2019 Dunster Lottery Handbook - Dunster House

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2019 Dunster Lottery Handbook
I. Eligibility
If you’re a Rising Junior (current sophomore) or Rising Senior (current junior) living in residence now, and you
have not cancelled your housing for fall 2019 by submitting a cancellation form, you automatically have a housing
reservation for next year and are eligible to participate in the lottery. However, students who will be returning
from a leave of absence, study abroad, or off-campus housing in fall 2019 are not be eligible for housing
unless they filed a Returning Student Application (RSA) with the Dean of Students Office by the February 11th
deadline. These students received a confirmation email from my office on February 8th if they completed the form
by this date. If they missed the DSO deadline, they can fill out the RSA form now in order to be added to the space
available waitlist, but they are not guaranteed on-campus housing by the College and therefore are not eligible to
participate in the lottery.

Off-Cycle Students: If you have a housing reservation for fall 2019 but took time off from the College at some
point, you may choose to be housed as if you were a member of your original class. For example, if you took a leave
of absence for one or two semesters and your original classmates are now Rising Seniors, you can enter the lottery as
a Rising Senior this year. However, you can only enter the lottery as a Rising Senior once. In future lotteries you will
enter as a Rising Junior. This option is only available to off-cycle students. Studying abroad or moving off-campus
do not qualify as taking a leave from the College.

If you lotteried as a senior in a previous year but then took a leave of absence prior to the start of the term, you may
enter the lottery again as a Rising Senior.

Students with Advanced Standing: If you have advanced standing and will be in your third and final year of
College starting in fall 2019 you may enter the lottery as a Rising Senior. You can only exercise this option if you are
on the official list of students with advanced standing (please check your academic status with Diana Hovsepian at
hovsep@fas.harvard.edu). If you do so, you may only enter the lottery as a Rising Senior once. If you choose to stay
an additional year, you w5ill enter the next lottery as a Rising Junior.

Inter-House Transfers: If you were successful in transferring to Dunster in the first IHT round for fall 2019, you
are eligible to participate in the housing lottery.

If you are an off-cycle student or have advanced standing and would like to enter either of the senior lotteries,
you must email Rachel to confirm eligibility by noon on Monday, April 1.
If you have neither taken time off from the College nor have advanced standing, your class year determines
whether you are defined as a Rising Senior or Rising Junior in the lottery.

II. Lottery Types
There are two types of lotteries in Dunster: The Large Suites Housing Lottery and the General Housing Lottery.
The Large Suites Housing lottery is for suites comprised of 5, 6, 7, or 8 bed-spaces. The General Housing Lottery is
for suites comprised of 1, 2, 3, or 4 bed-spaces (aka singles, doubles, triples, and quads).

The lottery sequence is as follows:

1) Rising Senior Large Suites Lottery immediately followed by Mixed Rising Senior-Junior Suites Lottery
2) Rising Senior General Lottery immediately followed by Mixed Rising Senior-Junior General Lottery
3) Rising Junior Large Suites Lottery (If 5 to 8 person suites remain after senior lotteries)
4) Rising Junior General Lottery

The Large Suites Housing Lottery

To participate in this lottery your group size must be between 5 and 8 students. Once you decide which students you
want to live with, if your group is between 5 and 8 people and you want to live in a large suite, this lottery makes the
most sense for you and your friends!

Your group will choose a lottery number at the time of registration. There will be more numbers than needed, as we
don’t know in advance how many groups will be registering. The lottery numbers will be released electronically shortly
after registration closes, at which point you will see all the chosen numbers and the lottery order.

When your lottery number is called you’re welcome to choose any of the available suites in which the total bed count
matches your group size. For example, if you are a group of 7, you are ineligible to select the 8-person suite, as bed-
spaces cannot be left open within suites. If your group size is larger than the size of the available suites when your
lottery number is called you’re welcome to either a) choose a smaller suite and have some members participate in the
general lottery, or b) choose no suite and instead have all members participate in the general lottery.

Similarly, if your group does not wish to select any of the available suites by the time your lottery number is called
you can instead choose to participate in the general lottery.

If you’re unable to select housing during the Large Suites Lottery for any reason, you will have the chance to form a
separate rooming group and register for the General Lottery. All the suites that were not chosen in the Large Suites
lottery will again become available in the General lottery.

