Dorm recommendations at CU Boulder

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Colorado
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<p>I work in the Leadership Residential Academic Program at CU. It is located in the Stearns Towers in Williams Village and the truth be told, our students who live in Will Vill LOVE living here! Students see it as a retreat home at the end of a busy day. It’s refreshing to come home from classes and be able to relax with friends in a place away from the busy-ness and noise of main campus. Williams Village itself is like a mini-version of campus. Over 2,000 students will be calling Will Vill home this fall with 5 residence halls including Darley Towers North and South, Stearns Towers East and West, Williams Village North (the newest residence hall on campus) and the Bear Creek Apartments for upper classmen. All of them actually air-conditioned… something not found elsewhere. And for fall 2011 we are getting printing stations in Williams Village North and Darley Commons </p>

<p>The dining center provides award-winning food and the Grab-N-Go dining is said to be the best on campus (seriously… people come out to Will Vill just to get a famous grab-n-go burrito!) and we even have a Village Market. New personal pizzas in the 213 are now all the rave. </p>

<p>Many students use bikes to get from Williams Village to main campus, and it only takes about 7 minutes to get from here to anywhere on main campus (which is approximately the same amount of time it takes to walk to the academic buildings from the central campus residence halls anyway.) Students at Will Vill are committed to sustainability and choose to walk, bike, or take the bus to campus instead of driving, then finding parking, and then walking to class. We are even getting a new bike station this fall.</p>

<p>The Buff Bus runs every 5 or so minutes throughout the weekdays to classroom buildings giving you a shorter walk to class than most students who live on “main campus, and then runs every 20 minutes in the evenings and on weekends. Students have said that the Buff Bus is one of the easiest ways to meet people and make friends at CU. How can you beat a quick ride to class AND new friends along the way? </p>

<p>Housing keeps social events going all semester for our students, plus there are counseling and academic support services in There’s a rec center annex out here full of weights, machines, and all kinds of equipment so students can work out right next door to your residence hall. There is even a weight room in Stearns Tower West. Although, with the many bike paths, hiking trails, basketball, tennis, and newly renovated sand lot volleyball courts in Will Vill there are plenty of ways to be active and stay fit while enjoying the beautiful scenery outdoors. </p>

<p>Other perks of living at Williams Village are the local restaurants literally across the street with more on the way, and the amazing views of Boulder that you can’t get anywhere else in town. If you talk with students currently living out here they can tell you what a fantastic year they’ve had at Williams Village. It’s truly a unique experience that you wouldn’t want to miss and the feeling of the Williams Village community is strong all over campus. </p>

<p>Our Leadership RAP students tell us that the friendships they make their freshman year last throughout their academic careers while at CU. It’s nice to live with other students who are experiencing the same issues as yourself, which makes the bonding in our program a giant bonus.</p>

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<p>The Leadership Residential Academic Program at Williams Village, which we consider to be the best student community on campus, provides two living and learning communities for students with an interest in leadership development. It is housed in Stearns Towers and the LEADERSHIP RAP, like all Residential Academic Programs at CU, offers a small college experience within the context of a large university. Students take seminar-style classes each term where they live. Rather than feeling anonymous, Leadership RAP participants are engaged in the learning process. Students who enroll in the program select one of two academic tracks: the Ethnic Living and Learning Community (ELLC) or the Chancellor’s Leadership Studies Program (CLSP). Leadership courses are offered each semester at the residence hall and meet core requirements in the College of Arts and Sciences and can be applied toward graduation as well as a Certificate in the Study and Practice of Leadership. Classes are limited to 25 students each. In addition students participate in program-sponsored activities outside of the classroom. These include retreats, dining and engaging in informal discussions with faculty members, a speaker series, social activities, outdoor adventure, and opportunities to meet with representatives from government, private industry, and nonprofit and community organizations.</p>

<p>The Chancellor’s Leadership Studies Program (CLSP) educates students with the notion that leaders are stewards for others and focuses their energies toward the greater good rather than self-interest. Concern for others and inspiring and enriching the organization are central features of 21st century leadership. This applies to corporate leadership, government and community based organizations. In leadership courses students explore their roles and responsibilities in society, including the moral and ethical dimensions of leadership. CLSP students and staff attend retreats where participants explore contemporary issues related to leadership and take part in activities that develop teamwork, ethical decision making, and problem solving.</p>

