I’m an incoming freshman at University Park for fall 2018. I was accepted into the college of engineering and it looks like East and Pollock are very far away from the engineering campus. Should I still look to go into East or Pollock or should I request an SLO? For example, what is the freshman living experience like in E-House? Thanks
What do you mean by “the engineering campus”? Classes can be just about anywhere. I’ve had a couple in Hammond (which is on the west side of campus and is the general engineering building you’re probably thinking of) but also several in Forum (north), Thomas (east, and the temporary home for chemE while they build the new building), Sackett (central), Osmond (central), etc. It really depends. Especially at the beginning – EDesign might be in Hammond, but stuff like CHEM 110 or MATH 140 could be in Life Sci, could be in Osmond, could be in Willard, could be in Forum…
So basically I’d just pick where you want to live based on the personality of that set of halls, because at least one of your classes might be far no matter what you do.
As a freshman, your classes will be all over campus. My kid is in one of the furthest dorms (Earle in East) and she doesn’t mind the walk. Keeps off the freshmen 15. Honestly though, engineering is a tough major so you may want to consider the SLO so you have a built-in study group for CHEM 110, MATH 140, and what not.
Regardless, don’t stress about housing. Just about every student who posts where they lived freshmen year will tell you that they loved it. I’m a fan of East simply because it’s all freshmen. But you can just as easily build your own mini support community by belonging to an SLO or joining clubs.
Quick side note: for engineering, hit the ground hard on studying. It’s a very tough major.