More detailed information on how the Large Suites Lottery works, including rules and registration information, can
be found on pages 6-7.

(Curious why we have a separate Large Suites Lottery? See the FAQ section at the back of the handbook!)

The General Housing Lottery

The General Housing Lottery takes place after the Large Suites Housing Lottery. In the General Lottery you can
enter as either an individual or as part of a rooming group of up to 8 people and choose any combination of suites
where the total bed count matches your group size. For example, a 6-person rooming group might choose six singles,
or two triples, or a quad and a double, etc. As your choice of housing depends on space availability, it is beneficial to
enter as a group as opposed to an individual. Even if you desire a single, this gives you the flexibility to choose a suite
of your choice, with another student of your choice, if there are no singles available by the time your number is called.
(Rising Juniors it is especially helpful to enter the general lottery as part of an even numbered group. For more
information on why, please see the FAQ section at the back of the handbook.) Students choose their lottery numbers
at the time of registration. More detailed information on how the General Lottery works, including rules and
registration information can be found on pages 7-8.

Regardless of which lottery (or lotteries) you decide to participate in, communicate with your rooming group members
early and often to prepare for contingencies in case your preferred housing choices are not available by the time your
lottery number is called. The lottery moves quickly and there will not be time to make these group decisions on
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the spot. Have these discussions early and make sure all members are in agreement about your housing
plans in advance.

III. Rooming Groups
Students can choose to be part of a rooming group, or they may participate in the General Housing Lottery as
individuals.

Rooming groups consist of two or more students who would like to select their housing at the same time. You can
officially form a rooming group by submitting a lottery registration form signed by all group members.

You are required to submit a registration form by the deadline, either as an individual or as part of a rooming
group, to participate in the lottery.

In the Large Suites Lottery, your rooming group is limited to between 5 and 8 students. These are the students whom
you will be living with in your chosen suite.

In the General Lottery, your rooming group members are those you either want to live with in the same suite, or to
live near in a different suite. In the General Lottery, forming a rooming group enables you to select rooms at the same
time, but it does not guarantee that the rooms chosen will be near one another. In the General Lottery, rooming
groups are limited to between 2 and 8 students.

Rooming With Students Returning from Leave, Study Abroad, or Off-Campus Housing

A rooming group may include students who are on a leave of absence or are studying abroad only if they have filled
out the Returning Student Application by the DSO deadline, guaranteeing them housing in the fall (see page 1).

These students must register for the lottery either as an individual or as part of a rooming group by emailing
Rachel by the corresponding lottery registration deadline (please see the lottery calendar). Rooming groups that
include students not currently in residence should list these students’ names on their registration form with a note
that they will be registering via email. Students listed in a registered rooming group are then authorized to make
housing selections on behalf of all students in the group, regardless of whether they attend the lottery.

Participating by Proxy

If no one in the group can attend room selection, the group must designate a proxy by emailing Rachel by
the lottery registration deadline. Copy all group members and the proxy on the email. This proxy can be a student
or Rachel. The student or group must agree to provide the proxy a long list of ranked housing preferences to aid
in room selection.

Groups of students studying abroad or on a leave of absence may form their own rooming groups and enter the
lottery by proxy under these same rules.

Mixed Rising Senior-Junior Groups

Rising Seniors and Rising Juniors are welcome to form rooming groups together. These groups will lottery
immediately after the Rising Senior-Only groups in the case of both the Large Suites Lottery and the General Housing
Lottery. The ratio of Rising Seniors to Rising Juniors within the group does not have an impact on the group lottery
number, which is drawn at random.

Compatibility:

The Harvard Houses are typically filled to capacity. Please think carefully about which students you want to live
with before forming a rooming group. Also make sure you are fully committed to living in a variety of rooming
arrangements with the students in your group in case your preferred housing choices are not available.

Below are a few topics we would strongly recommend all students discuss in advance of forming a rooming group.
It is important to have these conversations honestly and openly with all group members, so you can make the best
possible decisions about your future housing accommodations.

1. How will you share the space? Does your desired suite have a shared common room? Shared bedrooms? A
shared bathroom? Discuss these different housing scenarios, each person’s comfort level, daily habits, and
approach to occupying different living spaces.

