Housing Lottery
The Housing Lottery is an opportunity for eligible students to select rooms in the Spring for the upcoming academic year.
- Students must register & submit the Intent Form during the available dates (1pm Feb 28 - 1pm Mar 6, 2024).
- Students may form groups or participate as an individual.
- The Lottery runs in multiple parts (for 4-, 5-, and 6-person groups and then for Individuals & 2-/3-person groups).
- Due to the finite number of beds available in the Lottery, some students may need to be assigned to rooms over the summer (as part of the Guaranteed List).
Form a Lottery Group
4, 5, and 6 Lottery
123 Lottery
How the Housing Lottery works
Please read below for full information about how the Housing Lottery works.
Overview & Timeline #
The Housing Lottery is an opportunity for students to pick rooms for next year. Students pick in random order prioritized by Class Year.
Participating in the Housing Lottery does not guarantee the ability to pick a specific room or to be able to live with specific students, but it does guarantee that campus housing will be available for the upcoming academic year if students meet all the required deadlines.
The Housing Lottery takes part in four parts following the order below: (see also graphic calendar)
2024 Lottery Deadline to Form Groups (EST) Lottery Numbers Posted (EST) Selection Times (EST) 4 Lottery
4-person suites10am Mon, Mar 18 5pm Mon, Mar 18 9am-5pm Tues, Mar 19 5 Lottery
5-person suites10am Thur, Mar 21 5pm Thur, Mar 21 9am-5pm Friday, Mar 22 6 Lottery
6-person suites10am Mon, Mar 25 5pm Mon, Mar 25 9am-5pm Tues & Wed, Mar 26-7 123 Lottery
Studios, Corridor-style rooms, and remaining suite-style roomsPriority Deadline:
10am Fri, Mar 295pm Fri, Mar 29 9am-5pm
Mon - Fri, Apr 1-5
To-Do List Before the Housing Lottery #
- Register for Room Selection before the deadline -- you may not participate in the Housing Lottery otherwise!
- Attend an Information Session to learn more about the Housing Lottery
- Check out information about each of the residence halls
- Read the Frequently Asked Questions page if you have questions
- Form a Group (optional)
Forming Groups (+ Video) #
After registering, students may form groups on the Barnard Housing Portal. The deadline for each group size and/or Lottery are posted above.
Students who want to pick as an individual do not need to form a group on the Portal.
Only students who are eligible and registered for Room Selection before the deadline may join a group for the Lottery. Students who apply for housing without a guarantee of assignment cannot join a group for the Lottery.
Groups will share ONE Lottery Number & Selection Time. After each Lottery's deadline, groups cannot be modified for that Lottery (to add or change members). If a group does not pick during a Lottery, it will be unlocked after that Lottery is over so they add or change group members for a later Lottery.
For the 123 Lottery, students are encouraged to form 2-person groups (so they can pick into a double if there are no singles available to pick).
Note: Rising-Seniors registered for the Columbia Lottery may pick a backup room at Barnard as an individual during the 123 Lottery or sign up for the Guaranteed List. They may not select during the 4, 5, or 6 Lotteries (or as part of a group for the 123 Lottery).
Groups with Columbia Students should also read:
Group Leader (during 4, 5, & 6 Lottery) #
Each 4-, 5-, or 6-person group will need to designate a Group Leader on the Housing Portal. The Group Leader will be responsible for logging into the Portal to pick when the group's Selection Time starts.
If the Group Leader is not free to pick during the Selection Time, they will need to pass leadership to another group member on the Portal. If no one in a group is free to pick for the group at the Selection Time, they will need to designate a Proxy.
Lottery Numbers & Selection Times #
- To see a list of this year's (and previous year's) Lottery Numbers and Selection Times, CLICK HERE.
Students will be generated a Lottery Number (randomized by class year seniority) to determine the order they will select. Each part of the Lottery (4, 5, 6, and 123) will have different lottery numbers.
When your Selection Time starts, you may select from the spaces available on the Housing Portal. A new Selection Time starts approximately every 5 minutes. Students are encouraged to log into the Portal as soon as their Selection Time starts so they don't miss out on options to pick.
Lottery Numbers & Selection Times are non-transferable and cannot be traded between students.
4, 5, and 6 Lottery Numbers & Selection Times
- Each group will share one Lottery Number & Selection Time (based on the Group Average).
- If a group does not pick and reforms for a later Lottery, they will be generated a new Lottery Number & Selection Time.
