Who should enter the Housing Allocation Process for Continuing Students (the Continuing Student Lottery)?
Students who meet one of the following conditions are eligible for the Continuing Student Lottery:
1.) You are a current MIT graduate student with a non-renewable License Agreement expiring August 15, 2008.
2.) You are presently living off-campus or in undergraduate housing, and you will be a graduate student for the 2008/09 academic year, and you have been previously registered as an MIT undergraduate student, graduate student, special student, cross-registered student, or similar.
3.) You are an MIT student in your second year of family housing with a license agreement expiring on August 15, 2008.
4.) You are an MIT graduate student in single graduate housing, and need to move to student family housing.
Who is eligible for the Housing Allocation Process for New Students (the New Student Lottery)?
The New Student Lottery is for students who are new to MIT; they have never been registered at MIT in any student capacity either as a graduate or undergraduate, and you have not been a special student, cross-registered student or something similar. This is a one year assignment in single housing (9 months in the Warehouse [NW30]). This is a two year assignment in family housing.
I am currently a first year graduate student living on-campus, and I want to live on-campus again next year. I already received an assignment in a lottery last year. Do I have to enter another one this year?
Yes. Students new to MIT and looking for on-campus housing for their first year should enter the New Student Lottery. If you received an assignment in the New Student Lottery last year, you have to enter the Continuing Student Lottery to try to receive a continuing spot in on-campus housing this year. Once you have received such a spot, you never have to enter the Continuing Student Lottery again as long as you remain in housing and you are a fully-registered graduate student. If you do not receive an assignment, you may continue to reapply as many times as you like.
Is it still called "the Continuing Student Lottery?"
Sometimes. The fact is, however, that the process for graduate housing allocation is less of a lottery than ever before. The Graduate Housing Allocation Procedure is a little less catchy than Continuing Student Lottery, and sometimes we still refer to the process as a lottery since it's shorter!
How many living options should I rank?
You should rank ONLY and ALL those places you want to live in. It is true that the more places you rank the more likely you are to get a spot on campus. It is also true that if you are assigned to one of the places you rank you will be expected to move there. So be thoughtful when making your selections. Ask yourself about the building's community, about its location, about its price, and anything else that might affect your experience there.
Can I try to 'play' the allocation process somehow?
Am I more likely to get my first choice if I only rank one living arrangement?
One rumor to dispel: it is not true that you are more likely to get your first choice living arrangement if you only rank one. This involves an equivocation. Of course, if you only rank one building, you are more likely to get your first choice than any other choice. But it is not true that ranking only one living arrangement necessarily gives you a better chance of getting it than has someone who ranks four. In addition, the more options students rank, the more weight is given to their choices, and this increases their chances of assignment.
How many times can I change my preferences?
You will be able to go back to the webpage and change your preferences as many times as you like before the deadline (TBA), when the process closes to make assignments. Whatever your preferences are on this deadline, these will be the preferences we use.
What happens if I want to withdraw before the deadline (TBA)?
No problem. Just go to
the webpage,
enter your preferences again, and select the withdraw
option. You will be permitted to return to the process to apply again in the
same category -- single, family, family with children -- or in a
different one, provided you do so before the deadline.
What happens if I want to withdraw after the deadline has passed?
There is a $250 penalty for withdrawing from the process after the deadline. This penalty also applies if you fail to accept or confirm your housing assignment by the deadline for confirming your acceptance (TBA).
Please note that the standard exceptions also apply here. Students may withdraw from the process after the deadline without penalty if: they change their marital status, if they graduate, or if they have appropriate documentation from the MIT Medical Department, MIT's Counseling and Support Services, or MIT's Legal department.
Can I decline my housing assignment?
No. Once you submit your preferences, the deadline passes and you are assigned, you will be expected to take the assignment. There is a $250 penalty for failing to accept or confirm your assignment. If you don't want to live in on-campus housing, please don't enter the on-campus housing procedures, or else be sure to withdraw before the deadline. There are many people who want to live on campus and it would be a shame if some of them make other arrangements.
If I rank many different living options, am I less likely to get my first choice?
Not necessarily. Of course, it depends in part on what your choices are. But it is also true that the more options students rank, the more weight is given to their choices, and this increases the chances of being assigned.
If it comes down to a decision between giving you your first choice and not giving Ms. Jones any spot, or giving you your second choice and also assigning Ms. Jones a spot on campus, we will opt for the latter case.
So please, only rank living arrangements you would like to live in. It is important to strike the right balance between "want to live on campus" and "want to live in this or that particular place ".
Is the allocation process a lottery?
As mentioned above, the process for graduate housing allocation is less of a lottery than ever before.
