Baker University students are beginning the process of the annual housing lottery this spring. A system that determines where returning students will live in the upcoming 2026-2027 academic year.
The lottery affects all returning students and the first step is the submission of the fall housing intent form. Students have to indicate whether they plan to live on campus and, if so, what housing they would prefer to live in. After all forms are submitted, eligible students are then assigned a lottery time slot that determines when they can select their future room.
According to Nicholas Goodman, assistant dean of students, this system operates primarily on seniority with few exceptions.
“The lottery system works by seniority,” Goodman said. “Everyone submits an intent form so we can place them in the right process depending on what they want. On lottery day, seniors choose first, followed by juniors, sophomores and then current freshman.”
Students who already occupy a room and wish to stay will receive priority for that space for the upcoming year. However, some other high demand rooming options must be reapplied for every year.
“For rooms that are especially popular — like singles in Irwin and Gessner — students have to reapply annually,” Goodman said. “Those are still awarded based on seniority regardless.”
Housing options on Baker’s campus include all of the traditional residence halls, including Gessner and Irwin halls, the New Living Center (NLC), the Lodge and university owned apartments. Availability for these vary each year and depends on enrollment and what the returning students want.
Apartments still remain the most competitive housing option and are handled through an entirely different application process.
“The apartments are always very popular,” Goodman said. “That process is based on an objective point system that rewards seniority, academic performance and other factors. It’s transparent, so students understand why they were or were not selected.”
Beyond the competitiveness of the apartments, the NLC suite A rooms and singles in Gessner and Irwin also tend to fill up very quickly. Even though enrollment fluctuations can affect the availability of these rooms, Goodman explains how the university maintains enough housing for all students.
“We have enough housing for everyone who needs it,” Goodman said. “Enrollment mainly impacts the availability of singles in Irwin and Gessner.”
When the single rooms start to fill up, Residence Life looks to the waitlist and offers up the opening rooms as they become available.
“If additional rooms open before the school year start, we go to the waitlist,” Goodman said “Some students decide they would rather stay with a roommate, while others choose to move into a single.”
For some students, the housing lottery is just a routine part of the spring semester. But for others the process can bring stress, particularly those who hope to secure an apartment or a single room in the NLC, Gessner or Irwin.
“It’s definitely nerve wracking sometimes,” freshman Uchenna Orji said. “We are just kind of hoping and praying that our plan works out for us. But my roommates and I have other options just in case.”
Baker requires most full-time students to live in university sanctioned housing, although there are some exemptions that need to be approved if the student is wanting to live elsewhere.
Those exemptions can include if you are 23 years old or older, a fifth-year student, have an Allied Health Internship, are living with a parent/guardian, are married, have a medical disability, have significant financial concerns, are student teaching, are a transfer student with 60+ transferred hours or have Veteran Status.
Students that are seeking special medical accommodations have to begin this process with Baker’s American’s with Disabilities Act (ADA) coordinator Deanna Wagner. ADA is a federal law that requires all schools, whether public or private to provide equal access to all accommodations for students that have disabilities.
“Students start with the ADA coordinator and complete a medical intake process, usually with documentation from a doctor,” Goodman said. “Once that’s approved, I work directly with the student to find a space that meets their needs.”
First-year Baker students do not participate in the lottery, they have a housing assignment that is handled separately and based on enrollment deposits, housing applications and roommate requests.
More information about housing options, any deadlines associated with the housing lottery and exemption policies is available through Baker University’s website.
