<p>Hi. I'm an incoming Connie, and was wondering whether or not Conservatory students are considered for dorms that are close to the Con. I am not planning on living in a freshmen dorm. I'm applying for "traditional housing." </p>
<p>I would hate to end up at the opposite side of campus... because that would really stink, a lot.</p>
<p>I do not think they give any consideration to distance when making room assignments for freshmen. For one thing, the campus is not that large. Even for an out of shape old guy like me, the Con is within a 10-minute walk or a 3-minute completely flat bike ride of any dorm on campus where they normally house freshmen. Should anyone have a legitimate disability that makes that much of a walk difficult, I imagine that the housing office would make every effort to place them as close as possible. Second, you can get your own locker in the Con, meaning that you would not have to make frequent trips back and forth to the dorm to retrieve music, instruments and accessories. You will be spending a fair amount of your discretionary time in practice rooms and the music library anyway, so you really can organize your schedule and your possessions to minimize the need to go back to the dorm during the day.</p>
<p>If you did not request First Year Experience or Substance Free housing, you could wind up in North, East or Burton which are the least convenient to the Con, or you might luck out and get South or Fairchild, which are quite close. There may still be time to request program housing which would put you in a specific building. Lord/Saunders (African Heritage), Allencroft (Russian House), Harvey (Spanish House), Price (Third World House), Kade (German House) and Baldwin (Women’s Collective) are all close to the Conservatory if you have a special interest in any of those areas.</p>
<p>You might also think about joining the co-op housing lottery for freshmen, but the only housing co-op that would get you much closer to the Con than North, East or Burton is Harkness, which I suggest you see in person before committing to live there. Some people love the place, others not so much.</p>
<p>What BassDad said – Oberlin is teensy. Walking from North or J-House to the con can be a pain in the winter, but it’s still only 10 minutes. </p>
<p>After your first year, you can choose exactly where you’ll be.</p>
<p>You can also scribble a little note on your housing ap to the effect of “please south campus so I can be close to the con?” Can’t hurt.</p>
<p>French, German, and Spanish houses are 50’s-ish buildings; Russian house is a small historic building; Asia House is also fairly close (across Tappan square) and is one of the larger program houses and in one of the more attractive buildings, designed by Cass Gilbert who designed some of the most beautiful buildings at Oberlin (including Allen Art Museum and Finney Chapel); it’s also called Quadrangle. It is near Stephenson dining hall; Pyle coop is housed there; it’s the largest and arguably the least friendly coop, but it requires fewer hours. Your best bet for proximity as a freshman would be first-year experience, at Dascomb, which has its own dining hall and is a stone’s throw from the conservatory.</p>
<p>Dascomb is also close to the Con, but requesting First Year Experience might result in getting Barrows, which would be about the same as the other north campus dorms. I think they used to let freshmen request specific dorms, but now they choose categories instead of buildings.</p>
<p>Well, Barrows is about as far south as you can get and still live on north campus. Compared to North, for example, it’s a good 3-5 minutes closer to the con. That’s a big difference for those of us who are perpetually running late ;)</p>