Letter to Families about Room Selection 2012-2013

To the Families of our Seton Hall University Resident Students:

Happy New Year from the Department of Housing and Residence Life at Seton Hall University! We will begin the 2012-2013 Room Selection process on February 1st, 2012. That is the first day on which students, who wish to return to housing, may submit their $325 non-refundable room reservation deposit and apply for housing. This is the first step in the process of applying for University housing. Students must meet all deadlines and complete all necessary steps in the process to be eligible to participate in room selection which begins the week of March 30th, 2012.

This is an exciting time for your student and we hope by sending information home to family members, you can become a partner in preparing them for this process. Spaces are limited and demand for housing has been greater in the last several years. Should demand for 2012-2013 exceed available spaces, students who deposit and apply on time will be placed on the Housing Wait List in lottery number order and placed before students who deposit late. Any student who deposits after the deadline (February 17th, 2012) will be placed on the Wait List and be assigned as spaces become available. Wait lists assignments are based on distance of home address from campus and date of application received.

Below is a brief informational checklist for Room Selection 2012-2013. We have also included a handy quick reference checklist for your refrigerator. We will send more information directly to students after the start of the spring semester and highlight Room Selection in our next episode of Hall Housing Happenings (if you wish to sign up to receive this parent video blog, please email us at SHUHOUSING@SHU.EDU.)

 RESOLVE BALANCE – Prior to February 1st: Make sure all balances are cleared and there are no holds on the student’s account. If there is a balance on the account, the student will not be permitted to apply for housing. Students can check their hold status on Banner Self-Service.
 SUBMIT $325 ROOM RESERVATION DEPOSIT – February 1st-17th: A room deposit of $325 is required and may be paid online 24 hours a day or in person in the Bursar’s office in Bayley Hall during business hours. Students who wish to be a part of the Room Selection process must submit their room reservation deposit no later than 11:59pm on February 17th, 2012. Please note: All credit card and electronic check payments must be made online through the “Pay Your Housing Deposit” link on the Housing & Residence Life website (http://www.shu.edu/offices/housing-residence-life/forms.cfm). Seton Hall University will accept Visa, MasterCard, or American Express for the housing deposit only. Also, beginning in 2012-2013, the housing deposit will no longer be refundable.
o Students who submit a room deposit on time will be able to complete a housing application, have their Priority Points calculated and be given a lottery number (Priority Points is the values-based system that Housing & Residence Life uses to determine lottery order for the room selection process.)
o Students who submit a room deposit late (after 11:59pm on February, 17th, 2012) will not have Priority Points calculated, will be ineligible to participate in the Room Selection process and will be depositing to our Housing Wait List.
 COMPLETE HOUSING APPLICATION – February 1st-17th: After submitting the Room Reservation Deposit, students complete the Housing Application online. Students who apply during this time frame will have their Priority Points calculated and be eligible to participate in the Room Selection process. As noted above, students who apply for housing after 11:59pm on February 17th, will not have Priority Points calculated, will be placed on the Housing Wait List and will be assigned when a room becomes available based on distance of home address from campus and date of application received. Please note: students who have a balance or registration hold on their account will not be permitted to complete a housing application until their account is cleared.
o Submission of the Housing Application means the student acknowledges and agrees to abide by the terms and conditions listed in the Housing License Agreement. This year’s License can be viewed on http://www.shu.edu/offices/housing-residence-life/forms.cfm.
 SELECT ROOM ASSIGNMENT – Beginning March 30th: Students will participate in an Online Room Selection process to select their rooms for the 2012-2013 academic year. We will send more information directly to eligible students on how the process moves forward, including specific dates for living learning communities like Sophomore Discovery Program and Turrell Manor Servant Leadership, after the start of the spring semester.
After students submit their Housing Applications, we are encouraging them to begin conversations with their peers about potential roommates and housing arrangements. We believe families are also an important part of this conversation. Different residence halls offer different living experiences and you can help your student to make good decisions that will enhance their experience at Seton Hall. Choice of roommates is also important to assure a good match in terms of living style and study habits. Your student may also wish to apply for one of our specialized living-learning communities which require a supplemental application in addition to the housing deposit and standard housing application. For more information on our residence halls and these communities, please visit www.shu.edu/go/housing.
It is our hope that this process will run smoothly for your student and that, with your help, your student will find a place to call Home at the Hall. If you or your student have any questions about the information contained in this letter, please call us at (973)761-9172 or email SHUHOUSING@SHU.EDU. You may also find us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/SetonHallHRL.
Sincerely,

Cheryl Lynn Janus
Assistant Director – Housing Operations & Marketing