2. Is anyone in the rooming group dating? If so, is everyone in the rooming group aware? Please remember that
housing is very limited and we will not be able to provide an alternative bed-space if the worst-case scenario
happens and you end your relationship mid-year. We would hate for you to be in this difficult situation, so
please think carefully before choosing to live with another student with whom you’re in a relationship.

3. While your housing selection is completely your own, if you anticipate concerns or questions from family
members who will be travelling with you back to campus, it may be helpful to address these matters prior to
move-in day.

Students of any gender identity are welcome to form a rooming group and participate in the lottery under the same
policies as same-gender groups.

IV. Floaters
As mentioned above, students are welcome to participate in the General Housing Lottery as individuals. Please keep
in mind, however, that there are a limited number of stand-alone singles, and housing selections are
dependent on space availability. If you are a floater who is hoping to find a compatible roommate in the case that
there are no singles by the time you select your housing, please visit this google sheet where you can share information
with other students to see if you can form a good roommate match.

V. Dunster Proper and 10 DeWolfe St: Important Facts
Room Type:
Dunster student housing is available in Dunster Proper and at 10 DeWolfe Street. The floor plans and a list of
available rooms for next year are posted on the lottery page of the Dunster website. You can click the header of
each column to sort the information according to room type, the number of in-suite bathrooms, the number
of in-suite common rooms, whether there are dormers, and whether there is adapted furniture in the space.
Suites, which are color-coded on the floor plans according to room type, are defined as rooms that are arranged
together behind a locked door.

Dormers:
Please keep in mind that there are dormers on sections of the third, fourth, and fifth floors of Dunster Proper. In
these spaces the ceiling slopes downward to compensate for the architecture of the building. You can sort for rooms
with dormers on the lottery page. The depth and size of the dormers vary from one room to another. To make as
informed a decision as possible in the housing lottery, we recommend visiting these spaces (with the current occupant’s
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permission) to get a sense of how the dormers impact the living space.

Restrooms:

The majority of suites in Dunster proper do not have in-suite restrooms. (You can sort for rooms with in-suite
bathrooms on the lottery page). Single- and multi-stall hallway restrooms are available on each floor, and are indicated
on the floorplans in blue.

The gender assignments of the Dunster Proper bathrooms will change from year-to-year based on the gender
identity ratio in the surrounding area. We do the best we can to balance the needs of the students in each area based
on the accompanying gender distribution, but please do not choose your room because you note there is a “female” or
“male” designated bathroom located nearby at this time.

Unless otherwise noted as “offline” below, all hallway multi-stall and single-stall restrooms on the floor are
meant to serve all residents, regardless of whether it has an “ACC” designation on the floorplans! In fact, we rely
on the use of all these spaces to meet the needs of each floor.

Please note that W-406 and W-408 are connected to a bathroom via a back hallway on the floorplans. This bathroom
is meant to serve all students on the floor unless otherwise noted, and therefore the back-hallway door should remain
locked at all times. For academic year 2019-2020, W300BA3 (connected to W308 and W310) will be offline.

Tutor Pets:

There are a select number of Tutor suites that currently house a cat. These are: 10DW-65, Dunster East 414, and
Dunster West 316. Please note that the Tutor suites that contain pets can change from year to year. If you’re allergic
to animals and choose a bed-space in an entryway with a Tutor pet, please feel free to reach out to that Tutor at the
start of the semester to let them know and ask if they can explore alternative spaces to host entryway meetings/events.

Dunster Proper
 Dunster Proper consists of a variety of different room types, from stand-alone singles to an 8-person suite.
 The majority of suites do not have in-suite bathrooms.
 Some of the suites are duplexes, meaning that the common room is on a separate floor from the bedrooms,
which are accessible via an in-suite staircase. The suite number and suite entrance align with the floor on
which the common room is located.
 Dormers appear in certain third, fourth, and fifth floor rooms. See housing website for details.
 There are no a/c units in student rooms.
 There are no kitchens or kitchenettes in student rooms.
 The suites have wood flooring. The hallways and bathrooms have tile flooring.
 There are three elevators in Dunster Proper. They do not all reach the top floors:
o Elevator 1 (West side) reaches the 4th floor (ELEV 1)
o Elevator 2 (West side) reaches the 5th floor (ELEV 2)
o Elevator 3 (East side) reaches the 4th floor (ELEV 3)

