I want to live at Sidney-Pacific. How can I live there?
The self-selection process will open up to all grad students in early May, at which time you can try to win a spot to live in SP. If you want to secure your spot in SP, reach out to spec@mit.edu to see if there are any officer positions you can serve as. By serving as an officer, this guarantees you a spot in SP.
I want to change my room. How can I do this?
Once a year, Sidney Pacific holds an internal housing lottery for residents with continuing housing status and incoming officers. If you're not eligible for the internal housing lottery, there is still a way for you to change rooms by entering the Housing Self-Selection Process. If you would like to make a request to change rooms outside of this lottery process, please fill out the Room Transfer Request Form.
Internal Housing Lottery
Staying in your current room
I'm a first-year student. I want to stay in Sidney-Pacific, and I want to keep my room. What do I do?
You will automatically keep your current room unless you choose to participate in the self-selection process. This is totally independent from the Sidney-Pacific government and is run by the MIT Housing Office.
I am eligible for the internal housing lottery and would like to stay in my current room, but I don't see my room listed as available in the online room ballot. What do I do?
You don't have to do anything. The default option is for you to keep your current housing assignment. Your room is not listed as available to prevent other people from selecting it. Just make sure you renew your contract with the MIT Housing Office.
I would really like to move into a different room. However, if I don't get it, I want to stay in my current room. Do I have to list my current room as one of my preferences?
No. By default, if you don't get any of the rooms you indicate, you'll stay where you are. This again explains why the rooms of people who are continuing residents (yet intend to switch) are not on the "available" list.
Roommates
I am currently in a double and want to stay in my room but would like to request a specific roommate. Can I do this?
If both you and your desired roommate are eligible for SP's internal lottery, you can both enter the lottery and request each other as roommates. Your seniority points will combine, and your desired roommate will have a much greater chance of getting that room. If your desired roommate is not eligible for SP's internal lottery, they must select the room during Housing's self-selection process.
I don't want to request a specific roommate, but I would like to somehow indicate a roommate preference (i.e., religion, ethnicity, vegetarian, night-owl, early riser, non-weirdo, etc). Can I do this?
We have not implemented a formal policy to handle such requests. The best solution is to find someone eligible for the internal housing lottery that you are compatible living with.
How are seniority points treated when two people want to room together (are the points summed, averaged, etc)?
The seniority points of two people who want to room together are summed. For example, if one person has 6 points and the other (the requested roommate) has 4 points, then they will be treated as a pair with 10 points. Together they will have priority over a single person with 7 seniority points who wants a room in the same apartment.
Do seniority points from Ashdown or other dorms transfer over to Sidney Pacific?
No.
I am an incoming officer who does not currently live in SP. Do I have any seniority points?
Incoming officers from outside SP have zero points because points are awarded at the end of each term. However, incoming officers have a better selection of rooms than incoming new students and first-year residents who are reassigned to live at SP.
Miscellaneous
Why are some doubles named A/B while others named B/C? How do I figure out which letter corresponds to which side of a double? The floor plans don't say.
Believe it or not, the "missing" third letter is the bathroom. The three rooms (including the bathroom) in each suite are labeled A, B, C clockwise as you look at them from main doorway. In particular, this means that the B apartment is always the one adjacent to the bathroom.
Is there any advantage to ranking fewer room choices on my ballot?
No. After the lottery closes, entries are ordered by seniority points and then assignments are made sequentially. You will be assigned your top remaining choice; if all of the rooms you specified have been taken, you'll be re-assigned to your current room.
I don't like making hasty decisions. Can I get an extension on the lottery deadline?
No. The reason for this deadline is so that we can make assignments and then provide the MIT Housing Office with a final list of available rooms (in order for them to begin their housing allocation process to incoming students, re-assigned first-years, etc). The deadlines for the Housing allocation process are set and we (the house government) cannot change them.
Who is in charge of the internal housing lottery?
The Chair of the Halls is responsible for the internal housing lottery. You may ask questions by email (sp-hallchair [at] mit [dot] edu), but please make sure your questions have not already been addressed here.
