Online housing selection for rising sophomores finished with few problems Sunday, although students said some buildings filled up quicker than they expected. Freshmen chose two weeks after the rising junior-senior lottery, which saw the double-booking of some rooms and a breakdown in the GWeb tracking system allowing students to see when buildings closed.
Noel Frame, president of the Residence Hall Association, said her office received few complaints Sunday and reported no computer glitches.
“Mostly, what we’ve been doing was answering questions about housing, telling students what buildings have what,” Frame said.
She added that RHA was answering phones all day to help students decide on housing. By 9 p.m., the office had received 160 calls, compared to 100 during the last housing selection.
Munson Hall, Guthridge Hall and the Dakota proved to be the most popular halls, and all three were closed by 10 a.m., two hours after the lottery began.
Some students who had counted on getting a room in the Dakota said they found the rooms went even quicker than they expected.
Freshman Kellyn Blossom said despite having number 3,318, the 17th highest number in the class, she was not able to get a quad in the Dakota. She believes Housing Services hurt her changes when the office
moved Honors Program students from their promised New Hall rooms into the Dakota.
Blossom said she and her friends decided to split up into doubles and would try to get into Pennsylvania House later in the day.
Freshman Bryan Ferretti said he got number 3,359 but could not find a quad in either The Dakota or Building JJ.
Building JJ was closed by 11 a.m.
“We got a quad in Madison. It was our third choice,” Ferretti said.
Freshman Tim Snyder said he had no problems with the online selection system.
“It was pretty smooth,” he said.
Snyder also wanted a triple in the Dakota but said he was satisfied with his triple in Munson Hall.
The housing availability page, which was shut down last lottery because of inaccurate information, worked throughout the day. RHA and CLLC officials said they had a back-up plan if the computer system should malfunction.
Frame said the RHA office also helped match up almost 20 roommates Sunday.
Frame said the RHA offered the service after some students complained about difficulty finding roommates during the last round of selections. The RHA helped students find roommates when housing selection was in J Street in past years.
Mitchell Hall was available to sophomores, juniors and seniors for the first time since the 1998-99 academic year because of high demand, Frame said. Mitchell Hall, which was closed at 10 p.m., was one of the last halls to fill.
Frame said students who did not get the rooms they wanted would be placed on a guaranteed waiting list.
“Today, every returning sophomore was offered a housing assignment since Mount Vernon beds still remain to be selected,” Associate Director of Housing Services Andrew Sonn wrote in an e-mail. He said about 50 students who wanted rooms for at least two people on the main campus and did not get them can wait for rooms to open in the future.
Students have two days to reject the room they were given by contacting Housing Services and request to move off campus.
