<p>My son just got his housing assignment as Babcock Hall in PAR. This was not on his list of preferred housing that he submitted. Does anyone know anything about this dorm? He is an engineering major and it seems rather far from Campus, engineering quad, Green Street, etc. We haven't found much information about it other than someone mentioned PAR is popular with international students. He is not international (white, out of state) but has a fair number of asian friends in high school; he wants to have a fairly active social life, but he is not much of a partier/bar kind of guy. His first preference for housing was the Innovation LLC Living Learning Community at ISR. </p>
<p>Can anyone tell us what Babcock/PAR/location is like and whether it is worth it to try to transfer to another dorm that is closer? Thanks for the info.</p>
<p>PAR is just sort of an average dorm. It’s not overly social, but it’s not typically quiet, either, because it receives many students who applied to the six pack as their first choice. It’s known for its excellent food. Yes, PAR is known for having many minorities, but that shouldn’t be concerning.</p>
<p>It’s far from the engineering quad, but unless your son is coming in with a boatload of AP or college credits, he probably will have very few classes out there… Most of them will likely be gen eds located around the main quad. Most former PAR residents I’ve spoken to have said the distance wasn’t really a problem… If your son is opposed to walking or riding a bike, there’s an active bus system that’s free to students.</p>
<p>If he’s really displeased with the assignment, feel free to try to put in a transfer request. Just know that the six pack and ISR will be receiving maaaany transfer requests. Those two will be almost impossible to get into.</p>
<p>Sometimes getting into the “six-pack” isn’t so difficult if you apply to the “Living/Learning Community”: Weston Exploration.</p>
<p>I lived in Babcock last year. On the whole, I wouldn’t say it’s a bad place to live; rather, it becomes what you make of it. I ended up with a good roommate and a good floor (though the definition of good is subjective). No worries about living in Babcock, set out to make it a good experience and it will hopefully be just that.</p>
<p>You can try to move to a different dorm after, I think, the first two weeks. Have your son talk to the RA/front desk ASAP.</p>
<p>PAR is not so bad. It is far from the rest of the campus, but there is a bus stop right outside the front door. I lived in FAR, which is right across the street, my freshman year. It is really what you make of it. The food is better than most places, but it’s still dorm food, so it’s whatever.</p>
<p>I would recommend trying to swap out, but it’s not a big deal if you get stuck there.</p>