The lottery system

The University provides students with on-campus housing for four years; once you become a Bison, you do not have to worry about finding a place to live on campus. However, rather than this serving as a source of comfort, guaranteed on-campus housing can be a source of stress for many University students who plan to live downtown in either a house or an apartment.

Because the University has a 4-Year Residency requirement, in order to live off-campus, students must apply and be granted approval by the Housing Services Office. In order to even be considered for off-campus housing, students must also receive a high lottery number.

Only rising seniors are eligible to apply to live off-campus. Students are given one week to complete the application process, and approximately 220 students are approved based upon their completed application, their Greek housing status, their current judicial record and their lottery number. Students who do not receive a high enough lottery number are still bound by the University’s four-year residency requirement.

The number of students that have been permitted to live off-campus has decreased since the construction of the South Campus apartments in 2015. The application process for off-campus housing occurs in the fall of junior year in order to allow for the large quantity of students who study abroad the spring semester of their junior year to decide where they will live their senior year.

Selecting a house

There are various rentals that are available downtown to students, but the best way to find a downtown house is through other students. Interestingly, some students place down payments on a downtown house that they want before the lottery is even drawn, that way if one of the individuals from the group are selected, they are guaranteed that specific house.

“I feel like the University makes it seem really easy to get the housing you want, but I hear all about people ‘scheming’ downtown by contacting landlords early and whatnot, and it makes me nervous that I’m not doing everything I can to get what I want for next year,” Izzy Wisen ’20 said.

The University also has a list of available rental properties for students. The Lewisburg Public Housing Code states that no more than three unrelated persons can live together in a rental unit.

A word from downtown residents now

“I love having a front porch and being able to sit outside and watch everyone going to and from class. I also feel like more of a part of the Lewisburg community, instead of just a student on campus,” Madi Standen ’19 said.

“My favorite thing is that it’s actually my house and my room. When you live in a dorm, you have peers on your hall and you’re a part of the University community being that you’re a member on campus, but living off-campus downtown offers a place outside of the reach of the school; it’s my space that is controlled by me,” Troy Schwab ’19 said. “It almost feels like on campus; I felt like a student, but off campus, I feel like an adult that walks to campus for classes. When I’m in my house, I have only a greater amount of privacy, but also responsibility, concerning how I live and how I conduct myself.” 

“I like feeling like more of an adult because I live in a house and we have more ‘real life’ responsibilities than dorm living, like paying rent, electricity bills, water bills, and WiFi bills. I also like getting off campus and feeling like I’m ‘home’ in a house more than in a dorm,” Stephanie Occhiogrosso ’19 said.