Difference between revisions of "Room Selection"

From WikiCU
Jump to: navigation, search
(Summer transfer)
m (Add a link to Housing@CU)
 
(15 intermediate revisions by 3 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
'''Room Selection''' is the process by which students select a room for the next academic year. There are six phases, each of which has a section in this article.
+
'''Room Selection''' is the process by which students select a room for the next academic year from the stock of [[upperclassmen housing]]. The process is conducted every Spring by [[Columbia Housing]].
  
The order in which students select their room is determined by two numbers. First, students are subdivided according to their <u>point value</u>. Rising seniors get 30 points. Rising juniors get 20 points. Rising sophomores get 10 points. A student's status is determined based on the year he entered Columbia, not on the year he expects to graduate. If students form a group for a double or suite, the group point value is the average of its [[Columbia College]] and [[SEAS]] members (but not [[Barnard]] members), unless they invoke the [[East Campus]] Exclusion Rule (see below).
+
== Phases ==
  
Second, students are subdivided according to their randomly-assigned <u>lottery number</u>, which can range from 1 to 3000. Thus, a student with 30pts & #1 gets to choose his room before a student with 30pts & #3000, who in turn gets to choose his room before a student with 20pts & #1, and so on.
+
The key phases of the room selection process are as follows (each described in its respective article):
 +
*[[Room Selection registration|Registration]]
 +
*[[Housing lottery]]
 +
*[[Group Suite Selection]], including the:
 +
:*[[Senior regroup]]
 +
:*[[Junior regroup]]
 +
*[[General Selection]]
 +
*[[Summer Transfer of Fall Assignment]]
  
= Registration =
+
== Group Suite Selection vs. General Selection ==
  
Strategize! Refer to this list of [[Housing strategies|housing strategies]].
+
The iron rule by which selection runs is very simple - square pegs must fit in square holes, no exceptions. In order to run an efficient, clean, and unmessy selection process, selection occurs in two passes.  In the first pass, Group Selection, students who have registered as groups pick their housing options. This is where the Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade-esque decision comes into play. When your turn comes and no suite of corresponding size is available, your group is essentially 'dropped' into the second pass of selection (though keeping the same seniority value and assigned lottery number when generating the General Selection order) and must pick into singles and doubles that were leftover when groups of 2 ran out (the only size of which there are more rooms than groups) on your own in [[General Selection]].
  
=== Important rules ===
+
Because lottery numbers have been assigned to everyone in advance, is possible for groups to 'count' and deliberately drop into General Selection. This happens in two cases typically - senior groups with incredible lottery numbers dropping into general so that all the group members pick a Watt studio single for themselves, and Sophomores who want singles but hedging their bets. A sophomore group of 2 can count ahead before their turn comes in Group Selection to see if there would be any singles left by the time everyone ahead of them in General Selection finished picking. If yes, they can drop. If not, they can select a double together, a room that will almost undoubtedly be better than the double they would have picked into blindly during General Selection, because it would have been a leftover.
  
* Men and women may form groups together for Group Suite Selection and General Selection. However, doubles can only be assigned to students of the same gender.
+
== See also ==
* Groups in Group Suite Selection can only choose suites that are the exact size of their group. That is, a group of 6 ''cannot'' split up into 3 groups of 2 in suite selection - they can only choose 6-person suites (if available). If there are no remaining suites matching the size of the group, the group must drop to General Selection, where they can split up as they desire.
+
*[[Housing factors]]
 +
*[[Housing strategies]]
 +
*[[Cutoff history]]
 +
*[[Barnard cap]]
 +
*[[Off-campus housing]] and the [[Off-Campus Housing Assistance]]
  
=== For a double or a suite ===
+
[[Category:Room Selection|*]]
  
Sign up for Group Suite Selection with your friends. Group sizes can range from 2 to 8. You'll only be able to pick a suite that exactly matches your group size. E.g., 2 people can only pick a double, or 5 people can only pick a 5-person suite. Groups of two can only have Columbia students. Groups of 3 or more must be at least 50% composed of Columbia students.
+
== External Links ==
 
+
* [http://www.housingatcu.com Housing@CU]
If you are interested in an [[East Campus exclusion suite|EC exclusion suite]], you can invoke the [[East Campus exclusion suite#East Campus exclusion rule|EC exclusion rule]].
 
 
 
=== For a single in a corridor-style residence hall ===
 
 
 
Sign up for General Selection as an individual.
 
 
 
=== For a single in a corridor-style residence hall near your friends ===
 
 
 
Sign up for General Selection as a group with your friends. Group sizes can range from 2 to 10.
 
 
 
= Lottery =
 
 
 
Once the registration period is over, each individual or group is assigned a random, computer-generated lottery number. (Groups share a single lottery number.)
 
 
 
According to the individual or group's point value and lottery number, the individual or group is assigned an appointment date and time to pick their room or suite. The exact priority is described in above in the article introduction.
 
