<p>Which are the best dorms for freshmen looking for a good location, co-ed, social dorm?
Any strategic advice for making sure you get one of your choices?
Applying for housing today what are the chances of getting one of the three choices?</p>
<p>bump 10 char</p>
<p>I would apply to aston or Dunn hall. those are in the commons and would meet your criteria. and definitely apply now because there is limited space.</p>
<p>If you can do the honors programs, Lechner and Clements offer a tight-knight, vibrant, and shall we say “colorful” community if being an utter nerdgenius is your thing.</p>
<p>Are they requiring honors college students to live in the honors dorm next year?</p>
<p>Rushed - If you are accepted into the honors program, you will be required to live in honors housing. This is a new requirement that goes into effect fall 2012.</p>
<p>aggiemom- thanks I thought I had read that somewhere but couldn’t find it again… That is a shame it will be a deal breaker for my D</p>
<p>^That’s too bad. If you don’t mind me asking, what is it that keeps her away from the honors dorm? A non-honors roommate? A dorm for certain majors? I’m just curious to learn more about the new rule’s downsides.</p>
<p>My D is beyond thrilled at being surrounded by utter-nerd-geniuses like her. Finally, a place to fit in! Now, if A&M will go ahead and accept her into the honors program already…</p>
<p>While not sure of how A&M honors dorms work (because it was not required when we orginally visited so did not ask here) but at other campuses there were strict rules on things like tv’s had to be turned off etc. </p>
<p>On many campuses there is the “nerd” stigma attached to being in an honors dorm. My D claims to be a “semi nerd” lol that would like to mix with all types of kids. Plus when around honors kids there can be pressure/competitivness for grades. She has had 4 years of this in her preap/ap classes she doesn’t mind it in class but does not want to have to live it 24/7 so to speak…
She has some hard thinking to do.</p>
<p>^Hi again, rushedmom. I wonder if you and your daughter might have a somewhat skewed perspective of TAMU’s honors dorms. It’s hard for me to say – I’m just the parent. And our families’ perspectives on nerds and pressure/competition may be significantly different.</p>
<p>My son lives in an honors dorm and loves it. First of all, there are no special restrictions in the honors dorms – no rules regarding TVs or visitors or anything else that doesn’t apply to other dorms across campus. And secondly, in our opinions, there really isn’t a “nerd” stigma that we’re aware of. My son’s not a “nerd” in the socially-stunted or (idk) broken-glasses, pocket-protector sense of the word. He is kind of straight-laced and he does like to learn and he’s a bit of a brainiac – but he really isn’t a nerd. Neither are his friends. The ones I’ve met are all nice, well-spoken, smart, friendly, well-rounded kids. None of them are socially inept. And in regards to pressure and competitiveness – my son hasn’t noticed any of that. On the contrary, they tend to work together and support each other. It’s been a really friendly atmosphere for my son. He hasn’t ever described himself as a “semi nerd,” but I suppose I wouldn’t be too surprised if somebody else described him that way.</p>
<p>My point is: if your daughter wants to do the honors program, I can’t see how she could hate the honors dorms (for the reasons you gave anyway). ALL the kids I’ve met there, on my visits, have been really great kids. Friendly, smart, mature, well-rounded. No pettiness, competition, one-up-manship, pressure, or social ineptitude that I’ve seen so far. </p>
<p>Then again, perhaps the qualities that I admire in the kids I’ve met ARE the same qualities that she identifies with nerds and pressure (but I doubt it).</p>
<p>I hope my description of my sons’ experience helps her with her choice. She might be thinking of the honors dorms in a way that doesn’t really describe the honors dorms at A&M.</p>
<p>Best of luck to both of you! I think she’ll like A&M no matter which way she goes. AND, whichever path she chooses won’t have to be final. She can always change her mind in future years! :)</p>
<p>@Simplelife. IRRC, you have an older child at SMU and we chatted several years ago when my oldest was applying to colleges. I think both of our sons received scholarships to SMU. My older son ended up at UT in the Plan II and now Dean’s scholars program. The honors dorms there were great. Very friendly, not competitive at all. I wouldn’t consider the kids especially “nerdy”, either. No special rules about noise, etc. I think it’s definetly the way to go, if it’s an option.
