Three hundred juniors and seniors are on a waitlist for housing. The three day long room selection process came to a close Tuesday evening leaving no on-campus residence unfilled.
Students who requested to participate in housing through the Sage online system received a randomly generated lottery number in their mailbox which was used to determine housing priority. For rising sophomores, the numbers ranged from 1 to 1,000. Juniors and seniors shared 1,000 through about 2200-2300.
East Quad Director Jeremy Leiferman noted that last lottery number able to secure on campus housing was 1404 which he found was unexpectedly low compared with previous years. Despite this fact, the amount of students on the waitlist was anticipated.
The same number of students got housing, Leiferman clarified, it just went earlier.
This, he believes, was caused by the unpredicted housing choices made by this years rising upperclassmen. We were very surprised, he explained that all of the suites were taken first. It threw some kinks in the system.
Leiferman, who has two years of experience with the housing lottery, noted that, unlike last year, Zivs, Ridgewoods, and Mods (junior and senior accommodations) were gone by the end of first night, which housed through number 1170, of their availability.
Some students are frustrated, Leiferman said referring to those who were waitlisted we can appreciate their frustration. He insisted that We [Residence Life] will work hard to help, and that we are here to provide guidance.
Waitlisted students will be contacted (in lottery number order) regarding spaces made available on campus beginning in early May and continuing throughout the summer. This is when, as Residence Director Maggie Balch terms it, the housing dust begins to settle.
Although those who did not acquire housing during the official process are not promised board, Residence Life says that in past years we have been able to offer housing to everyone who remains on the waitlist.
Even if its not your first choice, Leiferman advises these students it is important to accept the housing the Residence Life offers up front;
refusal to accept an offer results in removal from the waitlist.
In order to assuage the fear of many upperclassmen in this situation who concerned about living away from all of their friends he insisted that Brandeis tries to keep students within their classes as best we can. This is feasible due to the number of students who remove themselves from housing for reasons such as studying abroad or transferring.
As an effort to assist students who do not plan on living at Brandeis, Senator for Off-Campus and Commuter Students, Lena Katsnelson 05 compiled a list of frequently asked questions about Off-Campus Housing which is available in the Residence Life office. Those searching for an apartment, she mentions, can view rental listings through the MyBrandeis website.
Brandeis recognizes the need for more housing, Its hard to fit 3,500 students in 3,000 beds, said Leiferman. However, creating a solution to this problem is not something that is going to happen over night.
