BY COLE MCNANNA // FEB. 26, 2015 //

Among the stresses of college, the annual Housing Lottery is among the greatest. This “Hunger Games”-esque competition—no blood is ever drawn, but emotions do run high—pits Curry students against one another in a lottery system-based battle for on-campus housing.

There are plenty of deadlines to meet and forms to fill out, and each one is just as important as the last. It is all laid out on the myCurry portal. As you log in, there is a light bulb on the right-hand side of the page that brings you to the deadlines page. That explains when payments and agreements need to be completed. Here are a few key dates and requirements:

The new Bell Hall has great amenities. // PHOTO COURTESY OF CURRY COLLEGE

March 1: Deadline to submit necessary forms for special housing accommodations due to disabilities

March 25: Deadline to submit $300 housing deposit

March 30: By 4 p.m., random housing lottery numbers will be posted on the portal

April 1: Deadline to submit application for suites housing. All students wanting to live in suites must fill out the application

April 8: Suites and single-room selection

April 9: General housing selection

If students miss the deposit deadline, they can still apply to live on campus. But they’ll be placed wherever there is space at the conclusion of housing selection. Students must be enrolled in at least 12 credits while living on campus.

The lottery system is based on how many credits students have earned. They are given a housing location and roommate if they don’t choose for themselves. Students who are currently juniors have the most credits and are given first choice in housing, followed by current sophomores, then freshmen. Students incoming next fall are factored into room availability.

Many upperclassmen wish to get housing in the suites, which hold six people in a room—three double bedrooms and a common room—on the south side of campus. If not the suites, South Campus Residence Hall (SCRH) is a popular location for upperclassmen.

Sophomores typically end up in either 886 on the north side of campus or the new Bell Hall behind the Student Center in the center of campus. Others are placed in houses with smaller numbers of people close to the Student Center, such as the Green, Grey and Brown houses. Incoming freshmen are put in housing on the north side of campus, either in State, Lombard, Mayflower, North Campus Residence Hall (NCRH) or scholars. The rest of the housing list is available on the Curry page in the Residence Halls tab.

Upperclassmen are drawn to the Suites and SCRH because of the freedom to room with plenty of friends. Typically, sports teams will room together. 886 is a hot commodity because of its location, which is not far from either the Academic Quad or the Student Center. On the other hand, Bell Hall is brand new and is fashioned with and kitchens and TV’s in the common rooms. Its location is the only semi-negative, as it is a hilly walk away from the Quad and Kennedy building, where almost classes are held.

If students keep up with deadlines and fill out all necessary forms, they should be placed in the residence hall of their choice with the roommate(s) of their choice. And like Katniss Everdeen, they’ll live to tell a tale of how they survived the lottery.