Location & Hours

Instead of having to go to a centralized location, you will be able to participate from satellite locations. This means you may partake in the lottery by logging into IRIS from home, the library, off-campus, and abroad - almost anywhere!

Old system: Individual lottery numbers
New System: Cohort numbers

Each student will be given a cohort assignment. You will no longer receive an individual lottery number. There will be 4 cohorts per day: 8 AM, 12 PM, 4 PM, and 8 PM. If you do not participate in the lottery during your allotted span of time, you will continue to be able to log into IRIS and participate in the lottery for the remainder of the process.

Old system: Students wait in line
New System: Flexible time slots with staggered groups (cohorts)

The new lottery will be stretched over 14 days. We extended the number of days to allow time for students to attend classes and participate in the lottery. We wouldn’t want you skipping class, now would we! Thus, we created windows of time long enough to allow students to login to IRIS before or after a class to participate in the lottery. Students will be placed in cohorts of 14 - 20 people (depending on how many students participate in the lottery). Those who participate in the senior, theme, and language house lotteries will have smaller, separate cohorts.

Remaining Similar: Proxies
The proxy process will continue to work in the same way. Here is a basic outline:

1. Student enters the lottery application through IRIS
2. Student enters their proxy's Reed email address
3. Proxy receives a "proxy invitation" email with two links: accept proxy job or reject it
4. Proxy clicks "accept" link, which takes him or her to IRIS to log in and a verification screen saying “Thanks!”

Students will be able to manage their proxy assignments (from both ends) through the lottery application on IRIS, (a proxy can be canceled and a proxy can decline to serve). In either case, the other party receives an email verifying the action. Please refer to the Residence Life 2009-2010 lottery guide to learn more about proxies.

When are the lotteries

Theme and Language House Lotteries: March 30 - April 1
This is for the students who applied to live in either a theme dorm or language house and were accepted to the respective dorm or theme.

Senior Lottery: March 30 - April 3
The senior lottery will be for those juniors who will be seniors the following year or seniors who will be returning and graduating in December.

General Lottery: April 3 - April 10
This lottery is for all students who did not participate in the theme, language house, or senior lotteries.

Summer Lottery: April 10 - April 12
This lottery is for all students who want housing for the summer ONLY.

Understanding Reed Housing

How are rooms on campus assigned

Because the college considers the residential experience for new students to be a critical part of their orientation, first-year, exchange, and transfer students are guaranteed housing (if application materials are submitted by the orientation deadline), with spaces reserved in primarily double and triple rooms.

Room placements for continuing students are determined with a lottery system, and by application for rooms in theme dorms and language houses. While we cannot guarantee on-campus housing for all continuing students, we attempt to meet requests fairly.

The Housing Lottery encompasses all housing - Theme Dorms, Language Houses, Apartments, Dorms, and Summer Housing. After a student decides they would like to live on-campus for next year, they register online to be included in the Housing Lottery. A lottery list will then be randomly generated and this list determines the order by which students choose their housing in the lottery. Students will receive an email after signing up for the lottery with a date and time. This is the earliest that a student can enter the housing lottery in IRIS. The lottery is being staggered over 14 days this year so that we can give everyone ample time to log in to the new web interface, choose a room then sign the online contract.

Housing contracts

To live in Reed-sponsored housing, you must sign a contract for the 2009–10 academic year. It is important that you read and understand this legal, binding document.

You will sign the contract electronically when you select a room in the lottery, but we recommend that you review the contract and the Reed College Rights and Responsibilities Guide before the lottery. Contracts and the guide will be available by mid-March, from the residence life office and online.

Once I sign the contract, can I break it?
Yes. If you inform us in writing by Friday, May 22, you will be free from any contractual obligation and will be refunded your full housing deposit. If you have not cancelled by May 22, you will be obligated to fulfill your contract and live on campus for the following full academic year. (More information is available in the Reed College Residential Rights and Responsibilities Guide.) If you wish to break your housing contract after Friday, May 22, you must file a petition that is subject to approval. More information about petitioning to terminate a room and/or board contract may be found on this residence life webpage.

Cohort numbers (formerly Lottery numbers)

Cohort numbers are generated with and the previous year's history in mind. If you were among the last 25 percent of students to choose housing, you will not be in the last 25 percent this year. Cohort numbers can not be traded between students, given away, or sold.

Instead of going to a centralized location, you will be able to participate from satellite locations. This means you may partake in the lottery by logging into IRIS from home, the library, off-campus, and abroad —almost anywhere!