- For example, a 4-person Group that doesn't pick during the 4 Lottery and then adds another member will be generated a new Lottery Number & Selection Time for the 5 Lottery, etc.
123 Lottery Lottery Numbers & Selection Times
- Lottery Numbers & Selection Times will run in random order by Class Year seniority for all students, regardless if they are an individual or in a 2- or 3-person Group/
- Order is not determined by group size or whether someone is in a group or not).
- Each group will share one Lottery Number & Selection Time (based on the Group Average).
NEW FOR 2024
For the 123 Lottery ONLY, students may continue to form groups after the Priority Deadline (but NOT for the 4, 5, or 6 Lottery).
Students who form 123 Lottery groups after the priority deadline will pick using the LAST Selection Time in the Group.
For example, if 2 individuals form a group after the priority deadline and one has a Selection Time at 10am on Thursday and the other has 2pm on Thursday, both students will need to now wait until the later Selection Time, 2pm on Thursday, to pick together (not after the earlier Selection Time).
Students are strongly encouraged to form groups BEFORE the 123 Lottery Group priority deadline (10am, Friday, March 29, 2024). That way their Selection Time won't be pushed to later in the Lottery.
Class Year Standing & Points #
Class Year standing is determined by a student's projected graduation year (except for FYs), as recorded by the Registrar's Office in the campus computer system.
Projected Graduation Date Points Lottery Standing February or May 2025 400 Rising-Senior February or May 2026 300 Rising-Junior February or May 2027 200 Rising-Sophomore
- Students who enrolled as First Year students for Fall 2023 will be automatically considered rising-Sophomores. Transferred credits (AP, IB, other colleges, etc) may not be used to classify current First Years as rising-Juniors for the Lottery.
- Students who graduate mid-year are classified by the Registrar's office as February Graduates. This means that a student who plans to graduate after the Fall 2025 semester would be classified as a February 2026 graduate and would be considered a rising-Junior (not a rising-Senior) for the Housing Lottery.
- Registering as a rising-Senior is intended to give students priority for Room Selection for their final year or semester only. Students may only participate as a rising-Senior *ONCE* during their Barnard career. If your anticipated graduation year is listed as 2025, but you anticipate needing to be in housing for Fall 2025 (or longer), please correct your anticipated graduation date with the Registrar and contact Residential Life & Housing ASAP. Students who participate as a rising-Senior and then continue to attend Barnard past the 2024-2025 academic year would need to sign up for the Guaranteed List in order to be eligible for campus housing for 2025-2026 (i.e. would not be able to take part in the Lottery or other parts of Room Selection).
To verify your Class Standing for the Housing Lottery, log in to the Barnard Housing Portal and click ROOM SELECTION. The Class Standing for a Group will depend on the Group Average.
If you need to update your projected graduation date, you must submit the Registrar form linked below before Wednesday, February 21, 2024.
Requests for the Registrar to change your graduation date must be supported by the number of credits you have earned. Changes to class year standing may take several days before showing up on the Housing Portal.
Group Averages (and Mixed-Class Year Groups) #
All groups will have a Group Average, which represents the average class year standing of the group (see above for Class Year Standing & Points).
The Group Average is the A) total number of points added together B) divided by the number of students.
A group made up of students with the same class standing will have a Group Average that equals the same as the individual's class year standing. For example, 4 rising Seniors would have a Group Average of 400 points (i.e. 400 + 400 + 400 + 400 = 1600 divided by 4 = 400 points).
A group made up of students with mixed-class year standings will have a Group Average that comes "in-between" those of groups that are all the same class year. For example, a group with 3 Rising-Seniors and 2 Rising-Juniors will be averaged as 360 points (400 + 400 + 400 + 300 + 300 = 1800 divided by 5 = 360 points).
Groups are prioritized for Lottery Numbers and Selection Times by descending order of the Group Average (i.e. 400 point Groups go first). This means that a mixed-class year group with 360 points like above would be prioritized for a better Lottery Number and Selection Time than a group with 2 Rising-Seniors and 3 Rising-Juniors (340 point average).
Important! Any group that has rising-Sophomores in it will automatically be prioritized for a Lottery Number that would come *after* those of Groups made up of all rising-Juniors. For example, a Group made up of 2 rising-Seniors, a rising-Junior, and a rising-Sophomore would have a point average of 325, but would receive a Lottery Number that comes *after* that of Groups made up of all rising-Juniors (300 points). This ensures that rising-Juniors are able to pick before groups with rising-Sophomores start to pick.
