Syracuse University students seeking housing for the 2017-18 academic year will be able to begin the process of selecting a room on Wednesday.

The housing lottery, through which Syracuse University students obtain on-campus housing, is split into five rounds based on room occupancy. Students receive a random number, which determines when they can pick their housing. Students will first select their roommates and, later, the room they want to live in.

“Our biggest piece of advice is for students to have a few options in mind in terms of residence halls and room styles, including open/split doubles, suites and two- and three-bedroom apartments on South Campus,” said Eileen Simmons, director of the Office of Housing, Meal Plans and ID Card Services, in an SU News release.

To qualify for the lottery, students must be living on campus during the current semester. For those abroad, interning or in a co-op, they need to have checked that they wanted to participate previously.

Students must also have paid their $450 housing deposit — which must be paid through MySlice by Tuesday — and must abide by the terms and conditions of the lottery.

Students will be assigned a lottery number based on whether they’ve fulfilled their two-year housing requirement. For roommate groups, the numbers are averaged, and groups with the lowest averages receive earlier time slots for choosing rooms.

This year, the Sheraton Syracuse University Hotel and Conference Center will be available to students, officials noted in the release.

“It’s all about student demand. Students enjoyed the experience. We are making this option available once again,” said Jamie Cyr, director of Auxiliary Services in the release.

While phasing out South Campus housing is in the Campus Framework, part of Chancellor Kent Syverud’s long-term plan for the university, that has not yet gone into effect.

At the Feb. 28 Campus Framework open forum, officials said they are considering a three-year on-campus housing requirement. At that meeting, an employee from SU Housing said the office currently couldn’t accommodate housing for all students for two years. The three-year requirement is an only idea at this point.

Published on March 19, 2017 at 8:09 pm

Contact Delaney: dovanwey@syr.edu