<p>Being OOS and not too familiar with the dorms, is there a few that are newer/roomier than others and are Freshman able to make any requests?</p>
<p>D is a freshman this year and I will be completely honest in saying that the housing situation has been disappointing. Everything about her FYE at OSU has been positive except that. Due to reconstruction, many first year students are crammed into suites for four that were meant for two. From what I am reading in articles, this will continue into next year… and the goal is also to INCREASE enrollment. </p>
<p>I will also mention that there is minimal monitoring in the dorms for alcohol use. Kids have liquor in refrigerators in their rooms… how and why OSU does not crack down on this, I do not understand. In the first week, during a party in the dorm, D was offered a mixed drink of vodka, cough syrup and gatorade. In the dorm! She turned it down. Fortunately, she is not and has never been a drinker but for others that are experimenting there is ample opportunity to do so.</p>
<p>Most dorms are co-ed and males and females are living next door to each other. This allows for ‘sleepovers’ in each other’s rooms and happens frequently. Not a prude, mind you, but this is so different from my college days and can create interesting challenges for these kids.</p>
<p>I mention the above so that parents know what I did not know going in. Some parents may not have any issue with any of this, others might… It has still been a positive experience for my daughter as she has self-control and we are very open in our communication. </p>
<p>That said, to answer your question, D lives on North campus and the location is excellent. She is close to all her classes and those that are farther away, there is a bus stop right in from of her dorm. If she were to live on campus next year, she said she would live in this same area again.</p>
<p>My son is a freshman in a double in Paterson. He is very happy with his room, gets along well with his room mate, likes his RA and is in a great location on the campus. Most of that was a crap shoot. I do think he got his second choice because he accepted his admission the day it came on Dec. 3. His housing request and down payment was sent immediately and he had his top 4 choices ready as soon as he could submit them. Within certain limits, it is first-come, first-served. Seniors who wait until May 1 to declare their choice will be behind those that accepted and paid their down payment earlier.</p>
<p>My daughter is in a quad in Paterson. It is actually 2 rooms so they have 2 bunks in one and an entertainment room-but there aren’t many like that. I stayed in a quad in one of the North Towers and it was smaller. There is a lot of noise from the construction, and the South quad still has all those wells that aren’t finished.</p>
<p>I lived in Lincoln, which is one of the two towers on the west side of campus, close to the RPAC. Each person either lived in a double or a quad suite, and shared a bedroom and a study-room attached to the bedroom with their roommate(s). A cluster of four of these bedroom/ study-room suites are then attached to a common room, which is pretty large, and a larger bathroom. I thought that was a lot more space per person than a lot of other dorms provided, and only one of the four suites is typically a quad, so the other three rooms are doubles. </p>
<p>As far as there being a lot of alcohol in the dorms, it kind of depends on what kinds of people live on the same floor. Some RAs also turn a blind eye, whereas other write up residents as often as possible, which determines how much dorm partying goes on.</p>
<p>I understand what you are saying Maybell and perhaps some of the RAs would rather be ‘friends’ with the freshmen on their floor than an authority figure. It’s not so much that the kids are drinking - that’s going to happen as there are many opportunities to party off campus - it’s that the dorm should not be a de facto bar.</p>
<p>Does anyone know how the housing selections are made, what is the process? I have a D at Penn State and they select their housing requests when the deposit is made. </p>
<p>As for the drinking and all that goes with it, I am amazed how crazy and stupid (forgive me for saying) kids are. We can only hope our children make good decisions, but again, I am so shocked at the things my other D has shared with me.</p>
<p>I think you can access their online housing application after you accept admission and pay an acceptance fee. Then the housing applications are processed as received. You don’t find out what your actual housing assignment is until late in the summer.</p>
<p>@crazedmom- Your daughter will receive an email about housing sometime after the letter of acceptance and the fee is mailed back to the university. My son signed in Dec last year and I think his housing options were available sometime in March. It is more than just housing choices too. It includes at least the room mate selection survey and meal plan option. The housing form consisted of picking 4 top choices. He could either list 4 specific dorms (that’s what he did), style of room (double, quads, etc.) or campus area. I suggest your daughter look at OSU’s website for dorm descriptions so she has an idea before the email arrives. There are so many dorms with different choices and prices that it will probably take a little research on her part. </p>
<p>And then the LONG wait begins. OSU actually started orientations before students knew where they were living or who their room mate was. Of course, the switch to semesters will change that timeline.</p>
<p>Thanks to you all!!! Happy Holidays :)</p>