Columbia Students: the Class Year standing of any Columbia students in your group will be calculated in the Group Average.
Proxies for Selection Times #
Students should not give their passwords to other students to log in & pick for them on the Portal.
If you are in a group, only 1 student needs to log in during your Selection Time to pick for the group. However, if the other student(s) in your group want to submit the Guaranteed List Form instead of picking a room, they would not be able to pick a room just for you on the Portal -- you would need to log into the Portal to pick for yourself (or have a proxy pick for you).
If you have a conflict which prevents you from being able to log into the Portal to pick at your Selection Time, you can submit the form below to the Res Life office to designate another student to pick for you as your proxy.
- Proxy Form (PDF)
The form should be submitted to the Res Life office at least 24 hours before your Selection Time, so that we can schedule a staff member to assist the Proxy. The Proxy will need to come to the Res Life office (110 Sulzberger) at least 5 minutes before the Selection Time starts (and bring laptop with them if possible).
In order to help your Proxy have an idea of what to select for you, you can give them a Proxy Worksheet to guide them.
- Proxy Worksheet (PDF)
Available Rooms to Select #
For a list of spaces available to select in the Lottery, visit 5585y.com/reslife/room-selection/available.
Preparing for your Selection Time #
- Watch the videos about how to pick rooms (see below)
- Look at the information about each residence hall (including floor plans!) and the list of the Available Rooms & Suites.
- Prepare a ranked list of buildings / suites / rooms you'd like to live in, in case your top choices are not available when your Selection Time starts.
- If you're in a group:
- Discuss your preferences as a group in advance, so you're not scrambling when your Selection Time starts.
- Discuss your non-negotiables. Are there specific buildings or room types you don't want to select? Do group members have accommodation needs? Once the group picks, it's not possible for any group member to pick a different space, join a different group, or sign up for the Guaranteed List instead.
- Discuss who would live together in doubles as roommates in case you aren't able to pick singles.
- Discuss what you will do if your top preferences are not available. Will you pick something else or not pick so you can regroup for a later part of the Lottery?
- Determine which group member will pick for the Group (only the Group Leader specified on the Portal can pick during the 4, 5, and 6 Lottery).
- Plan to meet with your group at least 15 minutes before your Selection Time starts. Check which of your ranked preferences may still be able to select.
- If you can't be in the same room together for your Selection Time, schedule a Zoom meeting. The Group Leader can share their screen for the others to see them logged into the Portal when picking.
4, 5, and 6 Lottery (+ Video) #
Groups may only pick suites that match the size of their Group (ex. a 4-person Group cannot pick a 5-person Suite).
Reminder: Only the Group Leader can log in to pick for the group during the Selection Time. If the Group leader is not available for the Selection Time, they will need to "pass leadership" to another group member on the Portal before the Selection Time starts.
If your Group does not pick a suite, it will be "unlocked" after the end of that Lottery so you may regroup for a later Lottery (ex. add another member to a 4-person Group to then take part in the 5-Person Lottery). Students who do not pick during the 4, 5, or 6 Lottery (or were not part of a 4-, 5-, or 6-person Group) will then take part in the 123 Lottery.
123 Lottery (+Video) #
During the 123 Lottery, students must completely fill any room they wish to pick. That means that individuals cannot pick into a double (or triple) by themselves.
Students are encouraged to form 2-person groups to provide more flexibility for picking (so they can pick into a double if no singles are available). Groups can also pick singles if available at their Selection Time (and the singles do not have to be on the same floor or in the same building).
Once all spaces have been picked, the remaining students will sign up for the Guaranteed List, to be placed over the summer. Students may also decide to sign up for the Guaranteed List if they do not want to pick from the rooms available at their Selection Time.
IF YOU ARE IN A GROUP:
Only one member of the group should log into the Portal to pick during your group's Selection Time (if multiple group members log in, it may keep your group from being able to pick).
If a group member plans to sign up for the Guaranteed List instead of picking a room but the other(s) wants to pick a room, the student wanting to pick a room must be the one to log into the Housing Portal at your Selection Time (students cannot pick a room for another group member without also picking for themselves at the same time).
Guaranteed List #
Students who do not pick a room during any of the Lotteries will sign up for the Guaranteed List to be placed over the summer.
For more information (including deadlines), visit 5585y.com/reslife/room-selection/guaranteed-list.