Residence Life Housing Lottery

Letter from the Director

We are excited that you are planning to live on campus at Russell Sage and welcome you. The residence halls at Russell Sage College provide a unique on-campus living opportunity. Each hall is completely different and the halls vary from traditional-style halls to lovely brownstone houses to suite-style rooms with semi-private baths.

Residence halls are more than places to live! It is by living in a residence community that you have the chance to begin to learn more about yourself and what you can become. Living on campus you experience college life through a variety of social events, educational programs that support the academic mission on campus, late night discussions in the hall lounges with roommates and neighbors, and late night pizza breaks! The friends you make living in the residence halls at Russell Sage College will be friends you will have for a lifetime.

The college residence policy requires that all full-time undergraduate students live in campus residence halls. Seniors have the option to live in “upper-class student” housing or may request to live off-campus in an apartment or house. Any student with Senior status must complete the off-campus application [which can be found on the residence life web site]. Because we do have a residency requirement, you will be assessed a $200 contract-breakage fee in the event that you do not remain living on campus for the full year.

Part-time students (i.e., those students carrying fewer than 12 credits each semester and less than a total of 24 credits for the year) also have the option to live in residence hall space. If you are a part time student interested in living on campus, please submit a written request to the Director of Residence Life.

The undergraduate residence policy supports the Residence Life philosophy. Both provide for a living situation that complements the educational task of the College and encourages positive approaches to community responsibility and personal relations. In order to be a successful academically, we know that you must be comfortable where you live. The Office of Residence Life is committed to providing a safe, clean, diverse living community for all residents.

Good luck in your planning for next year. Please contact us if you have any questions.

Kim D. Akins

Director of Residence Life

March/ April 2008 Room Selection Information:

Lottery Numbers

All lottery numbers will be randomly generated electronically and a lottery card will be sent to your campus mailbox. This lottery number will be good for all room types during the housing process. You must bring your lottery card with you to room selection in order to participate. If your housing deposit has not been made by Monday, March 31, 2008, you will not receive a lottery number and will subsequently be placed into housing after room selection is complete.

Room Selection Calendar - March/ April 2008

March 24 - All Applications due (off campus, commuter, special circumstance, and Wool/French/Spanish house)

March 31 - Housing deposits due ($200)

April 3 - Lottery Numbers sent via campus mailbox

April 8 - Room Selection Night

- - Rising Seniors (87 credits of more)

5:00 PM - lottery numbers 1 - 50

5:15 PM - lottery numbers 51 - 100

5:30 PM - lottery numbers 101 -

- - Rising Juniors (54-86 credits)

5:50 PM - Lottery numbers 1-50

6:20 PM - Lottery numbers 51 - 100

6:50 PM - Lottery numbers 101 -

- - Rising Sophomores (24 - 53 credits)

7:10 PM - lottery numbers 1- 50

7:40 PM - lottery numbers 51 - 100

8:10 PM - lottery numbers 100 -

Off Campus Living

Off campus living applies to rising Seniors only.

Students who have completed more than 87 total credits are considered seniors. Off campus means living in a rented apartment or house. All other underclass students are required to live on campus.

This privilege must be applied for via application. Applications are due by Monday, March 24, 2008 by 5:00 PM. All seniors being granted off-campus permission will be notified via email.

All seniors are required to contact the Office of Residence Life with their new address and telephone number by Wednesday, May 7, 2008. If you receive permission to live off campus you will not need to make a housing deposit As a result, you will not receive a lottery number.

Theme House Information

Wool House (Honors Program)

Wool House’s goal is to provide a supportive environment in which Russell Sage women can study and feel encouraged to do their best academically. In order for such an environment to be achieved, the house must be a place where all members have the utmost respect for each other and themselves. As a member of this selective house, there are expectations of resident involvement within Wool House as a Sage learning community.

An essay application is required to be selected to live in Wool House. Priority will be given to current Honors House members, then Honors students.

All applicants agree to the terms of living within Wool House upon completion of application and signature on contract if selected.

French House (French Language Program)

French House’s mission is to heighten campus awareness of international issues and to enrich the foreign language curricula. This house intends to provide a supportive environment for all students to practice speaking French and to enjoy learning more about foreign French cultures. For each resident this house constitutes an experiment in international living.

An essay application is required to be selected to live in French House. Priority will be given to current French House members, then French program students.

All applicants agree to the terms of living within French House upon completion of application and signature on contract if selected.

Spanish House (Spanish Language Program)

Spanish House’s mission is to heighten campus awareness of international issues and to enrich the foreign language curricula. This house intends to provide a supportive environment for all students to practice speaking Spanish and to enjoy learning more about foreign Spanish cultures. For each resident this house constitutes an experiment in international living.

An essay application is required in be selected to live in Spanish House. Priority will be given to current Spanish House members, then Spanish program students.

All applicants agree to the terms of living within Spanish House upon completion of application and signature on contract if selected.

Special Circumstance Housing

If you have a special circumstance which would require special housing arrangements (i.e. medical singles, religious needs, etc.) you must apply for these housing options before Room Selection occurs. Please complete the Special Circumstance application by March 24. Each application must include documentation, if applicable, at the time that the application is submitted. The Director of Residence Life will then grant or deny each request, in consultation with the Wellness Center if medically related. If granted, a room will be selected and assigned for the resident based on their needs.

Studying Abroad – Consider Co-signing

The Office of Residence Life recognizes the educational opportunity that an abroad program offers to students. Therefore, we are offering a co-signing opportunity. Any student who is going abroad for either Fall or Spring semester may co-sign their room. Co-signing allows you to select another student to live in your room while you are away. In other words, if you are abroad in the Fall semester and have a friend who is either going abroad in the Spring or graduating in December, you can co-sign the space you want with that person. This offers you the opportunity to know where and with whom you will live prior to going abroad.

The co-signing contract binds both parties to its terms, so if the Fall resident does not graduate or go abroad, they must move out of the room to open the space for the returning Spring resident.

In order to co-sign all parties including the roommate(s) must make an appointment to meet with the Director of Residence Life by March 24, 2008.

Graduating in December of 2008?

If you are scheduled to graduate in December but will continue at Sage as a graduate student you have the option to stay in your current room or to change your housing assignment to our graduate housing option in Ricketts Hall. Most graduate students choose to live in Ricketts Hall.

The advantages to living in the graduate residence area are many. The community is smaller, offering the chance for close friendships and strong community. The Office of Residence Life oversees this residence space, but there is no RA for the building and residents have the chance to create the living atmosphere that works best for them. Ricketts Hall stays open during all scheduled College breaks and residents may remain on campus during this time. Graduate residents are not required to have a meal plan.

Please contact the Office of Residence Life if you are interested in moving to Ricketts Hall as a graduate student.

FLOOR PLANS

Floor plans for all halls will be posted outside the Office of Residence Life on Cowee 2. The floor plans identify the capacity of rooms (i.e. singles, doubles, triples) and the location of bathrooms, stairways, etc. The floor plans are not to scale