<p>OR Our Ethnic Living and Learning Community (ELLC) is a challenging and rewarding pathway is selected by students committed to building an intentional multicultural community while exploring leadership through the study and practice of cultural competency. Our multicultural living and learning community is popular with students who are interested in developing skills that will enable them to become successful leaders in diverse groups and environments. Small class sizes, retreats, social and educational events, academic excellence, and networking are some of the program’s benefits. </p>

<p>For more detailed information visit Leadership RAP at Williams Village site at <a href=“http://www.colorado.edu/chancellor/chancellorslrap[/url]”>www.colorado.edu/chancellor/chancellorslrap</a>.</p>

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<p>Did we miss something? I put deposit for UCB (before we even heard from son’s last school) because he was 90% sold on UCB and I didn’t want Williams Village. Using the housing guide and descriptions (and CC word of mouth) We started with the very popular Farrend green area/Campus center then moving out a bit, but listed none of the Williams Village Dorms.</p>

<p>He got Willard which looks lovely and was just finished getting renovated (converted from dorms & Adm Buildings to all dorms or MORE dorms?) and it’s right on the green and primarily freshman. But when I google searched it some older posts refer to it as a “substance free dorm”?</p>

<p>No where in the online website or descriptions did it make mention of Substance-free. When I searched the whole UCB website for substance free there were no matches! What’s the deal? Was it outdated info or did I miss something?</p>

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<p>They don’t seem to advertise the substance free thing…maybe they don’t want to highlight that they do have parties in some of the dorms and smoking and…whatnot. Your son should be lucky that he is in one becuase you don’t want to live where the parties are, you just want to visit them.</p>

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<p>can anyone give a general description of darley south and the business rap? Any experience would be helpful =]</p>

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<p>This fall will be the first year for the B3 Business RAP at Darley South so it will be difficult to get feedback for the RAP. Darley Towers are part of Williams Village and like all Will Vill residences are the most modern on campus. Will Vill is the only place you will find air conditioning!!!</p>

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<p>Name any residence hall at any college in the country where students live who have just left home for the first time are are still kids at heart where they do not have parties in the dorms!!! As long as the doors have locks kids will think they can get by with something.</p>

<p>This is a problem across the country! The substance free hall is for those great kids who know that they have a problem and are not afraid to ask for a little help. These are serious kids who want to succeed. And not the entire hall is for substance free, just a couple of floors.</p>

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<p>Just a note that the Buff Bus runs about every 10 minutes between Williams Village and main campus classroom buildings. So it is a shorter walk to class from Will Vill than if you live on main campus. A nice plus when there is a foot of snow on the ground or the wind is whipping at 40 mph! And the bus is a nice place to talk to friends, listen to music, and finish your homework…</p>

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<p>LeadershipRAP do you know which floors of Willard Hall are substance free and which aren’t?</p>

<p>Thanks,
James</p>

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<p>Ditto with James…I don’t know how you’d even go about requesting substance free dorms. I backtracked & didn’t find any indication Willard (any floor) was substance free recall seeing a substance-free option on housing forms? The posts I saw were a few years old, is it still substance free? I take the point that all dorms are “substance free” but I do believe that a kid who opts for a “substance free” option…especially if they have to hunt it out…will have a different outlook than the other 95% of freshman who have chosen to attend the #1 recognized party school in the country. I don’t think a kid NOT looking for substance free (even if they don’t party) should be placed in a SF dorm, especially if he responded early. That said, the school should offer as many subatance free rooms/room mates as needed and requested. Seems like doing it by floors is a good way to make sure no kid (whether they want SF or not) should have to settle</p>

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<p>LeadershipRAP,</p>

<p>I agree with you 100%. Kids will party in the dorms. When I was at CU, I had a full size stocked bar in my dorm…however being older and wiser, I found it is better to have puked in someone else dorm room than have someone puke in mine. Just saying…</p>

