Apply to Live in the Dudley Co-Op

In order to live in the Dudley Co-op, there are a few steps.

  1. First, you must first go to the house at 3 Sacramento Street for dinner to see the house, interact with the resident students, and get a feel for the vibe of the house and the responsibilities of living in a co-op. Fifteen minutes before our 6:30 p.m. dinner starts, one of the Co-op Tutors will meet with you to discuss living in the co-op and to explore whether it seems like a good fit for you. To set up an appointment for your interview and dinner, contact the Co-op Tutors, Corinna Robinson (corinnarobinson@hds.harvard.edu) and Conleigh Byers (cbyers@fas.harvard.edu). The tutors are not available for interviews every day, so it's important to email in advance.
  2. Next, if you are still interested in living in the Co-op after meeting with the tutor, contact the Dudley Community office at ududley@fas.harvard.edu or 617-495-2256 and request your name to be placed on the Co-op waitlist.
  3. Once your name comes up on the waitlist, you will be offered a room in the Co-op and if you accept, you'll send back a signed move-in contract.
  4. Once you send in your contract, you will need to submit a Dudley Co-op Relocation Form in the Residential Portal.
  5. Once this is all completed you'll be invited to move in.

Please note that ideally these steps are all completed before a semester starts, but students may move into the Co-op once the semester has begun, as long as their move-in is completed by the 5th Monday of the term. These steps, including some behind-the scenes adminstrative steps that must be completed before a move cna happen, usually take at least a week to complete once the process is started.

It is important to get a feel for the Co-op in person before you make the decision to live there. If you know of students who might enjoy living in a small, welcoming, cooperative community, please encourage them to visit the Dudley Co-op. If you think this sounds interesting for yourself, consider this an invitation to dinner some night soon!

 

 

FAQs:

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  • When will I be offered a space if I place my name on the waitlist? We start making offers for the next term sometime after Housing Day in spring, and close to the Thanksgiving break in fall. Offers to join the Co-op are made on a rolling basis, so as spaces open up (or people turn down their offer), we move through the waitlist. If you get an offer, it's helpful for you to get back to us with your decision quickly especially if you decide the Co-op isn't a fit for you right now, so we can invite the next person to join us.
     
  • When will I choose my room?  Traditionally new Co-opers "squat" in open rooms until they first arrive and choose their room during Co-op New Year, a work and community-building day all Co-opers must attend that happens on the Sat or Sun before classes begin. Due to public health conditions, we sometimes need to do a virtual room draw in advance.
     
  • What if I have a need for a certain kind of room? (single, emotional support animal, etc): While the Co-op prides itself on trying to understand each other's needs and collaborate to meet them, these kinds of requests cannot always be met at Room Draw, in part due to the architecture of the space. The Co-op is part of Harvard Housing, so if you have registered with the Accessible Education Office (AEO) in advance and received housing accomodations, the Dudley Community Office will work with the AEO and the room draw point person to try to meet your needs. This takes time, so we encourage you to reach out to AEO to register ASAP, and to discuss your specific needs with Carvina Williams (ududley@fas.harvard.edu) as soon as possible. The Co-op houses more than one third of the students in doubles, so singles can be rare for new Co-opers!
     
  • Can I move into Dudley just for a semester? When you choose Dudley Co-op, you are committing to being part of this intentional community and giving up your spot in your House. Students typically remain in the Co-op until they graduate or choose to move off campus. If you move into the Co-op and find it isn't a good fit, you can contact our house administrator Carvina Williams at ududley@fas.harvard.edu to find out if returning to your previous House is a possibility - this needs to be done before Returning Student Applications are due for the next term.  Students with only one semester remaining are welcome to move to the Co-op for their last term. In all cases Co-op students become Dudley for the purposes of advising such as fellowship, pre-med, pre-law, prizes, etc, and no longer hold their previous House affilitation. For commencement, students can choose to walk with any House or Dudley with advanced notice to their current House/Dudley and the House they wish to walk with.

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