Editor’s note: This article was initially published in The Daily Gazette, Swarthmore’s online, daily newspaper founded in Fall 1996. As of Fall 2018, the DG has merged with The Phoenix. See the about page to read more about the DG.
The junior housing lottery began when #410 picked a double in Worth L, and ended when #662 and approximately thirty other juniors decided to accept spots on the A waitlist for singles.
Looking ahead to the rising sophomore lottery, there are approximately twenty Willets doubles, a triple in Parrish, a handful of quads and quints in PPR, one Woolman double, and several doubles in Mary Lyon to be had.
Singles in Parrish, Worth, and Mertz were some of the first to disappear, but by the end of the night even basements were hot commodities. A grim line of students marched forward to accept the last ten singles in Mary Lyon, with a cheer going through the crowd as Mary Lyon closed and the waitlist opened up. Many rising juniors chose doubles or quads rather than face living in Mary Lyon or the uncertainty of the waitlist, and a handful even decided to look for rising sophomore roommates, which would allow them to pick first on Wednesday night.
All of this is in stark contrast to last year’s lottery, when there was no waitlist for juniors and when even a third-cohort sophomore was able to get a single in Pittenger. One reason for the crunch is because around 80 juniors will be studying abroad next fall, whereas last fall over 100 juniors were abroad. It is also possible that an expansion of the number of blocking choices meant that more blocks were awarded and thus that fewer rising sophomores will be at Wednesday’s lottery than usual.
Whatever the reason, the full results have been posted outside the Housing Office in Parrish, and rising sophomores who want to avoid the waitlist might do well to study their options.