10 DeWolfe Street
 The 4-person suites available at 10 DeWolfe consist of 2, 2-person bedrooms and a common room.
 There are no duplex suites.
 There is an elevator in DeWolfe that reaches all floors.
 There is a bathroom in each suite.
 There are a/c units in each suite.
 There are kitchens or kitchenettes in each suite.
 The suites are carpeted.
Floor Plan Changes:

Please note that space designations can change from year to year. Be sure to review the current floor plans and room
list on the lottery page, instead of relying solely on your knowledge of the House. Below are some changes we have
made that are reflected in the floorplans and will be effective fall 2019:
• W418 is changing from a 1-room double to two singles (W418 and W418-1)
• E410 is changing from a 1-room double to two singles (E410 and E410-1)
• Although W310 is colored as part of a 6-person suite along with W311 on the floorplans, it will be an offline,
stand-alone double this year. W311 will therefore be lotteried as a quad.
Adapted Furniture
Due to the layout of the five singles listed below, they contain a combination of standard and adapted furniture to
provide a more comfortable living environment. The standard furniture includes a bed, two stackable dressers,
filing cabinet, and a floor lamp. The adapted furniture includes a desk, floor bookcase, and smaller wardrobe in
order to appropriately fit the space. If you have specific questions about the size and type of the furniture in these
spaces, please contact the Building Manager, Lucia Baldock, at lucia_baldock@fas.harvard.edu.

• E506, E511, W306, W404, W505
Offline Suites

There are certain rooms/suites that will not be available in the lottery. These can be offline for a number of
reasons, including but not limited to, because they are Tutor/Resident Dean/Resident Scholar spaces or emergency
College housing. Please see the lottery page for a list of these suites.

Study the floor plans, study the floor plans, study the floor plans!

VI. The Large Suites Housing Lottery Process
The Large Suites Housing Lottery Process
Dunster Proper has a select number of 5, 6, 7, and 8-person suites. (Please see the lottery page for the number of
suites in each category.) The Large Suites Lottery is your first opportunity to select these spaces. If any of these suites
are still available after the Rising Senior Large Suites Lottery and the Rising Senior-Junior Large Suites Lottery, they
will be offered again in the Rising Senior General Lottery, followed by the Rising Senior-Junior General Lottery. If

large suites remain after these lotteries, they will be offered in the Rising Junior lotteries.

All of the suites in the Large Suites Lottery are comprised of single bedrooms, with the exception of the 6-person
suites, some of which are comprised of single-bedrooms and some of which are comprised of double-bedrooms.

If you’re interested in living in one of these suites please note the following:

 Group sizes for the Large Suites Housing Lottery range only from 5 to 8 students.

 To register, stop by the Dining Hall anytime between 3:00 and 4:00 p.m. on registration day (see lottery
calendar for details) to submit a signed registration form and draw a single lottery number for
your group (registration forms available on the lottery website, 1 form per group). Only 1 member of
the group needs to be present. We will have more lottery numbers than needed, as we will not know
ahead of time how many groups intend to register. The order in which numbers are chosen does not
impact the likelihood of getting a high or low number (we’ve done the proofs!). Not all lottery numbers
may be chosen. For example, numbers 1, 3, and 4 may be drawn by different groups at random from
the hat. If number 2 is not chosen by any group, it will be skipped in the lottery. During the lottery,
numbers will be called in ascending order (#1, #3…) for room selection. The lottery numbers will be
released shortly after registration, at which point you will see all chosen numbers and the lottery order.

 Only one person from each rooming group is required to attend the lottery (but all are welcome!). Students
who do not attend room selection give the attending member(s) of their rooming group the authority to
pick their housing in their absence. It is the responsibility of all group members to jointly discuss, and to
come to an agreement, regarding housing preferences.

 If no one in the group can attend room selection, the group must designate a proxy by emailing Rachel
by the registration deadline. Copy all group members and the proxy on the email. This proxy can be
a fellow student or Rachel herself. The rooming group must provide the proxy a long list of preferences
to aid in room selection.

 When your lottery number is called you must have enough students in your rooming group to match
the number of bed-spaces in your selected suite. For example, if you are a rooming group of 5 students,
you can only select a quintuple suite (if available). If you are a group of 7, you cannot select the 8-person
suite, but you can select a 7-person, 6-person, or 5-person suite, pending availability.

