<p>So I got the email about housing apps today. Any advice on filling out my app? Meal plans? MLC's?</p>
<p>Well the advice for MLCs is quite simple in that you should only indicate an MLC that you have actually been accepted into and plan on participating in. This is the only way to get guaranteed housing in a certain building, i.e. if you are in Honors you are guaranteed a spot in West Quad, if you are in MRC you are guaranteed a spot in Mojo, etc.</p>
<p>For meal plans, don’t even consider getting the 200 meal plan, it’s absurd. Unless you live in Mojo, you won’t go to the dining hall nearly as often as you might predict. I got the 125 plan both semesters this year and I still have about 90 left from the original 250 and there’s only a month of classes left. The good thing is that you can change your meal plan within the first three weeks of the semester, so as of now it doesn’t really matter what you get. Measure how often you go to the dining hall after 2-3 weeks and change your meal plan accordingly. Having more Blue Bucks and Dining Dollars are also very nice, especially if you live in South Quad or Mojo because Victors, ConXion, and Ciao Down all accept Dining Dollars and they’re right there (though South Quad will be closed next year). Blue Bucks are accepted at Bert’s as well as everything in the Union & League and at most vending machines on campus.</p>
<p>Other than that, just fill out where you’d prefer to live and what kind of housing you’d like and hope for the best. It’s all done in a lottery so whether or not you’ll actually get what you want is purely by chance.</p>
<p>I thought applications for Learning Communities were to be filled out when the housing application is to be filled out.</p>
<p>It depends on the community. For Honors and RC, this isn’t the case. For Honors, you must submit a separate application (the essay), and for RC, you must have indicated your desire to participate on the Common App. For MRC and other learning communities, you are correct.</p>
<p>Also, you’re just about guaranteed a spot in Martha Cook or Betsy Barbour if you make your preference all-girls housing.</p>
<p>Not Martha Cook, entenduintransit. There’s a more complicated application process for that dorm, as I recall. I believe you’re thinking of Helen Newberry, which is next door to Barbour.</p>
<p>You’re correct. My mistake, I don’t know why I was thinking of that-- I’m getting my female-named dorms mixed up. Man, I’m just being wrong all over the place today!</p>