Question: How is my class status determined?
Answer: When you entered Grinnell College, the Registrar classified you. Each semester completed at Grinnell or on an official off-campus study program adds one semester to your status. Taking a leave for personal or medical reasons or taking classes at another college does not add to your class status.

Question: If I will be a second-year student next year, how likely is it that I can get a single room?
Answer: Single rooms are awarded to seniors and juniors. This means first and second year students must plan to have a roommate(s). Second-year students must plan to draw into either a double or triple room.

Question: What happens if I am a second-year student next year and I don’t have a roommate?
Answer: Each year, a number of students have difficulty finding a roommate for the following year. Students without roommates may contact their RLC to add their name to a Roommate Needed list. Students on the list will receive the names of other students in need of a roommate. RLCs will work with students to find a suitable roommate. If you are still unable to find a suitable roommate, you must complete a Room Request Form (located in the Student Affairs Office). Students in need of a roommate will be housed according to their housing/roommate preferences during the summer with a transfer student or a student returning from leave.

Question: If I am a second-year student next year, can I live off-campus?
Answer: Grinnell College students are not eligible to live off-campus unless they:
are a third or fourth-year student; are 22 years of age by September 1; live with their parents in the Grinnell area; or are a student whose children live with them.

Question: If I am going to be a second-year student next year, what are my odds of getting a Group Draw room?
Answer: Group Draw rooms are by lottery and not based on class status. Odds are determined by the number of groups with complete applications for each location. All students who would like to be eligible to live in a Group Draw room must fill out an application and return it to the Office of Student Affairs by the deadline.

Question: If I am going to be a third-year student next year, how likely is it that I will be able to live off-campus?
Answer: There are a limited number of students who may live off-campus each year. The number of students who may live off-campus is set during spring semester for the following academic year. Students who live with parents in the Grinnell area, students whose children live with them, and students who are 22 years of age by September 1 have first priority. If off-campus spaces are still available, they will be offered to seniors and third-year students as established by their random number assignment. All students who meet the off-campus criteria and want to be eligible to live off-campus must sign-up by the deadline. Students should not sign a lease until they are given off-campus permission. Students are responsible for room and board costs until permitted to move off campus. For more information about off-campus housing, visit the following web site: Non-College Housing

Question: If two or more groups apply for the same house, how does the Housing Committee decide who receives the house?
Answer: After the House Hearing process, the Housing Committee picks the top groups based on their interview. Out of the top groups picked, the committee will do their best to meet preferences, but a group may be selected to receive a house they did not request.

Question: If I sign up to be an alternate for a College-Owned House, Group Draw, Cowles Apartment, or Mini Co-op, how does being an alternate impact my housing assignment (residence hall room obtained at Room Draw)?
Answer: Students who sign up to be alternates will automatically be placed within the College-Owned House, Group Draw, Cowles Apartment, or Mini Co-op if a vacancy occurs prior to the beginning of the start of the fall term. Students who are alternates relinquish their assigned room from Room Draw. If they have a roommate in Room Draw, he/she will be assigned a new roommate. Your roommate should be informed of your status as an alternate prior to Room Draw.