 If your group size is larger than the size of the available suites when your lottery number is called
you’re welcome to either a) choose a smaller suite and have some members participate in the general
lottery, or b) choose no suite and instead have all members participate in the general lottery.

 Similarly, if your group does not wish to select any of the available suites by the time your lottery
number is called you can instead choose to participate in the general lottery.

 Think carefully and consult with your group members about your plans. Make sure all members are clear
how you will select your housing if your preferred choices are not available. The Large Suites lottery
happens quickly, and you will not have time to make these important decisions on the spot!

 Students cannot take longer than 3 minutes to make their selection, so everyone should come prepared
with multiple contingencies in the event your preferred choices are not available.

 Because bedrooms are linked to specific keys, students must indicate who will be living in each
bedroom within the suite during the lottery.

 This process will work the same for Mixed Rising Senior-Junior Groups, however these groups will
select housing immediately following the Rising Senior-only Groups, provided large suites are still available.
Priority will not be given to groups with higher ratios of seniors.

The General Housing Lottery Process:

 You can enter the General Lottery as an individual, or as a rooming group of between 2 and 8 students.

 You must select the same number of beds in a suite (or in multiple suites) as there are members
of your group. Beds, not rooms. For example, a group of 2 students cannot select a triple. Pay careful
attention to the floor plans, as some doubles may be 2 bedrooms plus a common room, while others
are one large room. Be sure to study the floor plans and prioritize your choices.

 The suites chosen by a rooming group do not have to be adjacent to one another.

 Only one person from your group is required to attend room selection (but all are welcome!). Students who
do not attend room selection give the attending member(s) of their rooming group the authority to pick their
housing in their absence. It is the responsibility of all the members in a rooming group to jointly discuss, and
to come to an agreement, regarding housing preferences.

 If no one in the group can attend room selection, the group must designate a proxy by emailing Rachel
by the registration deadline. Copy all group members and the proxy on the email. This proxy can be a
student or Rachel herself. The student or group must agree to provide the proxy multiple, ranked
preferences to aid in room selection.

 Students cannot take longer than 3 minutes to make their selection, so everyone should come prepared
with multiple contingencies in the event that your preferred choices are not available.

 Because rooms are now linked to specific keys, students must indicate who will be living in each
bedroom within the suite during the lottery.

 Mixed Rising Senior-Junior Groups will select housing via this same process immediately following the
Rising Senior-only groups.

Attention Rising Juniors!

These processes will work exactly the same for the Rising Junior Lotteries, but there are a few additional
things you should keep in mind:

 Carefully review the remaining housing stock on the lottery page after the rising senior lotteries.

 As a reminder there will only be a Rising Junior Large Suites Lottery if 5 to 8 person suites remain
after the Rising Senior and Rising Senior-Junior lotteries.

 If there are available stand-alone singles after the Rising Senior and Rising Senior-Junior General
Lotteries, Rising Juniors may enter as individuals and select one of these spaces. Keep in mind,
housing selections are dependent on space availability. If there are only a few stand-alone singles left,
it may be best to carefully consider which students you could live with and form an even
numbered rooming group. This would still enable you to select singles (if available), but would also
allow you to select other housing arrangements with fellow group members if necessary.

IMPORTANT: IN ALL LOTTERIES, YOU CANNOT CHANGE ROOMS AFTER
MAKING YOU SELECTION. LOTTERY SELECTIONS ARE FINAL
Congratulations! You now have your rooms for next year! (Keep reading though.)

VIII. After the Lottery
If you were unable to select housing in the lottery email me at dn-ha[at]fas.harvard.edu, and I will be in touch
with a Housing Questionnaire to help place you in the best possible housing situation over the summer.

All Rising Sophomores, Second Round Inter-House Transfers, and students who did not complete the
registration form on time will be assigned housing during the summer months.

If a member of your rooming group cancels their housing for any reason after the lottery, the House
will place a floater in the bed-space created so we can accommodate all students in need of housing.

The House reserves the right to change students’ room assignments at any time to accommodate
occupancy limitations. This is rare, and the House Office will always try to avoid doing this if at all possible.

If a group selects more than its fair share of bed-space, either a floater will be assigned to the suite during the
summer months or the group members will be reassigned to different bed-spaces. Misrepresentation on the part
of any member in a rooming group during the lottery will result in the chosen housing unit being forfeited and a
new assignment being made over summer.