Previously, students were randomly assigned a number, placed into numerical assignment, and assignments were made starting at 1 until there were no more vacancies. This could take weeks to complete.
Our new process is extremely fast and efficient. A computer program which uses algorithms, which takes into account all preferences and vacancies, and optimizes matching students with available vacancies.
However, it can still be considered a lottery in the sense that we don't have enough vacancies to assign everyone, and while assignments are made through preferences, the process is still random.
Can I tie different living options with the same preference?
Yes. Keep in mind that tying is useful if you honestly don't prefer one living option over the other. Tied options are valued as the same by the algorithm.
In a perfect example of what not to do, a student ranked one building first and tied everything else as last place in the hopes that this would help his chances of getting his first choice. Of course, this didn't work. The student later complained that he had received his last choice, which he had; but it was also his second choice. It turned out that his preferences were more finely grained than he had specified, and he was unhappy with his assignment.
Please be thoughtful and purposeful when making your preference selections.
Do I have to rank all the different living options?
No. Please rank ONLY the living options you want and are willing to accept. Ask yourself about the building's community, about its location, about its price, or anything else that might affect your experience there, and then list just the places you want to live.
Can my friend and I enter together as roommates?
Yes. The system is very flexible. Suppose you indicate a preference
for an efficiency first, a one bedroom second, a double third, and a 2
bedroom fourth. You'd like an efficiency, but if you don't get it,
you'd like to live with your friend Cartman. On the preference
entering page there is a roommate space in which you enter Cartman's
MIT user name. When Cartman is recording his preferences he enters
your MIT user name into the roommate space on his page. If both of
these conditions are met, and both you and Cartman are assigned to
the same living option (both in a double, for example) then we
will assign you as roommates. There is space to specify up to 3
possible roommates.
These considerations apply to suitemates as well as roommates.
On the New Student form, there is a box you can check if you would
like to be considered for a shared living space only if you
will be assigned one of your roommates.
For other requests -- such as study hours or tempeture preferences-- there will be a questionnaire you can fill out when you receive your Ashdown or Sidney-Pacific assignment. The information from these questionnaires will be used to help match people into comfortable living arrangements.
Please note: both you and your friend/s must request each other - we won't make assignments based on a one-sided request.
How will I find out about my assignment?
You will be able to access your assignment on our website.
The date for results will be announced on the main housing webpage - stay tuned!
We will also email the results to everyone, but due to past difficulities with non-MIT emails, we DO NOT recommend relying on your email to find out if you have been assigned. If you don't respond by the deadline because you do not receive an email, we will still have to fine you $250 and your space will be reassign to another student.
You will have one week to confirm your assignment or else be fined $250 and removed from the system. It sounds drastic, but we need to be fair to everyone. If you have special circumstances which might complicate this procedure, please contact us at graduatehousing@mit.edu.
If you don't hear from us, or can't access the web confirmation, please contact us immediately!
When will I find out about my assignment?
The date for results will be announced after the Allocation is opened - stay tuned!
What happens if I don't get an assignment?
It is not the end of the world if you don't get an assignment. We anticipate that some living options will be under subscribed after the assignments have all been made. We will email students who did not receive an assignment in the first process, and alert them that there are still vacancies in these under-subscribed options. We will collect preferences again, and run the assignment procedure a second time. Because you will probably also be pursuing other housing arrangements, you may decline an assignment from the second round without penalty. This second round will be completed by the middle of June.
Can I change buildings later in the year?
Yes. In December, you will be able to apply to transfer to another residence through the House Transfer Process. (See below)
I live in Ashdown or Sidney and Pacific and have built up some seniority. Will I lose that when if I move?
Ashdown and Sidney-Pacific have seniority point programs. If you move from one building to the other in the Continuing Student Allocation Process you will carry your accumulated seniority points with you. We will be working with the house governments in both Ashdown and Sidney-Pacific to smooth over any complications the House Transfer Process creates.
How can I find out what a particular place is like?
An important point.
The Graduate Housing webpage has all sorts of useful information about the various living options. There is some information at
http://web.mit.edu/housing/grad/residences.html
about the various buildings. Each Residence Hall has a link to its web site.
Over the next few months we will be working with the various dorm
governments to develop content -- text, images, even movies -- about
their buildings and communities. Check back to http://web.mit.edu/housing/grad for updates.
What if I have medical or other special housing needs?
A special form is available from
http://web.mit.edu/housing/grad/assignments/request.html
to request special consideration for housing based on medical or other
special needs. For more information about the process and the documentation required, please go to http://web.mit.edu/housing/grad/ghg/gettingin.html#medical.
