We often hear the following response, “I applied for the lottery on the first day it opened, but I was waitlisted. My friend applied on the last day, and they were confirmed! How is that fair?” To ensure fairness through our process, we use a lottery system. Just like a lottery involving money, it does not matter WHEN someone submits their application for the housing lottery – as long as it was during the allotted window. This provides an equal opportunity for all returning residents who submit their application through the lottery, the same probability to get confirmed for a space as anyone else.
A lottery is a random selection process in which a system randomly draws the UCFID numbers of students who submitted their application during the lottery window.
After initial lottery confirmations, all confirmed applicants may enter roommate matching to find roommates or request specific people with the same agreement type. Encourage your preferred roommate(s) to apply during the lottery window. Only those confirmed will be eligible to be pulled in as roommates.
For residents participating in same room sign-up in Towers and NorthView, you will have the opportunity to pull in roommates into any open spaces in your apartment after the same room sign-up period is over.
For residents participating in General Room Selection, you will be able to pick a room with a group of up to 4 confirmed residents with your same agreement type.
Room Selection will be done online via the Housing Portal in myUCF, and those participating will be able to choose their exact building, apartment, and bedroom. Residents who have confirmed applications will receive detailed instructions on how to complete room selection online, so it will be important to read the email communication regarding the process.
Most off-campus student apartment complexes are serviced by the UCF Shuttle. A listing of those complexes can be found at https://parking.ucf.edu/transportation/off-campus/
If you did not apply and make your prepayment during the lottery application window, you may put your name on the standby waitlist in the Housing Portal after the date that lottery decisions go out. It is extremely important to note that it is not guaranteed that space will become available. We would still strongly encourage you to seek out off-campus housing options if you are in this situation.
Students who receive a lottery confirmation but no longer need their space will have a very limited window during which they may cancel their housing at no penalty. This information will be included in the lottery notification email. Spaces forfeited by lottery recipients will be randomly distributed to students who choose to wait for a lottery confirmation on the waitlist.
We will continue to draw applicants from the remaining active lottery applications in the waitlist pool for spaces that become available throughout the spring and summer, and through the opening weekend of fall. Drawings will take place approximately every two weeks, depending on availability. Applicants waiting may choose to cancel and receive their prepayment back at any time. Approximately once per month, applicants on the waitlist will be asked to verify their continued interest in remaining on the waitlist so that individuals who no longer need a space can be removed from the pool.
This depends greatly on how many students apply and what type of application they select. In past years, we have received far more lottery applications for Academic-Year housing than for the Towers at Knights Plaza or NorthView. In previous years, we were able to offer lottery spaces to approximately 37% of the students who applied. It is important to note that each year the percentage of students who are offered space through the lottery may vary based upon the number of applicants.
Log in to myUCF and navigate to Student Self Service > Housing > Housing Portal > Application. Follow the on screen instructions. You can find detailed instructions here.