'Common' off-campus housing lottery for juniors because of larger first-year classes, transfers

With fewer beds than usual available for next spring, Duke is offering an off-campus housing lottery, mostly for juniors returning from studying abroad. 

The lottery is “common” for the spring, wrote Joe Gonzalez, dean for residential life, in an email to The Chronicle. Juniors that have fulfilled their five-semester residency requirement—which includes fall or spring semesters abroad—are eligible for the lottery. 

Emails were sent to residents Friday instructing them to fill out the lottery by Oct. 12. The lottery results will be announced Oct. 31. 

Why fewer beds this year? According to Gonzalez, it is because of an increased number of transfer students admitted and “consistently” larger first-year classes. The increase in demand for on-campus housing is unrelated to construction on campus, including the renovation of Craven, Gonzalez said. 

Gonzalez said the lottery was not offered for housing in the 2018 spring semester because Trinity House provided enough room. Typically, 50 to 100 students are permitted to move off-campus. 

“We do expect the number to be higher this year because we opened this fall with fewer vacancies than usual,” Gonzalez wrote. “Thus we will not have as many beds available for students returning in the spring, though it is too soon to know exactly what the numbers will be.”

An email from Housing and Residence Life read that many spring assignments will be on Central Campus. It also added that HRL cannot guarantee housing with a preferred roommate, and that it will only give single rooms to those with a medical need via the Student Disability Access Office. 

“We recognize this not ideal information and encourage students to submit for the Off-Campus Lottery,” the email read.


Ben Leonard profile
Ben Leonard

Managing Editor 2018-19, 2019-2020 Features & Investigations Editor 


A member of the class of 2020 hailing from San Mateo, Calif., Ben is The Chronicle's Towerview Editor and Investigations Editor. Outside of the Chronicle, he is a public policy major working towards a journalism certificate, has interned at the Tampa Bay Times and NBC News and frequents Pitchforks. 

Discussion

Share and discuss “'Common' off-campus housing lottery for juniors because of larger first-year classes, transfers” on social media.