Housing Designations
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The lottery is Hampshire's annual room choosing process. The lottery takes place over a two-week period at the end of the spring semester. The spring 2013 lottery will begin April 23 and end May 2. Only one size mod will be available per day, starting with four person mods and continuing through ten person mods. The last day of the lottery will to allocate dorm halls and Prescott Suite 104. Individual students have lottery points. To participate in the lottery, students get together in groups and combine their lottery points. They use this total number of points to try and "buy" a mod by completing a registration packet that is submitted to the housing operations office. Groups use a registration form to rank all of the mods of a size from the one they want most to the one in which they are least interested. Groups are awarded their highest ranked mod that has not already been won by a group with more points.

Download the Spring 2013 Lottery 2.0 Information and Instructions booklet (pdf)

New for 2013 lottery! Keep track of what mods have been won for how many points and what their designations are with these handy lottery Bingo cards! Also available in hard copy at the housing operations office.
Greenwich (pdf) mods 1-40
Enfield (pdf) mods 41-71
Prescott (pdf) mods 72-105; includes suite 104

Frequently Asked Questions

Who can participate in the lottery?
What should I do to prepare for the lottery?
How do I participate in the lottery?
How exactly does the lottery work?
What do I do if I win a mod?
What do I do if I don't win a mod or choose not to participate in the lottery?
What happens if someone from my lottery group goes on leave/field study/exchange?

Who can participate in the lottery?

All continuting students are eligible to participate, with the exception of those who are:
* Granted off-campus housing
* Filed for leave, field study, exchange, or withdrawal
* Denied lottery privileges by house staff or dean as disciplinary sanction
* Input into identity-based, intentional, and institutionally-reserved space

What should I do to prepare for the lottery?

Finding modmates can seem overwhelming, especially when your friends may not be a good match for your preferred living environment. Residence life and housing is here to help. We’ll be holding events before and during the lottery to help people meet up, compare living styles, and make good matches. We’ll be announcing those events via email and Facebook. You can leave a message on our Wall about what kind of mod environment you’d like to live in or about your group and see who responds. We’ll also be starting discussions you can join in on.

Choose your modmates carefully. It is extremely important to form a lottery group of students with whom you can live comfortably, rather than students with lots of points who aren't a good match for you. Talk with potential modmates about the issues that you’ll face when living together, and whether you would be compatible modmates. This can include: who will share the double, tolerance to smoke on clothing, cleanliness, cooking/shopping together, and noise level.

Once you’ve formed your group, discuss and fill out a modmate contract (pdf) to set designations and norms for your mod. Completing a modmate contract will earn your group one extra point.  The contract helps guide a conversation amoung groups about how they would like to live together. Contracts will be kept on file and residents will have the chance to review and revise their agreements during their initial mod meeting in the fall. The contract must be completed in full and signed by every member of your group (not currently on leave/exchange/field study) to qualify for an extra point. If you fail to win a mod one day, the contract will be returned to the person your group designates as its point person. Groups may use the same modmate contract in the next size lottery they participate in. All new members must sign the contrac to be awarded the extra point.

Make a contingency plan with your group in case you don’t get the initial size mod you try for (i.e. line up people to add to your group if needed). Groups and individuals can post on the bulletin boards in the HOO lobby to search for lottery groups/members. Residence life and housing will be hosting programs to facilitate meeting new group members.

How do I participate in the lottery?

Get your lottery point letter. Lottery point letters will be in your mailbox by 4 p.m. on April 22. Lottery point letters for students on leave will be put in their proxy's mailbox.

Complete a registration form (pdf) for the mod size you will try for first. Registration forms will be available in the entryway of the HOO beginning 4 p.m. on April 19. Do this with your whole group, as you will need to rank all of the mods of that size from the one you want most to the one you are least interested in. You will also have the option to put an ‘X’ on any mod you absolutely don’t want to live in.

Submit a complete registration packet to the HOO by 1 p.m. sharp on the day of the lottery for the size of mod your group is trying to win. LATE REGISTRATION PACKETS CANNOT BE ACCEPTED. 1:01 p.m. is too late. A complete packet includes: a registration form, point letters for every member of your group, and an optional modmate contract You can submit packets 24 hours a day by using the drop-slot in the main HOO door. Please be 100% sure your packet is complete and secured together. You cannot amend/change packets after submission.

Results of each day’s lottery will be posted in the window of the HOO by 4:30 p.m. accompained by data from that day for your information. The results will also be on the intranet. If members of a lottery group have a concern about the outcome of the lottery and believe an error may have occurred, they must make an appointment with the assistant director of residence life within 24 hours of the results being posted. An appointment sign-up sheet for students with concerns will be posted each day with the results.

If you win a mod: Congratulations! If you did not win a mod: Regroup and try again! Your point letter will be in your mailbox by 4:30 p.m. on the day of the lottery in which you participated. Get a form for the next-sized mod you are interested in, check the date for that lottery, and add people to your group so it matches the correct size. Get your new members to sign on to your designations worksheet for an extra point. Submit your new registration packet as before.

How exactly does the lottery work?

Once your registration packet has been submitted members of the HOO staff will review it to ensure all point letters are attached and your lottery points have been recorded accurately. As registration packets come in we enter the group's name, total number of points, and mods in order of ranking into a spreadsheet. Once the registration deadline has passed we sort the spreadsheet so the group with the most points is on the top line and the group with the least points is on the bottom line.

Groups are awarded their highest ranked mod that has not already been won by a group with more points. In the case of a tie, the group with the higher average divisional status will win. If there is still a tie the group with the higher average age as of September 1, 2013 will win. At least two members of the HOO staff and an intern observer with no stake in that day's lottery independently review the spreadsheet and compare results for accuracy.


What do I do if I win a mod?

Each person in your group will need to go to the HOO to sign up for a room. Room sign-up runs from 9 a.m. April 24 through 4 p.m. May 10. You will also have the opportuntiy to  list students you would be interested in living with if any vacancies arise. We call these students "alternates." This is your chance to have a say in who may be put into the mod.

What do I do if I don't win a mod or choose not to participate in the lottery?

Dorm room sign up for students unhoused after the lottery begins 3 p.m. on May 2 and continues through 4 p.m. on May 10. Dorm rooms will be given out on a first-come, first-served basis. Any student who does not win a space in the lottery or signs up for a dorm room will be assigned a room by the HOO.


What happens if someone from my lottery group goes on leave/field study/exchange?

The housing operations office makes all room assignments after the lottery, including the time between fall and spring semester. Mod residents do not choose replacement modmates if a room is vacated. Students returning from leave/field study/exchange, entering students, and dorm residents on wait lists will be housed in vacant rooms prior to any other student on campus being considered for that vacancy. Placement decisions are made based on the unhoused student’s preferences and the mod’s designations.

Every effort will be made to house students whom the mod has designated as alternates. The mod may designate students living in dorms or who expect to return to campus in the spring of 2014.