<p>S is almost ready to commit to Northwestern. We were at Wildcat Day this past Monday and saw Alison Hall (very happy to see it renovated from when we last saw it in '07!). Can NU students give recommendations for where to live. We know that Alison is great if you're in Weinberg (which our S will be in) and is closer to Evanston and we know that Bobb-McCulloch is very social and supposed to be a lot of fun to be in....especially with it being near the fraternities.....thoughts on both? Also, thoughts on res halls....communities.....res colleges, etc? Thanks!</p>
<p>Allison, Elder, Bobb, Sargent are the most typical college dorms. Allison and Elder both better than Bobb and Sargent in terms of how nice they are. Bobb and Sargent are both essentially in the frat quads…which is just fun (more so Bobb) unless you live there in which case it’s fun and gross.</p>
<p>Nix Sargent in favor of McCulloch, add Willard. That list of 5 will be the most commonly requested list.</p>
<p>Uh, Bobb-McCulloch is one dorm isn’t it?</p>
<p>Willard is weird but yeah, it is popular. I didn’t put it on the list because it’s not really a typical college dorm. Definitely look at it for a bit. Wasn’t my thing but might be yours.</p>
<p>We’re familiar with Alison…Bobb-McCulloch, we’ve been told over and over that it’s fun, but can get a little crazy…Elder, we know it’s freshman-only, but it seems pretty far north, has it been renovated…what’s the story with Willard? Sargent, we don’t know anything about…</p>
<p>My son loved Shepard, which is a large non-theme residential-college dorm on south campus, eats next door at Allison. Shepard has lots of good social activities (but not over-partying), individual-room controlled AC, etc.</p>
<p>Bobb and McCulloch are two separate spots if I remember correctly.</p>
<p>Still can’t figure out the difference between a res hall, a non-themed res college and a res community!</p>
<p>which dorms have the nicest rooms?</p>
<p>I lived in Sargent as a freshman and actually thought it was a pretty great place to live. The facilities aren’t great, especially compared with the newly-renovated dorms, but the place is usually mostly freshman, and it’s fairly social. Plus, you can’t beat having a dining hall and being up north practically in the fraternity quads, especially if your son thinks he wants to rush.</p>
<p>@harvardhottie: Slivka is called a hotel. It is mostly math/tech/sci students and thought to be rather quiet, even tho some say not.</p>
<p>@OP:
Elder is all-freshmen, very social and noisy. Quiet people might not appreciate it. When sophomore, you must move out. </p>
<p>My son, last year, picked Willard (RC). It is one of the most diverse (major-wise) and most fun and engaging dorms. It is located quite far south, bordering Evanston downtown(?), has a dining room and a cafe that opens until 2am. Across the street are a 24hour Burger King, shops and diners. I cannot say it is super-clean and nice, but it is decent enough.</p>
<p>He is in WCAS and has classes mostly in the north of campus, and thus found the commuting to be a pain. Surely, there is a shuttle bus, but he ended up buying a bike, and enjoys the bike-ride. But most importatnly, he ‘loves’ Willard. He is best friends with people with different talents and academic foci, and they not only have fun but help each other out academically. I know he attends and helps organize many a event, yet he has got 7 A’s and one B+, so far. He says he somehow developed time-management skills at Willard 
He applied for another year at Willard and, to his immense joy, got a huge single just some days ago.</p>
<p>^Funny how I sound like I am bragging about my son. That is not my intention at all. Just saying that Willard is awesome.</p>
<p>I wish I lived in Elder freshman year. It’s just more social than the other residential colleges up north.</p>
<p>@averby…where did you live? We were a little concerned that Elder would be too far north…</p>
<p>Son in Elder this year, loves it. There is a pre-orientation program that guarantees placement in this dorm (if it is your first choice.)</p>
<p>Son bought a bike and has has no trouble getting to classes or anything else he wants to do.</p>
<p>Good luck</p>
<p>@mtldad - I’d rather not say but it’s a residential college up north. I’m in Weinberg and have half of my classes are in Tech and half are down south and the 10-15 minute walk isn’t that bad.</p>
<p>Got it…no problem…btw, S just deposited at NU 10 minutes ago. Go Wildcats! Now, he needs to figure out his dorm selection! He’ll be at Weinberg, as well.</p>
<p>Just wondering, when can we make dorm selections? I read somewhere that it was mid-May…</p>
<p>@mtldad- Congrats, you’re part of the Wildcat family now. Welcome to Northwestern That’s really exciting.</p>
<p>Congrats, mtldad! Welcome to the Wildcat family! I have never seen my son so happy.</p>