Room Selection Process

Every student planning to live in a residence hall who does not have an assignment (in a suite, apartment, or house) or who does not have off-campus approval for the coming academic year must draw a number and choose a room through the general numbers draw and room draw process.

Important dates APARTMENTS AND SUITES DRAW QUAD TRIPLES SINGLES DRAW DOUBLES DRAW General Information Single Room Waitlist Available Rooms List

Important dates (subject to change)

General numbers draw

Your room draw number will carry over and be used in all processes you choose to participate in. Room draw numbers will be used to determine your place in the order for selecting a room amongst your selection class (rising seniors, rising juniors, etc.). Learn more about how your class status is determined. A rising senior is a current junior who will become a senior the next academic year. The selection order will begin with the student who drew number one and continues in numerical order until the person with the highest number (furthest from zero) in the class has selected their room.

Priority in the selection process order will be given to senior numbers, then junior numbers, then sophomore numbers.

How the draw number hierarchy works

• A rising senior who draws the number 100 will select their room before a rising junior who draws number 1.
• When selecting a double, triple, or quad occupancy room, the person with the best number in the group should use their number to secure the room for everyone.
• If a rising senior and a rising sophomore plan to room together, the pair would select their room when the rising senior's number is called.
• If two rising juniors plan to room together, the pair would select their room when the better (closer to zero) of their two numbers is called.

All eligible students will be emailed a link during the afternoon on the date listed above to generate your room draw number. Please log in (using your Cornell username and password) and enter the phone number that can be used to contact you if needed.  Hit submit and your room draw number will appear on the screen.  A confirmation email will be sent to you and also sent to the Residence Life staff. 

Students who have a financial hold on their account may generate a number but restrictions apply.

Lottery number carryover

The room draw number you draw will carry over and be used in all processes you choose to participate in.  You will not need to generate a new number for the different processes. Learn more about lottery number carryover.

Roommate tips

Prior to the lottery, students should determine who their roommate will be so they are aware of which room draw number they will use to select the room. It is advised they use the lowest number of the more senior student (by class standing). For another tip, we strongly encourage roommates to make a list of preferred rooms prior to the lottery starting. Depending on where a student is in the selection queue, there may be many rooms to pick from or only a few. By deciding early what rooms are considered favorites, acceptable, or undesirable, students can act quickly once they see what is still available.

Apartment and suites special lotteries

Special spaces eligibility

All students returning to Cornell for the next academic year are eligible to sign up for housing in Russell Hall suites or the Wilch apartments. All suites and apartments have the option of being all-gender. Apartment and suite-style living offer living options that are more independent and require more responsibility for their spaces than the traditional residence halls. Apartments have kitchens while suites do not. Private bathrooms and kitchens will not be cleaned by custodial services. Additional living rooms and storage areas inside the apartment or suite are the responsibility of the student to maintain, and amenities like toilet paper and hand soap may not be provided for private bathrooms. Due to these expectations, a student's disciplinary record may be reviewed to determine eligibility for suites and apartments. Students who participate in the apartment or suite lotteries give their consent for the Residence Life Office to review their conduct history at Cornell College.

Wilch apartments selection

Wilch apartments eligibility: Wilch Apartments consist of five-person, four-person, three-person, and two two-person units. Students must have the matching number of members applying as a group together for the apartment size (i.e. three students for a triple apartment). Students can only be included in one grouping; if they appear in multiple groupings, each group will be disqualified and not considered for selection. It is each group's responsibility to ensure no one is in more than one group.

Entering the Wilch apartments lottery: When the lottery opens on the date listed above, one member of the group should collect the names, ID numbers, housing selection status, and room draw numbers for each member in their group and enter this information into the Wilch apartments lottery form. The lottery form must be submitted to the Residence Life Office within the Wilch apartments lottery opening and closing dates listed above. Forms sent outside those dates will not be considered. The lottery form can be emailed as an attachment to res_life@cornellcollege.edu using the subject line "Wilch apartments lottery application" to ensure proper handling, and should include each member of the group in the email (either in the To: or CC: line). Alternatively, the form can be delivered in person to the Residence Life office.

