Off Campus Housing Lottery

Every year, Westminster provides the opportunity for a limited number of students to live off-campus. Off campus living can be a great opportunity for student to experience more independence. It also puts a larger amount of responsibility on a student. Students become responsible for paying rent, cleaning their apartment, cooking meals, and obeying the town laws and ordinances. The following information may be helpful for students looking to take that next step to off-campus housing.

Off Campus Lottery Application 2013-2014

Who?

Off campus housing is open to students who have lived on a college campus for two years and have junior or senior standing (62+ credits) in the academic year in which they will reside off campus. Similar to fraternity living, off campus students must maintain at least a 2.0 GPA. Off campus housing is awarded to students who meet these criteria and participate in Off Campus Lottery. Students who will be enrolled for a fifth year are released from the residency requirement.  Therefore, they are not eligible to participate in the Off Campus Lottery process.

If one member of the group is found to be ineligible based on these requirements, the entire application will be disqualified.  The lottery is conducted by class level for either individuals or single gender groups of students. The lottery allows for a limited number of men and women. The order in which students may draw will be the following:

    • Current Seniors and Senior/Senior Groups
    • Current Senior and Junior Groups
    • Current Juniors and Junior/Junior Groups
    • Current Junior and Sophomore Groups
    • Current Sophomores and Sophomore/Sophomore Group

     

A waiting list will be kept for students who participate in the lottery but do not receive permission to reside off campus. If additional off campus opportunities become available, students on the list will be contacted.

 

When?

Applications

  • Applications for 2013-14 off campus lottery will be available online beginning November 19, 2012.
  • Applications due in Student Affairs Office no later than Friday, November 30, 2012 at 4:30pm.
  • To complete the application, student need to only print and sign their name in the first column.

Notification

Recipients of off campus status will be posted online at noon on Friday, December 7, 2012.

Off Campus Lottery Basics

Groups of students may not exceed three people and there are two separate processes for men and women. Each group will list the students who they intend to live with on the application. The student within this group who has the lowest lottery number will represent the group. 

The order in which groups will receive off campus permission will be based on lottery number and the total approved off campus spaces. Lottery numbers are assigned randomly by computer and are based on class status as determined by the Registrar's Office.

Any falsification of information including but not limited to class status, names of group members, number of total members in a group, or deception with the lottery numbers/process may result in a group or individual being disqualified from the Off Campus Lottery. Any deliberate deception by a group should be brought to the attention of the Student Affairs Office.

Off campus students are required to have a lease on file with the Student Affairs Office. Leases are due by June 1. Failure to submit a lease will affect off campus status.

The College reserves the right to assess room and board charges to students who choose to reside off campus without first receiving permission from the College. Keep in mind that receiving permission to live off campus is different from commuting. A commuter student is one to who lives at home with at least one parent. To commute, a student's permanent address needs to be within reasonable driving distance of the college, and the parent must submit a letter to the college stating the student will be living at home while attending Westminster. A commuting status will affect a student's financial aid package.