harri

If you sort of think that you might go to U of I, then you should definitely send in a housing application as soon as possible to make sure you end up somewhere that you somewhat like.

I was really unsure of where I would go last year, so I put off sending in my housing application until really late. If you make the same mistake as me, you'll usually be placed into temporary housing or rooms that no one else wanted. I was randomly assigned to a cracker box of a triple room on the 12th floor of FAR. I mentioned the floor because the elevator in FAR only goes to the 11th floor.

Also, everyone should be aware that there's a chance to request your first choice residence hall if you find out that you were assigned somewhere else.

This webpage contains a link for a room request form:

http://www.housing.uiuc.edu/contact...act#room_change

The " Waitlist/Change Request Form" link will lead you to an Adobe document that you'd have to print and fill out to request a room at your first choice residence hall based on space availability. There are no guarantees though.

If you still don't get into the residence hall you wanted, then there is a chance to switch into a different residence hall for the spring semester, but it really depends on whether space becomes available. Plus, you have to talk with your resident director about reasons for wanting to transfer into a different residence hall.

There is also something called a "reciprocal release agreement." This allows you to cancel your contract with the university residence halls after the fall semester so that you can move into a privately owned housing option for the spring semester.