IX. Frequently Asked Questions

WHAT IS THE BEST WAY TO PREPARE FOR HOUSING SELECTION?

Make sure you discuss your expectations and priorities with your rooming group and do your research! In 10
years, you probably won’t remember your suite number, but you will remember your roommates. Your
relationship with your rooming group is more important than a few extra square feet.

Students should come to housing selection with a very long list of ranked possibilities. Being prepared will save
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you a lot of stress and confusion. Having back-up plans are important—DO NOT just come with a few suites
that represent your “dream” housing. Other students will be waiting to select their housing and time limits on
selection are enforced to keep things moving. Know who is going to live in each bedroom within a suite as you
will be asked to indicate this during the lottery.

You should determine which suites you want to live in by looking at the floor plans and the sortable room list
on the lottery website. If you have specific Building Management-related questions (e.g. furniture lay-outs), please
reach out to the Building Manager Lucia Baldock at lucia_baldock@fas.harvard.edu.

Whatever your housing selection, you and your group are ultimately responsible for this decision. Your choice
is final, so be sure to prepare!

WHAT IS MY LIKELIHOOD OF GETTING A SINGLE?

The most frequent question I’m asked during lottery season is how likely it is you will get a single. Dunster, I
now hear this question in my dreams at night!

As much as I would love to be able to provide a specific percentage, it depends on a number of factors including
the size of the class, the number of off-cycle students participating in the senior lottery, the number of students
planning to take a leave or move off-campus, the number of students who choose to participate in the Large
Suites Lottery, the student’s specific lottery number, and how those who have higher lottery numbers select their
housing.

If you’re able to select a single in the lottery, that’s great! However, as mentioned above, it’s extremely important
to have back-up plans. My recommendation would be to form a rooming group and think through your preferred
housing choices with your group members if singles are not available at the time of your lottery selection. As
mentioned earlier, this gives you the flexibility to select a suite of your choice, with other students of your choice,
if there are no singles by the time your lottery number is called.

WHY DO WE HAVE A SUITES LOTTERY?

Having a separate suites lottery gives students who want to live with their friends in a larger suite an opportunity
to think through this decision early. It also removes these spaces from the available housing stock by the time of
the General Lottery, resulting in fewer large groups selecting hallway singles and smaller suites on the spot, and
reducing the likelihood that many smaller groups will need to break up and float by the time their number is called.

WHY CAN’T WE LEAVE BEDSPACES OPEN IN SUITES?

The Harvard Houses are typically filled to capacity. We therefore can’t leave bed-spaces vacant as it would mean
denying housing to other students who need it.

If rooming groups left empty bed-spaces in their selected suites, it would result in many of the rooming groups
with lower lottery numbers breaking up in order to fit in the remaining available spaces. Asking groups to fill up
an entire suite leads to many more rooming groups living together.

WHAT IS THE ADVANTAGE TO FORMING A LARGER GROUP?

The advantage to forming a larger rooming group is that it allows for a greater choice of housing, regardless of
which lottery you participate in! You do not lose anything by forming a larger group. As mentioned above, you
can select any suite (or combination of suites in the general lottery) for which you have enough group members.
This means if you are an 8-person group, you’re able to select a 5, 6, 7, or 8-person suite in the Large Suites
Lottery, or any combination of suites in the General Lottery that totals 8 bed-spaces. The smaller your group size,
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the more limited your housing choices.

This is especially important for rising juniors to understand are prepare for, as there are generally many more
quads and doubles available in the rising junior lottery than triples or singles. If you’re a rising junior who is part
of an odd-numbered group, please consider forming an even numbered group. If you are a group of 3, for example,
and there are no triples or singles left in the general lottery, only two of you will be able to select a room space.
(Alternatively, all three of you could choose to float and I would place you to the best of my ability over the
summer.)

CAN I REGROUP AT ANY TIME?

The only students who have the ability to form a different rooming group and re-register are those who
participate in the Large Suites Housing Lottery and do not choose a suite. These students can register with a
new group for the General Housing Lottery.

I’M PROBABLY TAKING A LEAVE/STUDYING ABROAD IN THE FALL BUT AM UNSURE.
WHAT SHOULD I DO?