If you have any questions, please contact us by email at gradhousing@mit.edu.
For other requests -- such as study hours or temperature preferences-- there will be a questionnaire you can fill out when you receive your Ashdown or Sidney-Pacific assignment. The information from these questionnaires will be used to help match people into comfortable living arrangements.
Do I need to fill out a Termination Application or a Renewal Application?
Each spring, you will need to fill out a renewal or a termination form. If you have Continuing Student
status, and you would like to continue living on campus next
year, then you must complete a Renewal Application.
You can terminate your campus housing assignment, with at least 30 days notice, before the terms of
your license agreement are up for one of the following reasons:
- Graduation
- Change in Marital Status
- Withdrawing / Medical Leave
- Department Required Internship
- You were assigned as a "visitor."
If one of these reasons applies to you, please complete a
Termination Application with at least 30 days notice, and
submit supporting documentation to the Graduate Housing Office (E32-238, fax 617-252-1001).
If you currently have a "new" assignment that is expiring, and you are entering the Continuing Student lottery to try to be re-assigned on-campus housing at MIT -- and thus secure Continuing Student status -- you still must sign a
Termination Application indicating that your license agreement is soon to
expire. This helps us accurately estimate the number of spaces that will be available to assign.
If I change my mind about my status, can I change my renewal to a terminate or vice versa?
Yes. If you have a "Continuing" assignment and will be registered for the upcoming year, you may change your status from renew to terminate or vice
versa as many times as you like before the deadline (TBA). After the deadline, you may no longer change your status from
terminate to renew. Of course, any time you meet one of the relevant
criteria (cf. Do I need to fill out a Termination
Application or a Renewal Application?), you may begin the
process of terminating your housing assignment.
Can I change my move out date after I've submitted my form?
Yes and no. You can change your move out date as many times as you like up until the deadline. After the deadline, you can change your move out date to an
earlier date - keep in mind that each time you re-sign the termination form, you still must give 30 days notice.
In some cases you may also change your move out date to a later date by special
arrangement with the Graduate Housing office. Once the room has been rented, priority goes to the incoming resident, so the date you may extend until will depend on the new resident's move in date.
What is the deadline?
The deadline to renew or terminate your on-campus housing assignment will be announced on the housing website soon - stay tuned!
What happens if I miss the deadline?
If you miss the deadline to renew your housing assignment, you may end up forfeiting your on-campus housing assignment.
What is a House Transfer Process?
The House Transfer Process is an organized approach to coordinating house to house transfers for single graduate students who currently live on campus and who would like to move to another building on campus. Like Christmas, the House Transfer Process happens once a year in December.
Who is eligible to transfer?
All graduate students currently living in single on campus housing are eligible to enter the Transfer Process. Students living in family housing are not eligible. (If you live in single housing and need to move to family, you need to apply to the next Allocation. If you are in family housing and want to move to a different type of apartment, contact the Graduate Housing Office.)
Please note that you take your asssignment status with you when you transfer, EXCEPT if you transfer to Tang or the Warehouse, in which case your assignment will end August 15 or June 1st of that year. (Am I a New or a Continuing student?)
How does it work?
The Housing Office collects preferences, and then fills vacancies and coordinates room or apartment swaps — or chains of apartment swaps — between interested parties. Please remember: If you receive an offer you must accept it. The penalty for not accepting a transfer offer for which you have applied is the loss of your housing. If you do not receive a transfer offer, then you can stay where you were originally living.
Why is there such a steep penalty for not accepting your offer?
The penalty for not accepting your transfer offer is the loss of your housing, and this penalty is very severe indeed. But there is good reason for this. The very possibility of a transfer process of this kind depends on everyone accepting the rules and following through with their commitments. If I decide to decline my new assignment, then the person slated to move into my room cannot move, and the person slated to move into the room of the person slated to move into my room cannot move, and so on. Some of these students will be new to MIT altogether, and they will have no other living arrangements. If you are not serious about transferring, please do not enter the transfer process; if you would not be willing to accept a transfer to a particular building, please do not indicate it among your preferences.
What are my chances of getting a transfer?
Good question. The answer depends on how many people enter the transfer process, how many people indicate that they would like to leave the building you would like to transfer into, and how many people indicate that they would like to transfer into the building you would like to leave. If there are no vacancies in the building you would like to transfer into, then you will not be able to transfer there unless someone is interested in transferring out.
Who wrote this?
Hilary Parkinson, almost every last word, in 2004 and 2005.
The MIT Graduate Housing Office is soley responsible for the policies and content of this website, and reserves the right to change said policies or content without notice.
