On Monday, students hoping to live in residence halls began to take part in what a housing official called “the grand experiment.”

Students interested in living in residence halls next year will serve as guinea pigs in a new electronically based system of applying for housing that is replacing the old lottery format. On Monday, students had their first opportunity to register online to receive a priority number, said Mark D’Arienzo, associate director of university housing. Students will receive their numbers next week.

Gregg Kindle, NU’s director of residential life, said the new system was designed to give students more involvement in the final housing decision.

Students will be able to register, based on seniority, until April 15, but D’Arienzo estimated he already had received a few hundred applications after one day.

D’Arienzo said he expects registered students to receive their priority numbers via e-mail by April 17. The number shows the block in which students will be choosing their housing for next year. D’Arienzo said the change in the assignment process represents a large shift from the previous system.

“This is the first time in 25 or 30 years anything this radical has been undertaken,” he said.

After obtaining their numbers, students will then have one week to decide their desired housing arrangements for next year. Students will be able to sign up for residence halls beginning April 22, when they will come to Annenberg room G2 and write their name down on a specific residence list.

The first two nights of registration, starting April 22, are reserved for students who want to live in triples, quads or Kemper Hall single suites bring. Students wanting to live in singles in other dorms can sign up on the second set of nights and those hoping to reside in doubles can register on the third set of nights. Students can sign up for any other leftover housing on the fourth set of nights.

D’Arienzo recommends that students think about where they want to live before they enter the assignment room.

“Don’t go shopping without a shopping list,” he said.

If there is a wait list for housing, sophomores will have the highest priority. D’Arienzo said the policy was made because sophomores may have more of a need to stay on campus.

“Those students least prepared to move off campus have the greatest opportunity to return to university housing,” D’Arienzo said.

Weinberg freshman Mark Siegmund, who will be going through the housing assignment process, disagreed.

“It almost seems like (the system is) encouraging upperclassmen to stay on campus,” said Siegmund, who has junior standing and expects his housing process to go smoothly.

But D’Arienzo said the housing office only expects the number of juniors and seniors interested in on-campus housing to slightly increase.