Communication with your rooming group is crucial. If you participate in the lottery but then cancel your
housing afterwards, there will be a space left in your suite that will be filled by a floater or, in very rare cases,
the remaining students in the suite may need to be reassigned to other suites.

You therefore have to weigh the likelihood of your departure against the risk that if you do not go abroad, you
will not have selected housing with your friends. In the latter case, Rachel does her best with the available space
to place you with a compatible roommate.

WE HAVE TWO PEOPLE IN OUR ROOMING GROUP WHO WILL BE STUDYING ABROAD IN
SPRING 2020. WHAT HAPPENS IF WE’RE MISSING PART OF OUR GROUP THE SECOND
HALF OF THE YEAR?

The short answer is that any student who is going to be living on-campus in the fall and wants to select his/her
housing needs to participate in the lottery.

The spaces these students leave in your suite(s) in the spring will then be filled by students who are returning
from leave/study abroad that semester.

You need to decide whether you want to stay together and welcome floaters to your suite when your group
members leave, or if you want to split up so that the people studying abroad leave a completely open suite in
which returning students can be placed. Your group may also want to consider whether you know any students
who are studying abroad in fall 2019 whom you would like to live with when they return in the spring. I place a
high priority on these requests.

Similarly, if you are studying abroad in fall 2019 but are returning in spring 2020 and want to live with a particular
rooming group, ask your friends to consider rooming with another student who intends to study abroad in the
spring term. This would result in an empty bed-space in your desired suite when you return, and I would place
a high priority on your request to be assigned to that space.

I’M AWAY FOR FALL 2019 BUT AM RETURNING IN SPRING 2020. HOW WILL I BE HOUSED
MID-YEAR?

Be sure to complete the Returning Student Application (really, just a form) by the DSO deadline for spring 2019,
and I will be in touch with you in December with additional information. Spring assignments for mid-year
returning students are finalized in early-to-mid January.

IF I PARTICIPATED IN THE RISING SENIOR LOTTERY BUT THEN CANCEL MY
HOUSING BEFORE THE FALL, DO I ENTER FUTURE LOTTERIES AS A JUNIOR?

No. If you cancel your housing prior to fall move-in, you can lottery again as a rising senior the following year.

WE HAVE A FRIEND WHO WAS ASSIGNED TO DUNSTER BUT TOOK A YEAR OFF AFTER
FRESHMAN YEAR. NOW I’M A RISING JUNIOR BUT MY FRIEND IS A RISING
SOPHMORE. CAN WE STILL ENTER THE LOTTERY TOGETHER?

Yes! Since you both entered Harvard in the same class year, you can lottery together this year. Please have
your friend contact me by noon on April 1.

WHAT ABOUT THE YEAR AFTER? CAN WE LOTTERY AS SENIORS?

Yes! Since you entered Harvard in the same class, you can lottery together the year after as well.

WHAT ABOUT THE FOLLOWING YEAR WHEN I’M GONE?

Your roommate can only participate as a senior once. He/she will enter as a junior when you leave.

WHEN DOES STORAGE START AND HOW DOES IT WORK?

Any questions regarding storage should be addressed to the Building Manager, Lucia Baldock at
lucia_baldock@fas.harvard.edu. Please note that Dunster does not have on-site summer storage. The Building
Manager’s Office will be emailing the House with information about alternative storage options.

I CAN’T LOG INTO THE DUNSTER WEBSITE TO ACCESS THE LOTTERY FLOORPLANS AND
ROOM LIST. WHAT DO I DO?

All current Dunster students are eligible to create a Dunster website account to access password protected
information. To set (or reset) your password, click the “log in” button on the bottom of the home page, followed
by the “lost your password” link. Your username is your college email address without the @college.harvard.edu
section. If you run into trouble, please reach out to our great Resident Tutor and webmaster Jon Palmer at
jpalmer@hbs.edu.

I’M A LITTLE INTIMDATED BY ALL THIS. WHAT CAN I DO TO MAKE MY LOTTERY
EXPERIENCE LESS STRESSFUL?

Study the floor plans, have open, honest conversations with your potential roommates, and come to the lottery
with a prioritized list of the suites you’re interested in selecting. Also, carefully consider what’s most important
to you. For example, is it more important to be close or far from certain people or facilities, or to have the perfect
room layout? We are all here to help as resources as you think through these options so reach out!

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