Susquehanna UniversitySusquehanna University - Student Life

Office of Residence Life

 

Housing Lottery Overview: 2008-2009 Academic Year


Lottery Categories

Student rooms (except those saved for the incoming freshman class) are assigned for the upcoming school year through various lotteries and processes that take place over the course of the spring semester. Each type of housing (a double room in West Hall, a single in North, a suite in Seibert, etc.) fits into one of five lottery categories:

  1. Off Campus- Susquehanna University requires students to live on campus all four years unless they are released to live off campus.
    Students apply for that release during this lottery.
    Click here for more information on off campus housing and an application.
  2. Organization- This includes housing for fraternities, sororities, and volunteer projects.
    Click here for more information on Greek housing.
    Click here for more information on volunteer project housing.
  3. Premium- During this lottery, spaces in Liberty Alley, the Sassafras Complex, and single rooms are given away.
    Click here for more information on Liberty Alley and an application.
    Click here for more information on the Sassafras Complex and West Village and an application.
    Click here for more information on single rooms and an application.
  4. Specialty- This includes designed triple rooms, the Scholars House, and the International House.
    Click here for more information on designed triples and an application.
    Click here for more information on the Scholars House and an application.
    Click here for more information on the International House and an application.
  5. Traditional- The last of the housing lotteries, the is the time when typical, double rooms
    in West, North, Sassafras Complex, West Village and Aikens Halls are given away.
    Click here for more information on traditional housing.

The Timeline

The lotteries or processes for each category take place approximately 3-4 weeks apart during the semester.

  • Off campus applications are due February 18
  • Organizations must report who is living in their house, townhouse, or suite by February 29
  • Premium housing applications are due March 17
  • Specialty housing applicaitons are due March 31
  • The Traditional housing lottery will take place April 15

Buildings on Campus

As a Susquehanna student, you have a wide variety of housing available to you during your four years on our campus. In addition to your residency in one of the first-year student halls, you have the opportunity to live in the following upperclassman halls:

  • Aikens Hall-
    • Traditional-style hall that houses about 150 freshmen and upperclassmen students
    • Composed primarily of doubles rooms (Traditional category)
    • Includes two designed triples for women (Specialty category)
  • The Hill-
    • An area of campus comprised of the Theta Chi fraternity house, the Tudor House, and the Scholars House
    • Theta Chi houses fraternity brothers and also as singles available on the
      second floor for non-fraternity men (Premium catergory)
    • Tudor House has some singles (Premium category) and doubles (Traditional Category)
      for a total occupancy of about 30 students
    • Scholars House is all single rooms, except for one double for men and one double for women.
      All of the rooms are assigned through the Specialty category
  • North Hall-
    • A mixture of suite-style and traditional-style rooms, housing about 123 students
    • A small number of singles are available (Premium category)
    • Double rooms (Traditional category)
    • Several designed triples (Specialty category)
  • The Sassafras Complex-
    • A combination of suites, apartments, and townhouses that house about 170 students
      in both single and double rooms
    • Two townhouses are allocated to volunteer projects (Organization category)
    • Half of the remaining townhouses, the suites and the apartments are given to group applicants in
      the Premium category
    • The other half of the rooms are given away room by room in the Traditional Lottery
  • Seibert Hall-
    • Suite-style structure, housing about 85 students
    • Singles and doubles are available through volunteer project memebership (Organization category)
  • University Avenue-
    • Also known as "the Ave"; consists of 15 houses and the 7 Liberty Alley townhouses
      for a total of 148 residents
    • Houses hold from 4-15 residents each; are a mixture
      of singles, doubles, and triples (Organization category)
    • The townhouses each hold 3 students, each with their own single room (Premium category)
  • West Hall-
    • A traditional-style hall that houses about 155 students
    • Primarily double rooms (Traditional category)
    • Two designed triples available to either sex (Specialty housing)
  • West Village- TWO ADDITIONAL BUILDINGS IN FALL '08!!!
    • Four separate buildings each house 48 residents for a total of 192 students
    • Each building has 12 suites. Each suite has three rooms, two singles and a double, for a total of 4 residents per suite
    • Suites have a small living room, kitchenette and bathroom
    • Students can apply as groups for half the suites during the Premium Category
    • Double rooms in the other suites will be assigned during the Traditional Housing Lottery

A Little More Info

Why is the lottery process so long?
Many other schools hold their entire housing lottery on one or two nights. We don't do this for two reasons:

  • There is such a variety of housing on campus that it would almost be impossible to homogenize the process. Each lottery process
    is designed in the way that makes the most sense philosophically and logistically for the students and the space.
  • If students don't get their first choice of housing, we want them to have several weeks to come up with a secondary plan
    instead of only a few moments.

How do lottery numbers work?
Lottery numbers are how students vie for the majority of housing on campus. The only complete exceptions are volunteer housing, Greek housing, and the Scholars House.

  • Groups of lottery numbers are assigned to a class (i.e. rising seniors might be 1-500)
  • Lottery numbers are randomly assigned to students within the range of their class. Your class (rising senior, rising junior, rising sophomore)
    is determined by your graduation date on record with the Registrar's Office.
Click Here to Look Up Your Lottery Number!


Don't Have a Roommate?

Click here to see options you may take if you do not have a roommate.


Glossary of Housing Terminology:

  • Apartment- A residence hall style in which student rooms are clustered in a space which includes a kitchenette and common area.
  • Designed Triple- Refers to a room with a designated occupancy of 3 students (i.e. a larger room made for 3 people).
  • Double- Refers to a room with a designated occupancy of 2 students.
  • Occupancy- The number of students that a room or building was designed to accommodate.
  • Overflow Triple- Refers to a room with a designated occupancy of 2 students but is occupied by 3 people.
  • Single- Refers to a room with a designated occupancy of 1 student.
  • Suites or Suite-style- A residence hall style in which a small number of student rooms are clustered in a secondary corridor off of a main corridor.Suites may include a bathroom, kitchenette, or common area.
  • Traditional-style- A residence hall in which student rooms are directly off of a main corridor.
  • Townhouse- A residence hall style in which student rooms are part of two-story, independent structure containing kitchenette facilities and a common area.