Each student will be given a cohort assignment. You will no longer receive an individual lottery number. There will be four cohorts per day: 8 a.m., noon, 4 p.m., and 8 p.m. If a student does not participate in the lottery during the allotted span of time, he/she will continue to be able to log into IRIS and participate in the lottery for the remainder of the process.

The new lottery will be stretched over 14 days. We have extended the number of days to allow time for students to attend classes and participate in the lottery. (We wouldn’t want you skipping class, now would we!) Students will be placed in cohorts of 14–20 people (depending on how many students participate in the lottery). Those who participate in the senior, summer, theme, and language house lotteries will have smaller, separate cohorts.

Students are assigned to cohorts by a random number generator. Numbers may not be traded, given away, or sold. Cohort numbers will be assigned and posted in IRIS on Friday, March 27, 2009.

How do I become eligible for the lottery

Pay a $100 housing deposit to the business office by noon on Tuesday, March 24. You need to have your Reed College ID to pay your housing deposit. In person, you may pay with cash or check. Online, you may use MasterCard or American Express.
Register for the housing lottery through IRIS by Tuesday, March 24. If you are interested ONLY in summer housing, please make sure to select that option when registering. If you plan to live on campus during the academic year and would like summer housing you do not need to select the summer housing only option.
Look for your cohort number in IRIS on Friday, March 27.
Log into http://housing-lottery.reed.edu to participate in the lottery at your assigned cohort time.You will also be able to link to this address through IRIS.

All continuing students, seniors and non-seniors, register through this application. If you are applying to the theme dorms or language houses, you need to register as well.

If you pay the deposit after the due date you will receive a cohort number, BUT it will not be randomly assigned. You will be automatically placed in a separate and final cohort for your designated lottery.

How does the lottery work for seniors

Rooms are set aside for seniors expecting to graduate December 2009 or May 2010. The senior lottery is only for those rooms. Check the housing plans online in mid-March.

Seniors are automatically entered into both lotteries. They can select a room in the senior lottery or enter the general lottery, if they feel they have a better chance of getting the room they want at that time. For example, you might have number 5 cohort in the senior single lottery and number 1 cohort in the general lottery, and you want to live in Anna Mann. When you look at the floor plans online for Anna Mann, you count eight senior singles and nine general lottery singles. Since you have a low general lottery number, it would be to your advantage to participate in the general lottery. After the senior lottery, all remaining senior-designated rooms and apartments will be made available in the general lottery. After you select a room in the senior lottery, you will receive a prompt that will allow you to select a room for summer housing if you are interested in living in the apartments for summer 2009.

What happens during the lottery

Log into IRIS during your designated cohort time span and pick a room! You will also select a board plan and sign your housing contract at this time. If you missed your designated cohort time, you will still be able to sign into IRIS and participate in the lottery after that time. If you are participating in a lottery to live on campus during the academic year (theme/language, senior/general), you will receive a prompt that will allow you to select a room for summer housing if you are interested.

If you are participating in the summer housing only lottery, you will only have the option to select a room in the apartments for summer 2009 when you log into IRIS during your designated cohort time span.

If I am not on campus for the lottery, can I still get a room

Since the lottery system is online, you should be able to participate anywhere you are, as long as you have an internet connection. If you will not be able to access the internet during the time frame of the lottery, you may use a proxy. Here is the process to set up a proxy.

Student enters the lottery application through IRIS;
Student enters a proxy’s Reed email address;
Proxy receives a “proxy invitation” email with two links: accept proxy job or reject it; and
Proxy clicks “accept” link, which takes her or him to IRIS to log in, and a verification with “thanks!”

Students will be able to manage their proxy assignments through the lottery application on IRIS (a proxy can be canceled and a proxy can decline to serve). In either case, the other party receives an email verifying the action.

How does the lottery work if I want to have a roommate

If you are interested in having a roommate, you will need to pair up before the lottery. To form a roommate pair, access the lottery application through IRIS, and enter your desired roommate’s Reed email address. Your potential roommate receives a “roommate invitation” with two links: to accept the roommate pairing or reject it. The roommate clicks “accept” link, which takes the student to IRIS where he or she will log in, at which point the student will see a verification with “thanks!”

During the lottery, if you are part of a roommate pair should use the best (lowest) cohort number to select a room. Once one of you selects a room, no one else except your designated roommate can take the other spot in the room. For example: Bob and Chris have signed up to be roommates. Bob has a number 2 cohort and Chris has a number 5 cohort. Since they are a roommate pair, both Bob and Chris can log into the lottery during the designated time for the number 2 cohort. Even if Chris does not enter the lottery system until the number 5 cohort time, his spot in the room with Bob will still be there. Students will be able to manage the roommate assignment through the lottery application on IRIS. At any point during the lottery process either person may decide not to be a roommate and to participate in the lottery as an individual. If you separate from your roommate, you will both revert to your assigned cohort number.

