Housing & Residential Education facilitates and monitors the Housing Points program. Originally developed to address an increase in the number of double rooms on campus, the program has been expanded and grown to acknowledge the residential experience at Williams College and provide space for housing points to be gained or removed for various reasons.
Housing Points are used to calculate your housing selection number for room selection. The higher the number, the earlier your timeslot for housing selection, gaining access to the options before some of your peers.
You receive a base value of Housing Points based on your class year. If you're off-cycle, you receive the point value of your original class, so that you're able to participate in a similar housing experience as your peers.
- Rising Sophomores: 1000 points
- Rising Juniors: 2000 points
- Rising Seniors: 3000 points
Additional adjustments to Housing points can occur in multiple ways, including some of the following:
1. Flex Rooms
Flex Rooms are double-furnished rooms (two beds, two desks, etc.) that may be assigned as singles depending on housing capacity needs. If you share a Flex Room with another student, you will earn one additional housing point per day that you and a roommate share the room during the academic period.
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- Fall 2024: September 5 - December 17, 2024
- Winter Study 2025: January 6 - January 31, 2025
- Spring 2025:
- February 5 - March 21, 2025
- April 7 - May 26, 2025
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2. Winter Break Housing
If your room is used to house another student during the winter break period, you will accrue additional housing points for each day of the winter break.
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- Winter Break 2024/2025: 17 points
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3. Emergency Relocations
If a facility emergency requires you to permanently relocate, you will earn additional housing points for each day that you would have been in your chosen room. This helps address the disruption and improves your housing selection standing.
In some cases, points can be lost when there is a policy violation or a student does not meet the expectations of the Housing & Residential Education team. Some moments that may result in a loss of housing points include, but are not limited to:
- Students who are found in College residences outside of their approved housing dates will receive a reduction of 10 points per day.
- If it is determined that a student did not:
- Remove all of their items from their room,
- Dispose of their recycling (aka unused DRM boxes),
- Leave by their specified departure date,
- Remove all trash from their room,
- Did not turn their key in
In the cases above, a minimum reduction of 10 points will be assessed to a student's Housing Points for the next academic year.
The additional housing points can be earned during specific periods throughout the academic year. The days included for accruing points are:
- Fall Semester: Thursday, September 5, 2024, through Tuesday, December 17, 2024.
- Winter Break: Friday, January 3, 2025, through Friday, January 31, 2025.
- Spring Semester (Early): Wednesday, February 5, 2025, through Friday, March 21, 2025.
- Spring Semester (Late): Monday, April 7, 2025, through Tuesday, May 27, 2025.
Note: If a housing selection process occurs before the end of these periods, only the points accrued up until that date will be applied.
- Housing Selection Process: Additional housing points you earn will be used during the housing selection process for the following academic year. The more points you have, the better your selection time, increasing your chances of securing your preferred housing option.
- Individual and Group Selection: Returning students apply for housing selection either as individuals or in groups. An individual’s points are used at full value, while a group’s selection time is determined by the average of its members' points.
- Expiration of Points: These additional points can only be used for the next academic year’s housing selection. Once used, or once the new academic year begins, the points expire.
Housing & Residential Education will track and update your additional housing points throughout the academic year. If you are eligible for these points due to your living situation, they will be automatically added to your total. You can reference your Housing Points information through your Housing Portal.
For a full listing of Flex Rooms across campus and to check if your room qualifies, visit our list of Flex Rooms. If your room is on the list, and you have a roommate, you will receive additional housing points as noted above. You can reference your Housing Points information through your Housing Portal.
If you have any questions or need further assistance, please feel free to contact Housing & Residential Education. You can reach out to us by submitting a ticket to [email protected].