My younger son was just admitted to A&M. He’s still waiting on other schools, but I think A&M would be a good fit for him.</p>
<p>^Hi cpq1xtbu!! It’s so nice to hear from you!! I DO remember chatting with you! Yes, I remember your very impressive son and his decision to attend UT and Plan II instead of SMU. (Wasn’t he the same kid who got that special full scholarship to Miami also?) I remember when we last spoke, he was very happy with UT!</p>
<p>In fact, I encouraged this aggie son to apply to UT (what I KNOW to be a really great school) because, until I “got to know” you, I didn’t know that a competitive state school like UT ever gave big scholarships! My aggie son attended the … hmmm … Honors Colloquium the summer between his junior and senior years, visited UT 2 times prior to that, and met with lots of Plan II, engineering, and music folks. But, in the end, he decided not to apply! At UT’s 5-day Honors Colloquium, he decided that A&M felt like a better fit. He liked the summer program itself – but he came away from it thinking that the school didn’t quite “fit” him. He surprised me! That’s the great thing about all those visits that our kids bother to make – they get to try on the school. And so, we figured, the Honors Colloquium was worth the trip – because he learned something important from it. As an auto-admit, he decided to apply to only one state school – and he chose A&M. I am happy to report that he loves it there!! (I love it, too.) :)</p>
<p>(My other son is still at SMU and loving it as well. Big opportunities around every corner. A great education and great networking with the city of Dallas!)</p>
<p>I’m so glad you said hi, cpq1xtbu. Aren’t we lucky that our kids are happy? That’s what it’s all about.</p>
<p>I think you and I touched on this earlier … There are so many great schools out there. After meeting a kid’s certain basic criteria like available majors, costs, extracurriculars, etc, it seems to me that the most important thing to ask oneself is, “What school is the best fit for ME?” That’s much more important, imo, than “What do other people/polls think of this school?”</p>
<p>Congratulations on your younger son’s acceptance to A&M! You might be well-versed on it already. But if not, feel free to PM me if you think I can help. (Maybe you already know … One CAN earn giant scholarships at A&M, just like at UT. I didn’t know such a possibility existed at a state school until you told me so many years ago.)</p>
<p>Now, on with your regularly scheduled programming … sheepish grin…</p>
<p>I hadn’t even noticed your name as the OP on this thread, cpq. So sorry!</p>
<p>I didn’t answer your specific questions because I don’t know enough about all the various dorms; I didn’t know if honors dorms were in the mix; and I don’t presume to know what your son would value in terms of socializing or location. For location, he might want to check out the location of the “college” for his major, where he’ll be taking most of his classes. Basically, I’m not informed enough to answer your questions, but I can tell you about my son’s experience.</p>
<p>As an engineering student, he was initially torn between the honors dorms (north side) and the engineering dorm (south side – Commons). In the end, he chose the honors dorms. He is so glad he did. (But his friends in the engineering dorm love their dorm as well.) He thinks his engineering classes are actually closer to his north side dorm than the engineering floor in the Commons (south side). He likes the north-side cafeteria across the street (Sbisa) better than most of the south side choices. He likes being able to park in the north side garage for the north side dorms (very convenient). He likes the easy access to the honors building, his honors advisor, and a staff member who befriended him over the summer– it’s a small building just south of the honors dorms. He likes living next to the post office. And he really likes being across the street from the shops on University – ie, Subway, Freebirds, Starbucks, etc. He has made a lot of good friends in his dorm. He seems to have a lot in common with them, and he likes that they have a wide range of interests and majors – as opposed to all engineering majors. He has a great social life (but it’s NOT a party life – he doesn’t want it to be). He is very happy there.</p>