What can I do ahead of time to make my selection easier

You will find the process easier if you study the floor plans before you come to the lottery. The plans will be available online by mid-March.

What if I don't get a room on campus

Last year we did not run out of rooms in the lottery. However, if the rooms are all selected before your number comes up, your name will be added to a waiting list and you will be offered rooms as they become available. Members of the residence life staff will meet with you to discuss your options and collect information about your preferences.

How do I increase my chances of getting a room on campus

You might seriously thinkg about applying for the theme dorms or the language houses. If you apply for these spaces, you are making a committment to live there, if accepted. If you choose not to apply to a theme dorm or language house, make sure you enter the lottery, pay your deposit and participate in the lottery room selection. If you miss one of these steps, you will end up at the end of the lottery cohorts.

Application-Only Housing

Language Houses

Students interested in Chinese, Russian, French, German, or Spanish can apply to live in these unique houses. Language house students are required to make a commitment to participate in the activities of the house and speak the language of the house. Applications and more information are available online. Applications to live in language houses are due, Friday, March 13. Students accepted to a language house are not eligible for the general housing lottery. After students are accepted to a house they will participate in the language house lottery Monday–Wednesday, March 30–April 1. After you select a room in the language house lotery, you will receive a prompt that will allow you to select a room for summer housing if you are interested in living in the apartments for summer 2009.

Theme Dorms

Theme dorms are typically a floor or area within a residence hall occupied by a group of students with a common social or academic interest such as Japanese, dance, or classics. The residence life committee selects theme dorms that are proposed by individuals or groups of students. After the theme dorm proposals are chosen, applications for each theme dorm become available to all continuing students. The organizer of the dorm, along with a representative from the residence life committee, select the students to be invited to live in each of the theme dorms.

Applications for proposed theme dorms are due Friday, February 13. Applications to live in a theme dorm are due Friday, March 13. Students accepted to a theme dorm are not eligible for the general housing lottery, but will participate in the theme dorm lottery, Monday–Wednesday, March 30–April 1. After you select a room in the theme dorm lottery, you will receive a prompt that will allow you to select a room for summer housing if you are interested in living in the apartments for summer 2009.

Reed College Apartment Housing

Squatting your current apartment

The Reed College Apartments and the Birchwoods feature one- and two-bedroom apartments. Students who live in a Reed apartment may stay in their current apartment for the following academic year if they agree to sign a summer housing contract. Students now living in the apartments have until noon on Wednesday, March 23, to reserve their current apartment. Information will be sent out mid–March, when the summer rent prices are set by the college.
All apartments that are not squatted are available in the lottery process.

Summer 2009 housing

Birchwood apartments that are not squatted are available to Reed students for the summer. The apartments are rented for a period that starts when the dorms close in the spring and ends a few weeks before the dorms reopen. Students who have a contract for the 2009–10 academic year are able to move from the apartments directly to their dorm room.* This allows students to have a place to live all summer without having to worry about storing their belongings and not having a place to live. The apartments are fully furnished and have full kitchens, and telephone and computer access. We do not provide pots/pans etc.

If you are participating in the lottery to live on campus during the academic year (theme/language, senior/general), you will receive a prompt (after you select a room in your specific lottery) that will allow you to select a room for summer housing if you are interested. Anyone who has registered for the summer only housing lottery will log in during the designated cohort time to select a room for summer 2009. The apartments are popular for the summer and usually fill up during the summer lottery period.

* If you are moving into a different apartment for the academic year, this option may not be available to you, as someone else might be residing in that apartment in the summer.

Important dates to remember

January 19	Theme dorm proposal applications available
Feb 13	Theme proposals due
March 2	Lottery registration opens/housing deposit; squatting process begins
March 2–13	Theme and language house applications available
March 23	Deadline to reserve squatted apartments
March 24	Deadline for housing deposit & registering for the lottery; deadline to sign up for a proxy
March 26	Theme and language house acceptance emails sent to students
March 27	Lottery cohort numbers available in IRIS
LOTTERIES	March 30–April 1: theme and language March 30–April 3: senior April 3–10: general April 10–12: summer
May 22	LAST DAY TO CANCEL YOUR SUMMER OR ACADEMIC YEAR HOUSING CONTRACT

Top of Page