<p>I have to have a triple for next year so that narrows my choices down to the Bricks and North Mountain. Im completley undecided between the two, North Mountain has much bigger rooms and is less crowded but has no social scene, bricks are crazy, but small and suuper crowded. Anyone have any insight that might help me make a decision??</p>
<p>north mountain totally has a social scene! and they have tons of grass which is great for playing sports or just sitting outside. Whenever I pass by there the doors are open and there are people talking and laughing outside. The rooms are bigger too.</p>
<p>un-decided what do you mean by the “bricks are crazy”? like it’s a party dorm?</p>
<p>its a party school. stay out of your own room and you will ahve a social life. dont get stuck between social scene v dead scene or whatever.</p>
<p>honestly north mountain is lacking in a social life. i’m in a triple in the red bricks right now and honestly its not that bad its doable, cheaper, and its not like you will always be in your room</p>
<p>I have a friend whose son is in the north mountain dorms and he is very happy there. They face a nice grass area and lots of people (girls) walk by and there are often people playing games on the lawn. My son is very tall and the red bricks and the towers felt very closed in. The hallways were small and the ceilings low. The north mountain rooms felt much more open and less claustrophobic. He is actually going to apply for Cerra Vista. The set-up there suits him well. 3 other roomates, but a room of his own when he needs it. he is a bit of a night owl and plays guitar late at night, so having his own space will be good for him. The bathroom situation is also nice. My concern is that he is going to wait to decide after he hears from all of the schools he has applied to. I hope that the Cerra Vista rooms are still available then.</p>
<p>Cerro Vista is a great place. Its a 4 bedroom 2 bath apt with small “living room” and a kitchen. Having a totally private room is great !</p>
<p>Reza Is that where you live? Can you tell me more about it? Do you find the hike up the hill to be frustrating? How is the chance to be social? Do they really come and clean once per week? Anything else you can tell me would be great! Do you think my son would get a room there if he waits until end of March to apply?</p>
<p>To momofmv:</p>
<p>I lived in Cerro Vista last year. I didnt find living on the hill to be a problem. I actually liked the exercise. I had a bike, but usually I walked when it was raining. But I wouldnt recommend it for anyone who has a bit of a problem walking or getting around. It is also a bit far from the Engineering buildings, but the privacy/convenience of the 4 bedroom/2 bath apartments with a kitchen and a private bedroom with a lock on the door far outweighed any negatives as far as being on the hill, in my opinion. I am not a big social person…I kind of like my privacy, so it was fine for me. There was housekeeping every week…in the “common” areas of the apartment…kitchen, bath , etc. My room mates were all quite tidy so it never got very messy. But the cleaning people seemed to do a good job. I dont recall when the cutoff date is for housing, but I would call the housing office ASAP to check on the availability of Cerro Vista. Oh…forgot to mention, there is a nice 'community" room also for those who like more socializing.</p>
<p>To summarize…I thought Cerro Vista was excellent ! Good luck to you.</p>
<p>Thanks again Reza! I think the Cerro Vista dorms sound perfect for my son. He likes to stay up really late playing guitar or studying and that might bother a roommate. He is also a bit on the messy side, so he can be messy in his own room and just keep the common areas neat. He sounds like you. He is social to a point, but he also likes privacy. The bathroom situation sounds great too. I don’t think he would like sharing with a lot of people, but having just one person to share with sounds good. The common area for socializing sounds like a nice option too.
Do you live in the Poly Canyon apartments for Sophomores now or off campus?
My son has applied to Materials Engineering so I guess he will have a bit of a hike or bike ride, but that’s okay.</p>
<p>thanks again for your help!
I thought the view from the apartments was so beautiful too!</p>
<p>Do the Cerro Vista apartments have washer/dryer in the units?</p>
<p>Good question! I think they have community laundry rooms, but probably nicer than most. Maybe Reza will tell us that one.</p>
<p>Laundry is not in the apartment. They have common laundry rooms in the Cerro Vista complex each with several washers/dryers. I thought they were very nice actually. It was my experience that there were plenty of machines (Saturday evenings seemed the least busy when I was there) and rarely found a machine “out of order”. That was over a year ago though.</p>
<p>Oh…I suppose you know… the apartments dont have air conditioning. That was the biggest drawback in my opinion. It can get quite warm in the apartments during he warmest days of Fall and spring. Bring a good fan for sure !</p>
<p>I live off campus now. Sometimes I think it would be nice to be back at Cerro Vista !</p>
<p>Hi Reza! Yes, I did hear about no air conditioning. That is a definite flaw! I guess it isn’t that hot in Cal Poly compared to campuses more in land.
Glad to hear the laundry situation was good.</p>
<p>It does get surprisingly hot some days in San Luis Obispo…high 90’s even. But usually the evenings are nice and cool. You are right…not as many really hot days as say…Fresno or Bakersfield or somewhere like that. But be prepared for some HOT weather once in a while.</p>
<p>Where are you from ?? I am from the LA area.</p>
<p>I live in the East Bay Area. We get pretty hot sometimes. Above 100 for a few weeks each summer. My son does not like very hot weather, so Cal Poly’s generally mild weather suits him. He will definitely bring a fan! Is the community room air conditioned? Do the other dorms have AC? How is the dining commons? I know that the apartment kids can get a lower plan and cook at their place, but how is the food at the dining commons? My son is pretty picky and loves to snack. It will be great for him to have more space to keep food that he likes around.</p>
<p>The community room is air conditioned. So you can get some relief from the heat there on those hot days. It was quite nice I thought. a big TV, study room, game room, etc. Not bad. Whenever I was in the Community room it was pretty quite. Mostly people reading, working on laptops, that sort of thing. Nice place to relax and cool off. As I said this was over a year ago though…Better get some other input on this. Did you say you have visited CalPoly yet? By the way, I was in the Morro building at Cerro Vista.
I dont think any of the dorms are air conditioned. Check with the housing office on that. I thought the food was OK…Seemed average to me. You are right…having the option to make something in your kitchen at Cerro Vista was really nice !</p>
<p>Yes, I have been there 3 times now over the last 2 years. I have seen the outside of Cerro Vista and the inside of all of the other dorms. A friend of my son’t lives in North Mountain and we liked those rooms. The red brick’s halls were claustrophobic to us and the rooms pretty small. The tower’s rooms were bigger, but the halls also felt really closed in. I could see how they would be very social though and a lot of people like that experience of keeping your door open and having people stop in. </p>
<p>Glad to hear that the community room was air conditioned.<br>
What are you studying? How do you like the school in general? Thanks for your answers!</p>
<p>I am in Mechanical Engineering. I like CalPoly SLO and would do it all over again. No regrets. Be prepared to do a lot of studying though. And it will be tough to graduate in 4 years what with all the cutbacks and budget problems. </p>
<p>But it is an excellent engineering school…a good education I believe.</p>
<p>My son has applied to Materials Engineering. He is fine with a lot of studying, it will be the “hands on” part that will challenge him. We are worried about the cutbacks. I think he will try to take some classes during summer (not this year) at our CC. I am glad that you like the program so much and the school too. Have a great week!</p>