<p>I can’t think of any great strategic advice for getting his first choice dorm, other than the obvious – apply early! Like most schools, for the most part, it’s first come-first served. But, there are exceptions! There’s a (what used to be green) flyer out there that came with my son’s admission packet. It tells all about housing priority. If he’s NMF, a top scholarship holder, or Honors (?) … I can’t remember the 3 or 4 things on the list, but if he’s one of those 3-4 things, then he just has to apply by a certain date (I think it was March 1 my son’s year), and then all the kids in that particular priority group will be processed first, no matter when they applied for housing (as long as it was by the Priority deadline – March 1??). After those kids are assigned, the rest of the incoming freshmen will be assigned based on their date of housing application – earliest date of housing application first. So if he’s NOT in one of the priority groups, apply NOW. Look for the (what might still be green) flyer in the admissions packet – or it might come a little later in the mail. I tried to find it online for you – but I’ll admit, a lot of the aggie websites are less than user-friendly, imo. That flyer was the clearest guidance on the subject in my son’s opinion.</p>
<p>If your son is in one of the 3-4 priority-assignment groups, then (based on my son’s friends’ experiences), I would say that the chance of getting one of his top 3 choices is very good. I can’t speak to his chances if he’s not in one of those groups. I simply don’t know enough to comment.</p>
<p>Well, I hope some of that helped. Best of luck to you and your son! So good to hear from you again! :)</p>
<p>Simplelife- Thank you for your feedback. It would seem that the honors dorms are much different at A&M then some of the other schools we visitied. I told my daughter your son’s experience and she is now more comfortable with the idea.</p>
<p>^That’s great! Of course, I have no iron in the fire. But it would be a shame if she shied away from dorms that she might like based on previous misconceptions. Best of luck to her! :)</p>
<p>Definitely should not have based our views on info from other schools.</p>
<p>Hey, rushedmom…for what it’s worth my D did a program where she visited A&M and spent the night in the Honors Dorm and met a bunch of the kids there so she could see what it’s really like in atmosphere and personality. She LOVED it. She said it felt inclusive, friendly, and that the kids were creative and non-judgemental types. I know this is only one student’s perspective, but I hope it’s helpful. Maybe they have more visits available like that?</p>
<p>There is some ongoing construction around the North side dorms right now, FYI. I don’t know how long it’s going to take. My other D has lived on North and South side. Here’s her views…Food choices are more varied and better on North side and access to stores and nightlife options also nearer to North. South side dorms are somewhat newer and seemed nicer (she is in Wells). She is very far from most of her West Campus classes (Business major). She likes studying in the Commons public areas though.</p>
<p>Thanks, Simplelife. It’s great to hear your sons are doing so well. I recall that they were exceptional young men, so I’m not surprised.<br>
My younger son waited to the deadline to apply for most of his schools, so he’s still waiting to hear from the rest.<br>
I think A&M is a good fit for him and that he could be very happy there. He wants to check out his other options before making a decision. He’s considering UT, SMU, Southwestern, and a few out of state schools. He’s only visited UT and A&M so far, so we need to hit the road.</p>
<p>@Simplelife. thanks for your advice. S2 did not apply to the honors program, even though IMHO he probably would have been accepted. He waited too late to get it together and wasn’t sure he’d want to be in the honors dorms anyway (even though his brother had loved them at UT). </p>
<p>I am hoping that after his first semester or two he’ll get an invite to the honors program and join then. </p>
<p>He wanted something close to his classes where it would be easy to meet others. Some of the dorms at UT (Duren, San Jac) aren’t very social (more like hotels) so he didn’t want that experience. </p>
<p>He put down some of the commons dorms and maybe one on the North side, so we’ll see. I think he’ll be fine wherever he ends up.</p>