Residence Life Room Selection for Returning Students

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 upperclass 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 picked up at the Residence Life office. 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

April 2009 Room Selection Information:

Lottery Numbers

All lottery numbers will be randomly generated electronically and a lottery card will be available during the week of March 30, 2009. The lottery card can be picked up at the Residence Life office (Cowee Hall, Room 206). This lottery number will be good for all room types during the housing process. You must bring your lottery card and your student ID with you to room selection in order to participate.

If you have a hold on your College account as of March 23, 2009, you will not receive a lottery number and will subsequently be placed into housing after room selection is complete.

If you cannot attend Room Selection, choose a proxy and complete the Proxy Statement on the back of your Lottery Card. In order for the proxy to choose your room, that statement must be completed and the proxy must present it during room selection. You will be asked to sign your housing contract at a later date.

Room Selection Calendar - March/ April 2009

A Room Selection Newsletter will be sent to all Sage students by mid-March. Details about housing and room selection will be available in the newsletter.

March 23 - Applications due (International, Spanish, Wool (Honors), Special Circumstance, Off-campus)

March 30 - Lottery numbers available this week in the Residence Life office

April 7 - Room Selection for Special Interest Housing (Approval required; meet in the living room of each house)

11:00 am - International House

11:45 am - Spanish House

12:30 pm - Wool (Honors) House

April 8 - Room Selection Night (general). Meet in the Cowee Hall 4th floor conference room

6:00 pm ...Rising Seniors (87+ credits completed May 2009)

6:45 pm ...Rising Juniors (54-86 credits completed May 2009)

7:30 pm ...Rising Sophomores (24-53 credits completed May 2009)

Off campus living applies to rising Seniors only.

Students who have completed 87 or more total credits by May 2009 are considered seniors. Off campus refers to living in a rented apartment or house. All other underclass students are required to live on campus.

There is an application to live off campus. The application is available in the Office of Residence Life, Cowee 206. Applications are due by Monday, March 23, 2009 by 5:00 PM. All seniors being granted permission to live off campus will be notified by email.

If you receive permission to live off campus you will not need to participate in Room Selection.

Special Interest Housing 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.

International House

International House provides students the opportunity to live in a multicultural environment and to explore international cultures under the guidance of Teaching Assistants from Italy, China, France, and Spain. Additional information about International House will be posted here shortly.

All applicants agree to the terms of living within International 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 or religious needs), you must apply for this housing option before Room Selection occurs. The application is available in the Office of Residence Life, Cowee 206. Please complete the Special Circumstance application by March 23, 2009. The application must include appropriate documentation (explained clearly in the application). The Director of Residence Life will then grant or deny each request, in consultation with the Wellness Center and the Office of Student Disabilities. If granted, a room will be selected and assigned for you based on your needs. You will be notified by email of the room assignment.

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 23, 2009.

Graduating in December of 2009?

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 are available on Moodle. In addition, they will be posted outside the Office of Residence Life as Room Selection night comes closer. 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, and the available rooms are subject to change.

No Deposit Required Before May 1!

Students who have not selected a room by May 1, 2009 will be required to pay a late selection fee of $100. This fee is in conjunction with the late registration fee for students who do not register for classes by May 1.

** Room rates for 2009-10 will be published by the end of March, 2009.