Residence Life Home > Housing Selection > General Housing Selection Information

Housing Deposit

Current residential students will NOT be required to submit a $200 housing deposit to participate in housing selection. The deposit you have on file for this year will roll to next year. You will forfeit the deposit if you file a housing contract and then cancel or apply for release for any reason. Otherwise, the deposit will stay on file until you graduate or are no longer a residential student.

Only students who are not currently residing on campus (study abroad, leave of absence, off-campus students) will be required to submit a deposit with their paper contracts. The non-refundable deposit is required to be submitted with the housing and dining contract in the Office of Residence Life, Marye House, from February 2 – February 13.

The deposit may be paid by check made payable to the University of Mary Washington, cash, or money order.
The $200 is paid as a housing deposit and is kept on the student’s account until he/she graduates or is no longer a residential student.
Should a student not attend in the fall as planned, or applies for release from the contract for any reason, the housing deposit is forfeited.

The Lottery

Students who submit the Housing and Dining Contract and housing deposit by Friday, February 13, 2009 at 4p.m. will be assigned a Housing Selection lottery number.
Lottery numbers are based on the class level a student should achieve after completion of spring 2009 classes. The names of students within each class level are scrambled and then randomly assigned Housing Selection Lottery numbers, i.e., a senior with 90 credits will have just as much chance at a good number as a senior with 110 credits.
Summer credits taken at UMW or another institution can not be considered for this process.
Lottery numbers will be sent to participants via EagleMail as well as posted in the residence halls and in the Office of Residence Life in Marye House on Monday, February 23, 2009.
Commuting students do not participate in the housing lottery. Commuters who wish to participate in housing selection may only be housed as overfills when pulled into a room by current residential students who plan to continue as residential students for fall 2009. Please note that the Office of Residence Life does not encourage students to overfill.
Housing lottery numbers are not transferable.

Housing Selection Registration

Students will have two options for housing selection registration and must attend one prior to their housing selection.

Pre-registration occurs in the Office of Residence Life in Marye House the day of your selection, from 9:00 - 11:30 a.m. and again from 1:00 - 4:00 p.m. Registration the night of selection begins at 5:00 p.m. prior to the start of housing selection in the Great Hall.
You can pre-register as your schedule permits during the scheduled times.
Please note that housing selection will go in lottery number order, not in the order people register.
All roommates need to be present to register unless a proxy form is presented. The proxy form can be found on our web site or gotten in the Residence Life Office.

Individuals who are not present at Housing Selection in the Great Hall and do not respond after their number has been called three times within the half hour will be called after all other numbers are called that evening.
Forms for those who register late after housing selection begins will be added to the stack in lottery number order. If the number has been passed, the student will be directed to go to the back of the line waiting to enter “Room Selection,” but will not be permitted to go to the head of the line before others who have registered on time. Please see timeline for details.

Housing Selection Evenings

Housing selection begins promptly at 6 p.m. for those registered on selection evenings.

Housing selection is dedicated to class standing as opposed to housing offered. This means that a student selects housing based on his/her class level and randomly assigned lottery number from all housing when it is his/her turn to select on the designated housing selection evening. Please see timeline for details.
Students will attend only one housing selection night.
At registration students will be asked to indicate on their check-in forms their first-, second- and third-choice housing in order to facilitate their thinking about options. All housing options will be available each evening while space permits – apartments (for juniors and seniors), triples, quads, singles, suites and double rooms.
Space permitting, “suite deals” will be offered in each of the residence halls with suite baths. Location of suites will be posted following completion of homesteading. Any two empty rooms adjoined by a bath may be filled as a suite. Residents are required to fill a suite in order to use one lottery number for the two adjoining rooms. Please note that neither RAs nor those assigned to singles are permitted to fill a suite with preferred roommates.
Vacancies will be posted to our website as soon as possible after each evening of General Housing Selection.

General Room Selection Process

Attend pre-registration the day of your selection or come to the Great Hall at 5:00 p.m. on the night of selection to register before housing selection begins. Selection begins promptly at 6:00 p.m. All roommates must be present for registration or a proxy provided for each absent roommate.
Prior to entering the Great Hall at general housing selection, complete the room selection form. *NEW THIS YEAR* Each person will submit his/her own room selection form. You will still be able to sign up with the roommate(s) of your choice so long as housing is still available to accommodate your request.
Three building choices in order of priority will need to be indicated on your housing selection form at registration.
Housing selection numbers of each person in your group will be verified at registration – valid ID is required.
When the best lottery number is called for your group, proceed together to the front of the room and then to the table of your preferred building to select from available rooms when it is your turn. In order to make the process as efficient for everyone as possible, we ask that each group take no more than 5 minutes to select their housing.
Proceed to data entry area where the assignment will be entered to the system. Wait until you have a signed receipt before leaving the area.
It is important that you retain a copy of your housing assignment receipt provided during general housing selection!

Summer Room Change Process

The summer room change list is for all continuing residential students who did not get their building, apartment or roommate preference during housing selection. This is specifically for people who would like Residence Life to reassign them during the summer and is not connected to the fall room change process that takes place once students have moved in.

Any eligible student, who wants an assignment in the University Apartments or a specific building but finds no preferred vacancies when his/her lottery number is called, must secure a room in housing to be eligible for the Summer Room Change List.
As vacancies occur in late spring and summer, students on the list will be contacted and offered space as those housed notify us they are not returning for the fall semester as planned.
Please note that due to the nature of the Summer Room Change List, it is not possible to guarantee that we will be able to house preferred roommates together; however, individuals may elect to decline an offered space and be moved to the bottom of the list for possible future vacancies or to ask if their assigned roommates are willing to room swap so preferred roommates may be assigned together.
When a student is assigned to a vacancy in an apartment, please note it is required that all residents of the apartment sign the overfill agreement form in order for a bedroom to be overfilled. Please note that the Office of Residence Life does not encourage students to overfill.
The Summer Room Change List will end on the first day of fall classes.

The Waiting List - Traditional On-Campus Housing

Students who fail to submit the housing contract and deposit by February 13, including current residents, returning and readmitted students and commuting students will be housed at the end of the housing selection process beginning Wednesday, April 1at 9 a.m., as space permits.
Should housing be unavailable at this time, students will complete a wait list application.
Housing is not guaranteed to students on the wait list.
You will be contacted if/when space becomes available.
Should you decline an offered space, your name will be moved to the bottom of the list.
You will remit a housing contract and $200 non-refundable deposit (if one is not already on account) only if and when space becomes available.
http://www.umw.edu/cas/residencelife/forms/default.php (Link to Wait List form and information)
Questions? Contact the Office of Residence Life at x1058.

Quick Tips for Housing Selection

Submit the housing contract by 4:00 p.m. on Friday, February 13, 2009.
Arrive on time & bring valid UMW ID.
Bring a completed proxy form if selecting for a friend.
Suites, triples and quads must be completely filled when chosen.
Understand the Housing and Dining Services Contract is binding for the entire 2009 -2010 academic year. The contract does not guarantee assignment to the University Apartments, a preferred building, a single or double, or with a preferred roommate.
Do not attempt to go through the selection process more than once.
Please do not participate in the process if you are not returning next year.

Please visit FAQs for Housing Selection – Fall 2009