On Monday, the Office of Residence Life held its lottery to determine which students would be permitted to live off campus for the 2025–26 academic year. Over 420 people applied for the lottery, and based on current enrollment trends, 100 students were allowed to live off campus, not including students who qualify for exemptions — marking a decline from the previous year. The low availability of slots in the lottery has caused frustration among students who were not able to receive allotments or had to split their groups as a result.

There will be a second round of the off-campus housing lottery, likely after spring break, according to Vice President and Dean of Residence Life and Auxiliary Services Mark Zeno, where students may have better luck in receiving allotments. 

Zeno emphasized the importance of residential living to the College.

“It’s the philosophy of Oberlin,” Zeno said. “We’re not unusual [among] small private liberal arts institutions … because we consider ourselves a residential learning community. We believe that learning takes place both in the classroom and outside, within our communities.”

Changes to policies regarding group applications made by ResLife have caused further frustration among students. Whereas in earlier years, students would be entered into the lottery as groups, they are now entered into the lottery as individuals, irrespective of whether they wish to share a lease with a specific group of people Because of this, many student groups found that only some of their members had received an off-campus slot. 

The change, according to Zeno, was to ensure that students who didn’t qualify for the lottery didn’t join groups that did.

“[In the past], students like juniors were getting pulled into groups and getting off campus,” Zeno said. “And then when I first got here, students said, ‘That’s not fair.’” 

College third-year Julia Davis expressed frustration at this policy change to the off-campus lottery system.

“Why cause all this chaos and make people split up their groups?” Davis wrote to the Review. “It’s going to be a lottery anyway. It would be better if groups could stick together.”

College third-year Neve Kelley, who applied in a group of seven, echoed these sentiments.

“I spoke with ResLife, who didn’t have many answers,” Kelley wrote to the Review. “All they said was that the off-campus approval is on an individual basis, but it should not be that way. It should be designed to accommodate … groups who want to live together.”

Many other students also expressed frustration at the results of the lottery.

“The long and short of it is that we don’t know what’s happening,” College third-year Nathaniel Liu said. “I’m going to sign a lease for a two-person apartment before I even know if [my housemate] is able to live with me.”

Unlike in prior years, students who did not get off-campus housing can now be entered into the village housing lottery. Earlier, students who applied for off-campus housing were moved to the back of the on-campus housing selection list. This year, they will be able to enter the queue in their regular positions. However, the College is planning to close certain Village Housing Units for the upcoming academic year for renovation. This means that only 159 beds will be available in Village Housing and apartments. 

College third-year Muriel Moon, who was the only member of their group of seven to be granted off-campus housing, expressed concern. 

“Housing has been a stressful process since our first year, with many in the class of ’26 being placed into ‘forced-triples,’ where three students were forced to live in a space meant for two,” Moon said. “I really feel disappointed that I may spend my final year at Oberlin in a dorm against my will for a second year, especially when my group had everything prepared in the right way to rent a house in advance. The off-campus lottery was ultimately the only limitation, and it makes me sad that there’s nothing I can do.”