Frequently Asked Questions

What are my chances of getting in to a [double/triple/single]?

This question requires knowing what other groups are going to pick. Your house administrator cannot predict behavior, so there is no real answer to this question. After the sign-up period closes, and all groups have been created, you will get a chance to see how people have grouped themselves, which might give you an idea. But keep in mind, a group can select all hallway singles if they want to, or a single and a double.

Cabot anticipates approximately 200 upperclassmen participating in the lottery, with about 46% participating as Seniors, 54% participating as Juniors.

While you are creating your group, you are encouraged to select people that you could live with successfully, not those who you think could improve your chances of a particular room.

That being said, here's a listing of how the beds of Cabot are arranged, in terms of rooms. Below is a table of rooms by type. We hope this data gives you an approximate sense of your "chances," although honestly, there's only so much we can tell you about human behavior.

I currently live in Cabot, but I would like to apply for Inter-House Transfer out of Cabot. Should I still take part in Spring houing?

If you are currently a Cabot student, and you have been approved to be on campus for the Spring 2021 term, your housing is currently assigned to Cabot House. Students may not form groups with people who have a different House affiliation, or people who do not have confirmed housing for Spring 2021. Houses have not been given a timeframe for the return of inter-house transfer.

I'm thinking of moving off campus. Should I participate in this housing?

If you have confirmed you are going to be on campus, and then change your mind and sign a lease for an apartment, please let the House Administrator know as soon as possible. Your name will be removed from consideration from the Cabot spring housing process, and any room assigned to you will be re-assigned to another student.

If you believe you are going to be off-campus, you are encouraged to prioritize a hallway single. Cabot reserves the right to use every available bed space for housing, so if you select a suite with someone who is going to be off-campus, a floater may be placed in your suite if there is room to place them.

I have a note from my coach/letter from someone not in the AEO regarding my housing. Can I get special consideration?

We would like to have an even playing field for all students. Special housing consideration may be given by:

1. the AEO

2. the Title IX office

3. the Ad Board/The resident dean

4. The College Housing Office/Dean of Students

However, in most cases, this will not change your position in the housing process. Otherwise, if you think you may have special needs, you are encouraged to list a hallway single for your room. If you want to explain what you need in a wish letter after housing assignments, the house administrator will work to re-house you.

What if I make a group using the form, and then want make a change later. Can I do that?

If it's before Jan 4 at 3 p.m., then yes-- just use the averaging form to put in a new entry, or email the House Administrator. You can email the House Administrator up to Jan 5 at 11 a.m. By Jan. 5 at noon, the list will be considered final.

My best friend will not be returning in the Spring of 2021. Can I include them in my group?

Sorry, but no. You can only create groups with someone who is going to be living on campus in Cabot House for the Spring 2021 term. If your housing is not confirmed for the Spring 2021 term, you are not eligible to be housed on campus. Housing is decided one semester at a time. Students on leave in the Spring but returning in the Fall will be considered for the next housing lottery.

You may only select a room with the exact number of people in your lottery group. This means you cannot save an empty bed space for a friend.

Any person deemed not eligible because they will be off campus may be removed from housing by the recommendation of Cabot's senior staff (Faculty Deans, Resident Dean, Academic Coordinator, House Administrator, Building Manger, or Senior Tutor) or by recommendation of the DSO.

Can I average with someone who is a member of another house?

I'm sorry, but no-- beds in Cabot are intended for students assigned to live in Cabot House. Cabot cannot assign students from other Houses to beds in Cabot. Similarly, Cabot cannot assign you to rooms not inside Cabot House.

What's this I hear about Cabot Housing in Harvard Yard?

If the number of students assigned to Cabot House is greater than the number of rooms Cabot has (about 205), Cabot will be assigned extra bed spaces in Harvard Yard. At this stage, that housing is theoretical. Hence, Cabot has possible rooms in Harvard Yard. We do not know what rooms these will be. However, if we do get assigned rooms in Harvard Yard, we won't get a choice about which building that will be. If we end up with rooms in Harvard Yard, the House Administrator will list those as soon as they are available. However, this housing will be used last. If anyone cancels their housing and was placed inside Cabot House, those assigned to the Yard may be floated into the space vacated by the student who cancelled their housing.

Can I indicate that I would prefer to live in Harvard Yard?

We don't know if housing in the Yard exists. Hence, if you are filling out your form and you have not seen any emails from the House Administrator about extra housing in the Yard, then it does not exist. If you list it on the form, it will be ignored. If the House Administrator does list extra housing in Harvard Yard, you can list "yard" on your form, but it will not be prioritized for housing-- any other housing you list will be assigned to you first. If you are placed in Yard housing and someone housed at Cabot cancels, you may be floated in to the Cabot space instead.

Can I make a group with someone who needs ad board approval to return (not study abroad)?

You can average with anyone who has confirmed that they intend to be on campus for the Spring 2021 term. If they have an outstanding ad board petition, the House Administrator will consult with the Resident Dean to see if it is appropriate for them to be part of this housing process.