How the Wilch apartments lottery works: Once the lottery closes on the date listed above, Residence Life will prioritize groups based on housing selection class and order them based on room draw numbers within each class.

Examples of group selection order prioritization

1.  A group of all rising seniors* will be placed in order by the best rising senior number in the group. 
2. A group of one rising junior and two rising sophomores will be placed in order based on the rising junior number in the group.
3. A group of four rising seniors will have priority over a group of one rising senior and three rising juniors, or a group of four rising juniors.

*a rising senior is a current junior who will become a senior the next academic year.

Assigned groups will be notified via email by 4 p.m. CST on the date listed above. All other groups will receive an email notification that they were not selected and can begin making plans for which housing selection process they'd like to participate in next. Students assigned will be considered housed and will not be eligible to participate in any remaining housing selection process.

Russell Hall suites selection

Russell Hall suites eligibility: Russell Hall suites are made up of individual units with two single rooms and one double room. Suites 120, 225, and 325 are staff suites and not available to select. Students must have four members applying as a group. Students can only be included in one grouping; if they appear in multiple groupings, each group will be disqualified and not considered for selection. It is each group's responsibility to ensure no one is in more than one group.

Entering the Russell Hall suites lottery: When the lottery opens on the date listed above, an email with the application link is sent to all students. One member of the group should collect the names, ID numbers, housing selection status, and room draw numbers for each member in their group. This person will log in to the application link provided and fill out which student will live in which room should their group be selected. This person will also rank each available suite in order, starting with the group's top preference and working down the list to their last preference

How the Russell Hall lottery works: Once the lottery closes on the date listed above, Residence Life will prioritize groups based on housing selection class and order them based on room draw numbers within each class.

Examples of group selection order prioritization

1.  A group of all rising seniors* will be placed in order by the best rising senior number in the group. 
2. A group of one rising junior and two rising sophomores will be placed in order based on the rising junior number in the group.
3. A group of four rising seniors will have priority over a group of one rising senior and three rising juniors, or a group of four rising juniors.

*a rising senior is a current junior who will become a senior the next academic year.

Once the selection order has been determined, Residence Life staff will use the groups application to determine their housing assignments. The first group in the order will receive their top preference.  The second group in order will receive their top preference unless that space was already assigned, then the group will receive their second preference. This order continues until all suites are assigned. Not all groups will be assigned if available rooms run out.

Assigned groups will be notified via email by 4 p.m. CST on the date listed above. All other groups will receive an email notification that they were not selected and can begin making plans for which housing selection process they'd like to participate in next. Students assigned will be considered housed and will not be eligible to participate in any remaining housing selection process.

Quads, triples, and singles

The quad, triples, and singles lottery differs from the doubles lottery in that the quad, triples, and singles lottery is not a live process whereas the double lottery is. For the non-live process, students who submit their application early do not benefit over those who submit their applications close to the deadline. Students only benefit by turning in their application on-time and then are considered in order of their room draw number after the deadline closes.

The general housing lottery contains available quads, triples, and singles primarily located in Bowman-Carter Hall, Merner Hall, Pfeiffer Hall, and Olin Hall. A select number of singles will also be available in some of the first-year residence halls.

Room selection eligibility (quads, and triples)

Quad eligibility: Students must have four members applying together. Students can only be included in one grouping; if they appear in multiple groupings, each group will be disqualified and not considered for selection. It is each group's responsibility to ensure no one is in more than one group.

Triple eligibility: Students must have three members applying together. Students can only be included in one grouping; if they appear in multiple groupings, each group will be disqualified and not considered for selection. It is each group's responsibility to ensure no one is in more than one group.

