Emma Simon
Staff Reporter
The month of April was vital for returning McDaniel students, as the housing lottery took place on several dates throughout the month.
For those students who paid their housing deposits by the strict deadline of March 12, the lottery process was generally a positive one. Sophomore Kelly Clancy was very pleased with the way the lottery went for her, as she got the option she wanted without having to even attend the lottery.
“I had class, so my other group members just took my I.D. to the housing lottery. We tried for North Village, and I was a little nervous for the next round when we didn’t get it,” said Clancy, “but then we pulled a number for Gardens and got it!”
Clancy is excited about her living arrangements next year in a five person Garden Apartment, and was enthusiastic about the Housing Lottery Process, noting that “It’s a stressful process – but it really pays off.”
McDaniel’s lottery process “is largely based on seniority, which provides priority to students based on their anticipated date of graduation,” said Michael Robbins, Director of Residence Life.
The process for dorm room selection is slightly different from apartment selection, but both involve seniority as well as the drawing of a lottery number to differentiate between people with the same anticipated graduation date.
To students who argue that the process is unfair, Robbins said, “I would encourage them to come in and talk with me or go to Student Government Association and see if other students agree and would be interested in meeting with me as a group to talk about their view point, possibly do some assessment of the student body, and look into making changes.”
Robbins is already looking into advertising the lottery process next year in new ways that may grab students’ attention more, such as Facebook. Robbins said that he has “already talked with SGA about using their Facebook site for next year.”
“Simple” was how Junior Jared Ginsberg described the lottery process. “We just picked numbers, and I ended up getting a single in a 4-person Garden for next year. I’m excited!” said Ginsberg.
To Michael Robbins, “the easiest part is for the 95% of students that get what they want in the lottery. The hardest part is working with the students who did not pay their deposits on time, don’t have a roommate in mind, or who are rising juniors/seniors who had their heart set on a particular location that did not work out.”
One thing that McDaniel students can feel at ease about as opposed to other larger colleges and universities, is that they will always have some type of campus housing guaranteed.
Although the Housing Lottery for the 2010-2011 year has come to an end, Robbins wants to remind students who will have to participate in next year’s lottery that it “is a lot like registration – everyone needs to pay attention to email announcements about it and keep those dates and times in mind. If someone does all that, then they are likely to have smooth sailing.”
For more specifics about the Housing Lottery Process, please visit https://www.mcdaniel.edu/6581.htm .
