In the midst of dorm selection, I’ve noticed a severe lack of general knowledge around campus on the topic.
It’s worrisome that I passed by a tour guide informing students that the dorm selection order was determined by GPA. This statement is, in fact, completely false.
The order is determined by the number of points each student has acquired while attending Otterbein.
Whether it’s tour guides or freshmen, the knowledge about this process is highly varied. So, let’s go through some important points together.
1. Choosing Your Roommate – While it might sound fun to room with your best friend, and sometimes that works out, it’s also important to look for someone you could live peacefully with as well.
First, you need to look at what you’ll need the room for. For example, if you typically just use your room to study, look for someone who you can sit in comfortable silence with. But, if you and your BFF tend to chat a lot when you’re around each other, you’ll never get work done.
Live with someone you can stand up to. It’s important to be able to let your roommate know when he or she is being too messy or if they need to quiet down. Trivial issues tend to work their way into friendships, so be ready to try and work past these problems.
2. The Process – Once you’ve chosen your perfect, compatible rooming companion, it’s time for you to choose your soon-to-be temporary home.
Since the Commons and themed house lease agreements for next year have already been signed, the only remaining option for on-campus living is in a traditional dorm.
You and your roommate will fill out an application and a Room & Board Agreement and turn it in to Student Affairs by Friday, April 20, at 5 p.m. (for neighborhoods) or by April 27 (for traditional dorms and suites).
Additionally, according to the “Live on” instructional sheet that you receive, “you must be registered for fall term classes before you can select a room.” To me, this poses a problem, because there are students still waiting on their loans to come through who can’t register. This delays a person’s ability to choose the room that he or she wants; I guess it’s an incentive for paying your bills off earlier.
Once that’s all done, room selection will take place Thursday, May 3, at 3 p.m. in the Campus Center.
Selection order is based upon priority points — living in residence halls and taking Residence Life surveys at the end of each semester can earn these. In the event of a tie, the order is decided based upon the number of credit hours someone has.
The entire process can be found online in the “Campus Life” tab on My O-Zone.
3. Living on Campus Through Junior Year – Since students are now required to live on campus through their junior year, it is important to look at the dorms and see how this will affect on-campus living.
Otterbein has the capability to house 1,350 students in campus housing. Laura Farley, Administrative Assistant of Residence Life, said, “Fifty-seven percent of all traditional students live on campus.”
So, this makes me question how Otterbein will be able to house roughly 75 percent of traditional students.
According to Farley, Otterbein expects more students to commute to campus if they do not get into their preferred housing.
Additionally, students will no longer be allowed to choose a super single right off the bat. They must go through dorm selection with a roommate and will be put on a waitlist for a super single.
There’s a part of me that thinks, OK, this makes sense — more beds for more people. However, some people just need to live alone. For example, maybe someone’s boyfriend plans on sleeping in the room (until the 2 a.m. curfew, of course) a lot and is willing to pay for the privacy.
4. What’s Not Working – This is ironic, since I got into the Commons by latching onto someone’s lease renewal, but I don’t think that renewals are fair. And if you’re genuinely ticked off at this concept as well, you’re probably one of the many who didn’t get in.
Farley said giving precedence to lease renewals makes sense because “why would we make you move out and re-apply to move right back in?”
But, at the same time, only a small portion of new applicants got in because so many people renewed this year. This is unfair to juniors who are now required to stay on campus, but weren’t given the opportunity to live in the Commons last year. Lease renewals aren’t even giving them an equal shot at getting in.
