Pre-mock

March 24, 2010 | Two-story lounge of Case Dorm, HMC

Harvey Mudd has a somewhat complicated process for choosing dorms for entering sophomores, juniors, and seniors. I'll try to describe in some detail.

Students generally pick ("pool") individual rooms and have the option of pooling roommates. Pool order is based first on groups (seniors / people with medical problems, juniors, sophomores) and then on a random predetermined order. The student with the lowest draw number gets to pool other students (with higher numbers) into that room with two exceptions:

• A student pooling a single may pool another student into a neighboring single
• Two students pooling into a double (based on the 2nd highest draw number) may pool two students into a neighboring double in the four main residence halls (but not in Case)

That happens during the draw. But the night before the draw is a mock draw, required for all students, in which the same thing happens. The intent is to give students an idea of what is going to happen.

Perhaps one night is too short of a time to resolve room pooling arguments, so dorms host a pre-mock draw a few days before. Before the pre-mock draw, there was a meeting for freshmen: a pre-pre-mock draw meeting.

The freshmen weren't very lucky. Four people trying to pool into a quad didn't make it. It was somewhat sad. But then we went to a donut social, and after that to a night cafe, and the mood lifted somewhat.

EDIT: I figured it out. After the pre-mock, the boards like that one stand in the cafeteria, and people may overwrite other people if they want. So, the pre-mock sets the initial position of the board, and is followed by unavoidable changes.