  If I select a room and then decide I want something else, what can I do?
  A:  Once you’ve made your room selection, that’s it until the summer.

  You have these options to make a change after the Room Draw:

  Option 1:  You may swap your room with another upperclass student during an upcoming Room Swap Process (the first one will take place during the summer), provided that the student does not end up studying away or leaving the College. Notices about Room Swap Processes will be sent out via email and/or Daily Messages.

  Option 2:  Enter a Mini-Lottery (the first one is the August Lottery). Please note: if you enter a mini-lottery, your existing room assignment will be offered for all mini-lottery entrants to select from. The risk is that you may have to select a room that is less satisfactory to you than your existing assignment; however, if your existing room assignment hasn’t been selected in the mini-lottery prior to your turn, you may opt to re-select it.