 
 
Students then try to determine exactly what they'll be able to get, especially by referring to the [[Cutoff history]], though keep in mind that the cutoff history varies greatly from year to year, and cannot accurately predict what will happen.
 
 
 
= Group Suite Selection =
 
 
 
* Group Suite Selection takes place in [[John Jay]] Lounge.
 
* All group members or their proxies will need to come together with their [[CUID]]s. The group can come at their appointment time or any time afterwards.
 
* If a group does not want to pick a double or suite, or it is unable to, the group will automatically drop to General Selection. This applies even if only one member doesn't go along with the group. Group members will keep the same lottery number, and receive a new appointment time accordingly.
 
* [http://www.columbia.edu/cu/housing/docs/returning_students/room-selection/group-suite.html#N10037 Available doubles], minus the unavailable spaces detailed below
 
* [http://www.columbia.edu/cu/housing/docs/returning_students/room-selection/group-suite.html#N10028 Available suites], minus the unavailable spaces detailed below
 
* [http://www.columbia.edu/cu/housing/docs/returning_students/rules-exceptions/space-held.html Unavailable spaces]
 
 
 
=== Barnard cap ===
 
The number of Barnard students allowed to live in Columbia housing is capped. The cap is:
 
 
 
* the number of Columbia students who have chosen to participate in Barnard selection
 
* + the number of Barnard students in Columbia sororities
 
* + the number of Barnard students in Columbia Special Interest Communities
 
 
 
Once this cap is reached, all groups with one or more Barnard members that have not yet selected a room will decrease by the number of Barnard students in it, while the Barnard members will drop to Barnard room selection. That is, if you have 8 people including one Barnard student in the group, and the cap is filled, your group becomes a group of 7.
 
 
 
= Senior regroup =
 
After the last 30-point group has selected, senior-only groups who were previously unable to select housing they wanted are eligible to participate in senior regroup.
 
 
 
Once the last senior-only group's appointment time has passed, all seniors who registered for Suite Selection but did not yet pick can come back to John Jay Lounge, where each group will be able to add/remove members as they see fit.  Once groups have re-formed, they are given a new temporary random lottery number and allowed to pick in that order.
 
 
 
If a group does not pick in senior regroup, they must drop to general selection.  They receive their original lottery number and point value.
 
 
 
= General Selection =
 
 
 
* General Selection takes place online in April.
 
* You can log in and select a room any time from your assigned appointment time until the end of General Selection. It is obviously better to select a room as soon as possible after your assigned appointment time.
 
* The available rooms include all single rooms, and any doubles and suites remaining from Group Suite Selection.
 
 
 
= Summer Transfer of Fall Assignment=
 
 
 
* Once Group Suite Selection and General Selection are over, some space becomes available because students fail to sign their contracts, decide to study abroad, take time off, or transfer to a different school. These spaces are made available through the Summer Transfer of Fall Assignment process.
 
* Students apply for Summer Transfer of Fall Assignment online after General Selection has ended.
 
* The order in which summer transfer requests are fulfilled is determined by two numbers, as in the regular lottery. First, students are subdivided according to their point value. Second, however, students are subdivided according to their <u>reverse</u> lottery number from the regular lottery.
 
* Thus, a request from a student with 30/2999 is fulfilled before a request from a student with 30/1, while is in turn fulfilled before a request from a student with 20/2999, and so on.
 
 
 
== See Also ==
 
[[Off-Campus Housing Assistance]]
 
 
 
[[Category:Housing]]
 

Latest revision as of 15:31, 24 March 2014

Room Selection is the process by which students select a room for the next academic year from the stock of upperclassmen housing. The process is conducted every Spring by Columbia Housing.

Phases

The key phases of the room selection process are as follows (each described in its respective article):

Group Suite Selection vs. General Selection

The iron rule by which selection runs is very simple - square pegs must fit in square holes, no exceptions. In order to run an efficient, clean, and unmessy selection process, selection occurs in two passes. In the first pass, Group Selection, students who have registered as groups pick their housing options. This is where the Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade-esque decision comes into play. When your turn comes and no suite of corresponding size is available, your group is essentially 'dropped' into the second pass of selection (though keeping the same seniority value and assigned lottery number when generating the General Selection order) and must pick into singles and doubles that were leftover when groups of 2 ran out (the only size of which there are more rooms than groups) on your own in General Selection.

Because lottery numbers have been assigned to everyone in advance, is possible for groups to 'count' and deliberately drop into General Selection. This happens in two cases typically - senior groups with incredible lottery numbers dropping into general so that all the group members pick a Watt studio single for themselves, and Sophomores who want singles but hedging their bets. A sophomore group of 2 can count ahead before their turn comes in Group Selection to see if there would be any singles left by the time everyone ahead of them in General Selection finished picking. If yes, they can drop. If not, they can select a double together, a room that will almost undoubtedly be better than the double they would have picked into blindly during General Selection, because it would have been a leftover.

See also

External Links