Entering the lotteries (quads, triples, and singles)

Quads and triples: The respective room lottery will begin at 8:30 a.m. CST on the respective opening date listed above.  An email with the application link is sent to all students that morning. Only one member of the group must log in to the application link provided and fill out each group member's names and student ID numbers. This person will also rank each available room in order, starting with the group's top preference and working down the list to their last preference. Each lottery will close at 8:30 a.m. CST on the closing date listed above.

Singles: This lottery works the same as quads and triples but with only one student applying instead of a group. When the lottery opens, a student interested in a single room logs in to the application link provided and enters their name and student ID.  They rank each available single in order starting with their top preference and working down the list to their last preference.

How the lotteries work (quads, triples, and singles)

Quads and triples: In the Residence Life office, group selection order will be prioritized by the best number from the general numbers draw of all the members of the group. Once the selection order has been determined, Residence Life staff will use the groups application to determine their housing assignments. The first group in the order will receive their top preference.  The second group in order will receive their top preference unless that space was already assigned, then the group will receive their second preference. This order continues until all suites are assigned. Not all groups will be assigned if available rooms run out.

Examples of group selection order prioritization

1. A group of all rising seniors* will be placed in order by the best rising senior number in the group. 
2. A group of one rising junior and two rising sophomores will be placed in order based on the rising junior number in the group.
3. A group of four rising seniors will have priority over a group of one rising senior and three rising juniors, or a group of four rising juniors.

*a rising senior is a current junior who will become a senior the next academic year.

Singles: This lottery works the same as quads and triples but with only one student participating instead of a group. Not all students will be assigned to singles if available rooms run out.

Notification of lottery status

Members of the groups assigned to a quad or triple, and single students who are assigned a single room will be notified via email by 4 p.m. CST on the respective notification dates listed above.  All other groups and single students who were not selected through the lottery will receive an email update the same afternoon so they can begin making plans for which housing selection process they would like to participate in next. Students assigned will be considered housed and will not be eligible to participate in any remaining housing selection process.

If all single rooms are assigned, students can join the single room waitlist in case availabilities appear at a later date. Learn more about the single room waitlist.

Doubles Housing Selection Lotteries

Double lottery eligibility

All remaining students who have not been assigned a room through the quads, triples, singles, or apartment and suites lotteries will automatically enter the doubles lottery.

How the double lottery works

(NEW) Entering the doubles lottery: Starting for 2025-2026, the double room lottery will replicate the other lotteries and no longer be a live process. Students will rank their preferred buildings and floors. The decision to not offer the ranking of every room on campus is due to the overwhelming number of choices that would need to be ranked. However, students will still be able to request a select number of exact room numbers.

Depending on a student's class standing, they will participate in one of three separate double room selection dates:

• The remaining rising senior* numbers will begin to select early in the week
• The remaining rising junior numbers will begin to select mid-week
• The remaining rising sophomore numbers will begin at the end of the week

*a rising senior is a current junior who will become a senior the next academic year.

When the lottery opens, a student logs in to the application link provided and enters the name and student IDs of themselves and their roommate. They rank each residence hall and floor in order starting with their top preference and working down the list to their last preference. Students also may list a select number of exact room numbers that take precedent over their previous rankings.

Students who submit their application early do not benefit over those who submit their applications close to the deadline. Students only benefit by turning in their application on-time and then are considered in order of their room draw number after the deadline closes.

Once a class' selection date is over, Residence Life staff will use lottery numbers to determine housing assignments. The first double pair in the order will receive their top preference prioritizing their specific room number list before their hall and floor rankings.  The second pair in order will receive their top preference in the same way unless that space was already assigned, then the group will receive their second preference. This order continues until all students from the class are assigned. Rooms that are selected will be removed from the following day's selection for the class below them.

Double pairs will be notified via email no later than the week following double room selection.

Available Rooms List

During the spring semester room selection process, this section will update and have a link to a live list of available rooms. As rooms are chosen, the list will change.