It’s an annual spring ritual fraught with emotion for many: selecting next year’s lodging. Students often get far more stressed about this than their classes, according to SNC staff. Yet in the end, the vast majority of students are satisfied with where they land.

Before we give you tips on how to best support your student during this often tense time, here’s a quick look at the college’s housing lottery process. In general, students who are the farthest along in their SNC career have priority in housing selection.

• Students are assigned a classification as a second-, third- or fourth-year student. Classifications are calculated by the number of fall and spring semesters they’ve completed through Jan. 1, 2026, not by the number of credits they’ve earned.

• Each student within these three classifications is then assigned a random lottery number. Fourth-year numbers are higher than third-year numbers, which in turn are higher than second-year numbers.

• Once students have confirmed their housing group, the roommates’ numbers are averaged. This means a group with all fourth-year students will have a better lottery average than a fourth-/third-year group or a group of all third-year students.

• Fourth-year groups select their housing first, followed by combined fourth-/third-year groups, then third-year groups, then third-/second-year groups and finally second-year groups.

• Students can’t swap days or times.

March 2: Housing applications available and housing classifications sent to all students


March 6: All new ADA requests due  

March 13: Appeals for housing class standing due


March 19: All housing and commuter applications due


March 26: Students receive lottery date and time via email; golden tickets awarded (see sidebar)


April 1: Housing selection begins for fourth-year and fourth-/third-year groups


April 8: Housing selection begins for third-year and third-/second-year groups


April 15: Housing selection begins for second-year groups


April 16: Housing selection begins for second-year groups, if needed

Certain student groups have a different housing process that’s already been completed. For example, those applying for a residential themed community or the global roommate program.

Encourage honest communication with their potential roommates

It’s not uncommon for a group of students planning to live together to change their minds about one member of the group. While unfortunate, it’s always best to be upfront with that person, as uncomfortable as that may be. Residential Education and Housing staff will help the fourth person find another option.  

Remind them to start the process with several lodging choices

Gries Hall and the college’s 27 homes are the top picks for most students. But there are only so many houses for groups of four, for example, so they may need to select an apartment instead. Most students understand this, and can often figure out if they’ll get their first choice by sharing their numbers with their fellow students. But every year some students are surprised that they didn’t get the house they thought they’d get.

Encourage them not to listen to rumors

Every year there are early rumors that all of the houses have been taken when, in fact, they’re not. Each day of the selection process, the college sends out an update about which lodging is still available. This way, no one is left wondering.  

Tell them not to panic if someone in their group leaves

Sometimes a student decides to leave at the end of the semester, becomes ill or joins another group. The group will keep its original assignment while the college works with them to find an appropriate replacement.  

Advise them to join the waiting list if they’re not happy with the end result

If your student doesn’t snag their first or second choice, they can always ask to be placed on a waiting list for their preferred spot. SNC moves people around for a variety of reasons, from the end of housing selection through the start of the new academic year, so there’s a chance your student will be moved to a more preferential spot.

Each spring, three golden tickets are randomly issued. These coveted tickets allow students to select housing 15 minutes prior to their assigned group selection time. The tickets will be issued for use this year on Thursday, March 26. Here’s an example of how it works.

If a fourth-year group receives a golden ticket for April 1, that group will be able to select their lodging 15 minutes before the first scheduled time for all fourth-year groups.

If a fourth-/third-year group receives a golden ticket for April 1, that group will be able to select their lodging 15 minutes prior to the start of the selection process for all fourth-/third-year groups. It does not bump them ahead of the fourth-year groups.