My friend signed me up on the housing form. I'm in the housing process, right?

If you have confirmed that you will be in housing for the Spring 2021 term, and your friend signs you up for housing in their group, you are "enrolled" in the housing process. This is different than the lottery process, which requires individual enrollment.

I want to add someone to my group, but they haven't confirmed their housing for the Spring 2021 term. Is that possible?

Sorry, no. You cannot add someone into your group who will not be here in the Spring 2021 term. You cannot save a room for someone who will not be here. If your friend plans to come back in the fall and requests to live with you, the House Administrator will try hard to meet that request in the next housing lottery. However you cannot live with that person for the spring term. The list of everyone eligible to participate in Spring 2021 housing is maintained by the college housing office, and given to the Houses.

So what happens if I make a group with someone who is not going to be here this spring?

If you create a group with someone who has not been approved for housing in the spring term, that person's name will be immediately removed from your group and you will be notified. If the person has confirmed their housing, is assigned a space, and then subsequently cancels their housing, their empty bed space will be under consideration for any returning student who needs housing. Be prepared for someone to be assigned to your suite.

If I enter my housing preferences then cancel my housing, will a floater be put in my suite with my friends?

Yes, that could happen. Cabot reserves the right to re-assign bed spaces as needed to house incoming students. Cabot has a responsibility to provide housing for everyone who is assigned to live here, which means all empty bed spaces will be considered for the housing of incoming students. Cabot's preference is to put late transfers/floaters into singles as often as possible, unless the incoming student makes a request to live with friends living in a suite. However, if no singles are open, your suite will receive a randomly-assigned student.

It's after housing assignments have been given out and my group doesn't want to live together anymore. Can we make a change?

You can submit a wish letter to the House Administrator (apepper@fas.harvard.edu) between Jan. 7 to Jan 10. These will be decided between Jan. 7th to Jan. 10th. You will be notified by Jan. 10th or 11th if your housing is able to be changed. After Jan. 11, all housing is final.

What if I don't want to sign up for spring housing. How will housing be decided for me?

All students who have confirmed that they will be on campus will have a suite assignment given by the House Administrator. If you choose not to use the form to let the house administrator know your preferences, you will be housed at the bottom of your class, after everyone who did list a preference.

I actually have 4 or 5 friends. Can we please make a group of 4 or 5?

The College is asking all Houses to make groups no larger than 3, since no more than 3 can share a bathroom (hence, no more than 3 will be placed into a suite, regardless of the original occupancy of the suite). Therefore, all groups will have a maximum size of 3.

You can contact the house administrator on Jan. 7th, when she is doing suite assignments (live), and ask to delay your assignment until the other half of your group is housed, and pick a room next to your other friends, but no more than 3 will be assigned to any suite.

How can we re-organize ourselves so that our group of 3 is housed at the same time as the rest of our friends?

The House administrator will be live when assigning rooms. If you want to call or text or contact via google chat and ask to delay until another group further down the list is housed, and then house together, just reach out to Amanda (the House Administrator) and tell her you want to delay. No more than 3 can be placed in a suite, but a delay could put you in adjacent suites to a group further down the list. However, no group will be moved out of their assigned housing without their consent-- you may not ask for another group to be moved out of a suite so that your group can go in there. You and your linked group will have to select empty spaces.

Why does Cabot allow groups to delay and join other groups? Doesn't that make it harder to predict what other people are going to do?

Yes, allowing other groups to pick together during room assignment does mean that there is less predictability for everyone. However, it creates less stress on individuals who have trouble with their groups or friends, and less stress for groups who are uncomfortable with one of their members, and think they would not be successful living together. We would like to give as much flexibility as possible to students regarding their housing, in order to help them make choices that will not cause undue stress or social conflict. This does lead to less predictability in the process, but we believe it also creates a better result in housing.

I didn't confirm that I needed housing on campus this spring, but my other plans fell through and now I need housing. What do I do?

Please email the house administrator (apepper@fas.harvard.edu) and the college housing office (collegehousing@fas.harvard.edu) immediately. Given our restrictions, we may not be able to house you, but we will definitely try. Depending on when you let us know, you might be placed on the space-available wait list.

I got a terrible lottery number last time, so I'm bound to do well in this selection, right?

Random means random. Random does not take into consideration what happened before, or is cognizant of what karmic justice would be. The script doesn't work like that. If you are eligible for senior standing and use it this time, then you will be picking in the top half of all students living in Cabot House, so your housing chances will be better than they were last year, but doesn't take into account your relative placement within your class.

What is the success rate of wish letters?

People have been curious about this. As stated on the wish letter page, a wish letter cannot be approved if it comes in too late, if it is not reflective of what the whole group wants, or if it contains untruths. That being said, here is the success rate of wish letters in recent years:

2019: 85% granted

2018: 83% granted

2017: 81% granted

2016: 82% granted

2015: 91% granted