Hey Guys,
I might be able to help you understand things a little more clearly.
I will be a 3rd year RLS member (CA) next year, conveniently HPA Keyes.
Upper Year Students applying to rez:
-Everyone is put in a lottery system.
-If you have Dean's Honours (GPA 9.5+) and you have met all application requirements you will be guaranteed a bed space, however you do not get to choose which residence specifically- so you are still in the lottery for "building"
-if you have between a 5.0 and 9.5 GPA, you just get put into the general lottery system which will determine whether or not you get a place in residence or are put on waiting list. (Dean's Honours list will never be put on waiting list, they are always guaranteed list)
How to increase your chances of getting into "Keyes":
1. Meet someone who is going to be a CA in Keyes next year and put each other as "preferred roommate" on your application. CAs are already determined to be living in a specific residence, so for Bates/Keyes if we request someone (And you request us) it's likely that you'll end up with us.
2. Plan to room with someone who is on the Dean's Honours list and both of you can put "Suite Style" as your first choice.
3. Rank Suite Style as your first choice.
4. Emailing housing and conference about your preferences will not affect anything, UNLESS you have an alergy, sleep disorder, etc. which may give you priority for either Les Prince Hall or Mary E Keyes Residence (the two newest residence buildings)
Do Upper Years get places with First Years?
Yes they do! But, it depends on the following factors:
1. Many upper year students actually do live in double rooms with a friend. It's actually often more likely that you'll get a rez spot in a double room with a friend in upper year, if you haven't made the 9.5 GPA which guarantees you a spot.
2. You will not be given a double room offer if you do not select double room as an option that you're interested on your application. This also applies for Suite/Apartment style, if you ONLY list those two option and your lottery number is low and those rooms are all full you will NOT be offered a single room elsewhere, you will default to the waiting list.
I recommend putting as many choices as you can bear. i.e. 1. Suite Style, 2. Apartment Style, 3. Single with Washroom, 4. Single Room, 5. Double With Washroom, 6. Double.
3. If you are by yourself, applying for rez, and end up in a double room you will most often be paired with another upper year student in the same situation.
It is MORE likely that you will have a mixed group if you are in Keyes/Bates. Typically they will try to pair you with someone in a similar circumstance, and than place people in pairs in residence in Keyes/Bates. So you may find 2 upper years with 2 first years - it's more common in Bates/Keyes because everywhere else is single and double rooms.
4. In 3 years of residence, I am yet to find upper years in a triple or quad room. (For those who are confused Quad rooms can be found in Woodstock and Moulton and are 4 students living in one enormous room). These are usually only given to 1st year students.
Can I request all my roommates in Keyes/Bates?
Not any more. You can only request 1 roommate, and they have to list all residence choices in the same order as you, and they must also put you down as a preferred roommate.
When Keyes first opened they had an increased number of upper year students and you could be guaranteed residence there if you achieved a high average, that is no longer the case.
You also used to be able to request all 4 roommates, and they could be mixed gender (So long as all 4 roommates agreed), again - this is no longer the case.
For more detailed information about applying to rez as an upper year follow this link: http://housing.mcmaster.ca/Residence_Admissions/Upper_year.html.
Hope that helps!
-Ash.
I'd like to add:
Have 2 or more friends you would like to share a Triple, a Bunk Loft Triple or a Quad room with? - Each student in the group will need to email the Residence Admissions officewith this request including each of your friends' student number and their first and last names.
- Please note: this option does not extend to apartments or suites.
...so it looks like if you WANT to live in a triple or quad in upper years, and you've got 2-3 friends to request with, you could probably get it! just email housing, but they will not regard any emails of that sort for Apartment/Suite style.