<p>Hey mustangs (& future mustangs)
I am trying tofigure out which dorms to live in next year as a freshman!
The ones I really want to know about are McElvaney & Boaz. Can anyone give me details (especially because Boaz has been renovated!!)</p>
<p>My third choice will be Cockerell-Macintosh because I want to live in a fregman dorm!</p>
<p>If you can find/pictures and link them here as well that would be great!!</p>
<p>Cockerell-Macintosh is not an all freshman dorm .</p>
<p>^ which is why, out of the 3 I listed, it’s my third choice!
It’s 3rd because I’d rather live in an al freshman dorm</p>
<p>kollegekid2011 - is that why boaz cost more? do you know what other dorms have been renovated? also, i believe cockerell is a engineering dorm.</p>
<p>I talked to my friend who goes there.
He said Boaz is newer yet a tad smaller per dorm
McElvaney is a bit bigger and has Macs place but is a bit older
Cockerell is not just for engineering, though it is a four year dorm</p>
<p>I was hoping for some current students perspectives on them!</p>
<p>There isn’t really a “best” dorm on campus, and they all have their own feel. Wherever you lived freshman year is the one you think is best, and everyone develops a strong allegiance to where they lived. Mac/Boaz and Smith/Perkins are all first year dorms, Virginia-Snider is mixed and has a decent number of freshman (where I lived last year), Shuttles is mostly sophomores, Cocintosh and MoMac are mixed with a fair number of first years.</p>
<p>Is the dorm deposit fully refundable if one decides not to attend?</p>
<p>I asked another friend (a girl) about dorms and I thought I would share her thoughts/wisdom with you:</p>
<p>“Dorm wise, it really depends on what you are looking for. Boaz and McElvaney are the two all freshmen dorms, and they are pretty crazy. Boaz is newer then Mac, but it is also the crazier one, and both are pretty small with community baths. I’m in Mac now, and I like it better than Boaz just because we have Mac’s Place on the ground floor where you can get food.
Morrison-McGinnis and Cockrell-Macintosh are in the south quad with McElvaney and they are suite style. ****-Intosh is generally considered the engineering dorm, and I know people in MoMac, and it’s pretty nice. Also, Smith-Perkins is south quad, by the chapel, and the Hilltop Scholars usually live there. Idk much about it…
Virginia-Snider is the honors dorm, and it’s suite styled as well. I might be moving there if I get in to the honors college, but I’m not sure yet.
Mary Hay and Peyton are the arts dorms. Anyone can live there but usually people in Meadows live there. I think I want to live in Peyton next year because it is the nicer/larger of the two.
Shuttles is probably the nicest of all the dorms because it is the newest. People call it “Hotel Shuttles” and it’s in the north quad.
Honestly it’s up to you and what you’re most comfortable with. I chose McElvaney because I am a New Century Scholar and you have to live there, and because I wanted the freshmen year experience, but I’m already over it haha.”</p>
<p>and there are her thoughts!!</p>
<p>Thank you so much for the information on the dorms. I appreciate it. I submitted the dorm application. Did you?</p>
<p>Doing so tomorrow!</p>
<p>Rice - It doesn’t look like the dorm is refundable. It is only $100 though.</p>
<p>Simple Life - Since you have children that attend SMU, can I ask you a question about the dorms? My son has accepted his offer to attend SMU and is interested in living at the engineering “community” dorm, which is Cockerell. My question is do you recommend a single or a double for the first year? My son doesn’t know anyone else attending SMU and he is okay with either arrangement. He’d probably prefer being alone but I’m not sure. What did your children do? Thank you in advance for your help. :)</p>
<p>As a student I would say that getting a single is one of the worst things you can do. I’m an only child and didn’t know a soul at SMU when I got here, but having a roommate really helped so much. A roommate is just such a huge part of the experience that I don’t think you want your son to miss out</p>
<p>Thank you johnangle. I have another question for you. I understand that my son has to register to sign up for a two day AARO session that will be held over the summer so he can meet with his advisor and sign up for classes. He tried to register and wasn’t able to because SMU requires a final transcript first. He will finish his senior year mid June (which is usually a month later than the Texas schools) and at the earliest he will be able to sign up for AARO the first week of July. That seems awful late to sign up for a two day session. Is there any way we can sign up in advance? We would like to book our airline tickets in advance as well. Again, thank you for your help. Maybe my son should just call the admissions office for help?</p>
<p>Hi newjersey.
My sophomore son at SMU has always had a single. He’s had a strong preference for a single from day one. </p>
<p>Lots of people have told us what johnangle said – that it’s one of the worst things you can do. But, I think it depends on the person. For the majority of people, having a roommate is probably a good idea. In a handful of other people’s cases, I think it’s better to go for a single. Maybe if your son goes back and forth on the idea, then a roommate is better for him as well. ?</p>
<p>My sophomore son’s dorm experiences have been very different, even though he’s had a single each year.</p>
<p>Freshman year, he lived in Morrison-McGinnis, which is where most freshmen who end up with singles live, as we understand it. I do think it takes a particular type of person to enjoy that experience and not feel socially isolated. We were told that the Mo-Mc singles were probably the least requested singles and therefore the easiest to get as freshmen. The reason? They are all in one separate wing of the Mo-Mc hall; they are kind of physically isolated from everything; and they are very quiet.</p>
<p>The singles shared a community bathroom, which my son hated. His single was huge. He liked having a quiet place to study and hang out. But, he did feel kind of disconnected from the pulse if he spent too much time in his room. All the people around him were likewise in singles; they didn’t share the same majors; they didn’t share the same interests; there was little that brought them together. He wasn’t lonely or depressed. But he did feel like the action was always somewhere else, so he was always the one going to other people’s places.</p>
<p>He would rather have had a single at Mo-Mc than no single at all. So he was grateful for it.</p>
<p>His sophomore year is in Shuttles, and he loves it! He shares a bath with one other single. His room is tiny! To me, it looks like it’s about the size of a large walk-in closet. He likes sharing a bathroom with just one other person. He likes living among all the other doubles, so that there’s always stuff going on. It’s a very social hall, as are the halls around it.</p>
<p>I don’t know anything about Cockerell, except where it’s located. Sorry! :)</p>
<p>The other son I’ve talked about on the SMU forum is going to request a roommate. He’s still in high school and has applied to SMU. His ideal dorm arrangement would be a single bedroom in a suite-style dorm with 2-4 roommates. He loves to be around people, but he would prefer his own bedroom.</p>
<p>I hope this helps. I’m worried that it won’t, except maybe to give some things to think about, since people like and dislike different things. Good luck! :)</p>
<p>Hi SimpleLife, </p>
<p>Thank you so much for your feedback. I appreciate it. :)</p>
<p>I’m not totally sure. The earlier and latest AAROs fill up quickest, but I think you’ll probably be okay. Here’s their website - [AARO</a> - New Student Orientation and Student Support - SMU](<a href=“http://smu.edu/newstudent/aaro/fy/]AARO”>http://smu.edu/newstudent/aaro/fy/)</p>
<p>I would suggest emailing the people in their office to get more information.</p>
<p>I keep hearing that some dorms are more for certain majors. For example, Is Cockrell more engineers? Mary Hay more art/music majors and so forth?</p>
<p>Mary Hay and Peyton are our fine art communities with more Meadows students, there’s an engineering floor in Cockrell, service floor in MacElvaney, and VS is the honors dorm.</p>
<p>Which dorm is favored by the BBA students?</p>