Housing selection process to change again

From Executive Editor Emily Metz:

GW Housing Programs is planning to change the housing selection process for the second year in a row. Although the new process has yet to be formally announced to the GW student body, a representative from the Residence Hall Association briefed the Student Association Senate last night about the new system.

According to Signey Hawley ’08, vice president of RHA, students will be assigned a number once they enroll at GW. This number is not the students’ lottery number and has no effect on when they register.

Beginning this spring, students will fill out a form online in which they rank their preferences for dorms and select their roommates. On the form, students must put the assigned numbers of their roommates and then rank their housing preferences.

A computer system, then randomly places students in housing assignments. The benefit to the system, said Hawley, is that if all the students who wish to live together put down each others’ numbers, they will end up together.

Although this year, like last year, students will be placed in housing based on their graduation year, Hawley said that students don’t necessarily need to fill a room.

“For example, if two students rank an Ivory Quad as their first choice, and the computer system allots them that room, then those two roommates will live in the Ivory Quad.” said Hawley.

Check out The Daily Colonial on Thursday for a complete report of the new housing selection process.