<p>Hey. Last year, I asked for advice on housing and people came through for me. So I was wondering what the best place to dorm on West Campus would be for me if:</p>
<ul>
<li>I wanted to dorm near a few of my friends (3 or 4) in a block.</li>
<li>We would only have to share the bathroom/shower amongst us and not like with the whole floor. (So basically no like multiple shower stalls and multiple toilets for the whole floor but more private bathrooms.) (Are there any suite like set ups like in Mews? One of my friends stayed there this year and the bathrooms were shared by a block of 4 or so people I believe.)</li>
<li>Not too far from the campus or bus stops (This isn't that important but idk, I am just curious.) </li>
</ul>
<p>Thanks for the advice.</p>
<p>Also, there are no townhouses or anything like that on campus for second year right?</p>
<p>Pretty much everything on West is the same distance from everything.</p>
<p>The first thing I'd be worried about is that one of your friends needs to get a good block time (i.e. 6:00 or 6:20 am). If you don't get into the first block or two, it doesn't matter where you wanted to live, since it's probably already taken.</p>
<p>That being said, there are suites in all of the newer buildings, and if you're blocking with a few people you have a better shot at getting a good lottery spot. The suites are 5 people, 3 singles and a double. So if you have a 4 person block, you can take up 4 of the 5 spots in a suite and someone else will get that single.</p>
<p>The only way for you to get such a set up is to get a suite in one of the newer buildings - Alice Cook (Main Wing), Carl Becker, Rose, Hans Bethe, or Keeton. These usually aren't available past the first or second time slots. You may still be able to get into a newer building after, but probably not a suite. Our problem last year was that we had some good time slots, but we couldn't accommodate everyone in the building we wanted, and since we didn't want to ditch anyone, we ended up in one of the Gothics. Gothic bathrooms are generally terrible. So choosing your group is a tricky thing as well, unless someone has a really good time slot.</p>
<p>a few questions, if I may?
first, how do you know what you are choosing? is there a map available so you can look and say "I want that room right there" or do you choose from some category?
second, is it very unusual to not block? I don't plan to. I am very flexible with my living situation so I don't really care, but is it likely I'll be a single person sandwiched between (or stuck into) two blocking groups? also, since I won't have the benefit of the earliest time among a group of people, will I even find a space?</p>
<p>its very common to not block. and there are maps i believe, suites is 5-7 people and there are now co ed suites! i was the first one on campus to get into one! haha </p>
<p>but anyway, people block if their time is terrible and they know they can't get anywhere. last year when i was a freshman all the rooms in the newer buildings on west were basically taken by 6 40 am. and then i remember some genius pulled the fire alarm on us (i lived in donlon), and everyone had to leave their room</p>
<p>You go online, where they will have maps, and you'll be asked to click on the room(s) you want. Not blocking is not unusual, though in small groups blocking improves your chances of getting a good place to live. You're still supposedly guaranteed housing as a rising sophomore, so you should be able to find somewhere as long as you apply for the housing lottery. </p>
<p>Anbu, the fire alarm thing sounds absolutely insane! Were people forced to leave, or were a lot of people able to settle their housing before leaving their rooms?</p>
<p>haha i would have still kept on with choosing my room regardless of the fire alarm lol ... alas, thank goodness i never had to go through on campus housing ordeal.</p>
<p>well if your time lets then you can finish but for fire alarms, people are generally kept outside for a while since it wasn't a drill, they had to find out for sure that there's no real fire. it probably took around 20 minutes which could definitely have delayed some peoples dorm selections.</p>