Daniel Zhao

In Thursday afternoon emails to the student body, Dean of Student Affairs Melanie Boyd announced that juniors will have priority in the Yale College housing process and that the Yale College Dean’s Office will increase the amount of single-gender bathrooms in residential colleges.

Starting with the housing selection for the 2025-26 school year, which begins next semester, members of the class of 2026 and 2027 will enter the housing lottery at the same time. In future cycles, rising juniors and seniors will switch selections, with juniors having full priority.

The News spoke with four rising seniors about the changes to the housing process. All expressed frustration with the new University policy. 

Yale College Council President Mimi Papathanasopolous ’26 and Vice President Esha Garg ’26 wrote that the administration did not consult with the YCC about the decision before it was announced. 

“As student leaders, we wish that the administration would have formally sought out student input before making this decision,” Garg wrote to the News. “We believe that there could’ve been other solutions to the issue of junior housing security, and we also believe that the student body could have helped to provide creative solutions.”

Garg added that as a rising senior, she is also disappointed that she will not have priority in the housing process.

Boyd wrote that the change in the timeline was to ease the transition from sophomore to junior year, when students lose guaranteed on-campus housing. 

In her message to the class of 2026, who will be entering the housing process as rising seniors, Boyd wrote that the change may be “unwelcome,” but that for many it will have “no effect” since 59 percent of the class lives off campus and are unlikely to return due to historic trends.

“Many students who move off campus in their junior year say they feel unprepared for this step, but they take it nevertheless because they are uneasy about their chances in the lottery,” Boyd wrote. “The new policy preserves juniors’ option to move off campus, if they wish, while making it less likely that they will feel pressure to do so.”

According to unreleased data in the YCC fall survey, the top reasons why students consider moving off campus are for various qualities which off-campus apartments offer, and dorms lack rather than the uncertainty of whether they will obtain housing in the lottery. 

Of 2,268 student respondents to a question about reasons why they might consider moving off campus, 44 percent checked “single bedrooms,” 48 percent checked “more space,” 47 percent checked “kitchens” and 47 percent checked “living with friends.” On the other hand, only 24 percent checked “concern that I will be annexed” and 27 percent “concern that I will not get on-campus housing.” 

Papathanasopoulos and Garg said that they sent this data to the administration but did not know if the administration used the data to make the decision. 

Rising seniors express frustration

Two rising seniors, Adam Brewster ’26 and Andrew Alam-Nist ’26 expressed skepticism regarding the arguments outlined in the announcement. Alam-Nist noted that he did not view the adjustment between sophomore and junior years and junior and senior years as particularly different. 

Brewster echoed these remarks, adding that some students are willing to live off-campus voluntarily, as opposed to out of obligation. 

However, rising seniors were disappointed in the new policy that will no longer prioritize seniority for students’ final year at Yale.

Alam-Nist told the News that his previous experiences with the housing system had been, at times, “unpleasant.” The certainty of on-campus housing during senior year, however, was an assurance that he had looked forward to. 

Alam-Nist said he observed that during senior year, students are often eager to spend their time on campus. He noted that with the implementation of the new housing policy, however, this experience would no longer be certain. 

“Going into senior year … you want your last year to be on campus so you can harness the experiences before you leave,” he said. “It’s disappointing now that it’s far from guaranteed that will be possible.” 

Brewster told the News that he continued to plan to live on campus next year. He said, however, that the type of housing he would aim for had changed. 

Brewster plans to opt for a standalone single as opposed to forming a suite with people from the college. 

“When you come into Yale, you really expect — you’re told — the rules of how the housing policy will work,” Brewster said. “It just felt really unfair. It feels like you’re told that the retirement [age] is going up to 70 years old when you’re 64.”

Increase in single-gendered bathrooms 

The other announcement from Boyd increases the amount of single-gender bathrooms available for students. According to the announcement, the policy is an attempt to increase accommodation for those who are interested in single-gender bathrooms, while ensuring that students will not be affected or negatively impacted by this preference during room draw.

Boyd’s email emphasized that the policy would not affect the gender composition of the rooms themselves, and that students would still be able to live in rooms and suites of any gender configuration. The nearest bathroom, however, will have a gender assignment as either a women’s bathroom, men’s bathroom or a gender-inclusive bathroom.  

Students in the housing draw will be able to see the gender assignment of the nearest bathroom when picking rooms, Boyd wrote.

Eytan Israel ’26 wrote to the News that he is thrilled by the changes to the process of requesting a single-gender bathroom. Israel was part of a coalition of observant Jews and Muslims who rallied for religious housing accommodations and for the University to increase the availability of single-gendered bathrooms.  

“This decision, to further streamline the process and provide assurances to every student that there will be a restroom where they can feel comfortable, is a major step toward making true to the promise of belonging for all,” Israel wrote. “I am excited to be able to respond to prospective students and tell them that as far as dorms and bathrooms are concerned, Yale is fully accommodating to religious needs.”

Yale enacted a streamlined housing process in 2023, having the Yale College Housing Office oversee all residential colleges’ housing processes on a single calendar.

Tristan Hernandez contributed reporting.