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<p>To follow-up on this conversation thread I just placed a call to Housing at CU. There are NO LONGER any substance free Residential Halls or floors at CU. Sorry for the previous information.</p>

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<p>Just returned from orientation. They had all of the students stay in Hallet Hall which is directly across from the new amazing Center for Community. The dining in here is unbelievable. They have all you can eat gourmet stations for asian, mexican, the grill (burgers and such), made-to-order pasta station, sushi bar, pizza station, salads/desserts, ice cream … you name it.</p>

<p>Hallet was stuffy and that was with cool weather. No air conditioning in most dorms. Because Boulder has such low humidity we’re told the rooms are only stuffy for the first 4-6 weeks. Any shortcomings in the dorms are easy to overlook because of the overall beauty of the campus and Boulder. The Flatirons mountains were an unbelievable backdrop for orientation with the tops covered by low-lying clouds. It was awesome.</p>

<p>By the way, I’m in Sewall RAP. The overwhelming number of students/former students I talked to raved about Sewall as being the best dorm. I hope they’re right. I considered the Leadership RAP but knew of the rep of WillVill of being inconvenient from the main campus. The kids I know who ended up living in WillVill loved it though.</p>

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<p>LeadershipRAP. Thanks for your post on Will Vill. Our son will be in the new Will Vill North this Sept and we found your info very helpful. Question: Is it possible to join the Leadership RAP at this point and if your are not a resident in that dorm?</p>

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<p>Yes there are still openings in the Leadership RAP at Williams Village. As it is a residential academic program we request you live in Stearns Towers. Contact me at <a href=“mailto:clr@colorado.edu”>clr@colorado.edu</a> for more questions about this.</p>

<p>To join our program you sign up through housing. Simply send them an email with your son’s name and student ID# and tell them he would like to be in the Leadership RAP. Then let them know either the CLSP or ELLC Studies Program. You can find information on them both at [Chancellor’s</a> Leadership Rap | University of Colorado at Boulder](<a href=“http://www.colorado.edu/chancellor/chancellorslrap/index.html]Chancellor’s”>http://www.colorado.edu/chancellor/chancellorslrap/index.html)</p>

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<p>Is it getting to late for me to apply to housing and get my first choices??
I don’t care if i dont get my first choice but hopefully something in my top three choices. Do you think its getting to late to not have applied for housing yet and be able to get my first choices? Im not 18 so i had to send in some parent consent that i havent heard back from, hopefully ill send in my request by the end of the weekend or atleast end of next week.</p>

<p>My first choices go

  1. Baker
  2. Cheyenne
  3. Libby
  4. Sewell
  5. Farand
  6. Smith (hopefully not this one)</p>

<p>I REALLY dont want to be in Will Ville and hopefully not Kittredge either. Do you think I will get any of my choices or get stuck elsewhere because ive taken to long</p>

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<p>Apply soon. The housing application opened over a month ago and everyone I know who applied and were accepted early action applied for housing on the first day. You can probably still get something on main campus but stop procrastinating. The parent form can be downloaded and printed out while doing your housing application. They will use the date they receive your deposit which you can secure with a credit card online.</p>

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<p>Janurary is still good to get a choice. But you must first make sure you are able to sign up for housing. You first need to confirm your intent to enroll at CU by sending in your confirmation deposit. Confirmed Admitted students are then eligible to apply for housing. </p>

<p>But I believe you are making a mistake about Williams Village in judging it too soon. Living at Will Vill is like being in a Residential College. Lots of community and support. There are over 5,000 students who live in Will Vill (80% of the freshman class is assigned here). There are soccor fields, tennis courts, volleyball courts, basketball courts, rec center, Darley Dining, the Grab 'N Go, the Village Market, FOUR Residential Academic Programs, the only air conditioned rooms on campus, city bike and pedestrian trails, restaurants across the street, counselors in residence, and free Buff Bus service to central campus that drops you in the actual area of your classrooms. No need to walk across campus in 10 degree weather and 30 mph wind. Don’t write off Will Vill due to past history. Check it out. Students who live here love it.</p>