<p>Which are the best dorms (and why!) and can you even choose which dorms you want when applying for housing? If not, what kind of choices do they give you on the Housing application?</p>
<p>Honors housing (Atherton and Simmons) and West are probably the best two dorm sections on campus. You can request an area on your housing contract. The earlier you send in your housing contract, the more likely you are to get the area you wanted.</p>
<p>Ok, then what is the best area to request?</p>
<p>I filled my housing contract out in January 2006 I think, so I don’t remember exactly how it was set-up. But if you want honors housing, select “Schreyer Honors College Living and Learning Environment: Atherton and Simmons” or something like that. This is an SLO - special living option. They say that there’s an extra $25/semester fee for living in this SLO, but I have yet to see it appear on my bills. Regardless, I think it’s worth it. Nice physical accommodations with (usually) great people on your floor. In addition, once you’re in an SLO, you’re pretty much guaranteed to be offered a housing contract within that same SLO for each of the next 3 years, as long as you do not decide to leave it for a year and then want to return. The rest of the campus may not be offered housing contracts for their sophomore+ years.</p>
<p>The contract will probably ask you to rank your preferences. For instance, is your requested roommate (if you have one) more important to have than what dorm you’re in? Or, if you’re like the majority of people, you probably don’t have a roommate in mind, so you’d focus on your residence hall area as the first priority. More information –> <a href=“http://www.hfs.psu.edu/housing/firstyear/contracts.shtml[/url]”>http://www.hfs.psu.edu/housing/firstyear/contracts.shtml</a> and <a href=“http://www.hfs.psu.edu/housing/firstyear/slo.shtml#SHCLLC[/url]”>http://www.hfs.psu.edu/housing/firstyear/slo.shtml#SHCLLC</a></p>
<p>Hope this helps. Feel free to post more if you’d like some further insight.</p>
<p>My D is in freshman housing East Halls, which she did request, however they have her on an International Floor (not her choice) and is looking to move somewhere else. East Halls is very far away from just about everything except for her job and the Creamery. She will most likely move to Sorority Housing in Pollock if she can. She said the rooms seem bigger and she likes the idea of being with upperclassmen. There is a lot of advantages to being with upperclassmen as opposed to freshman housing so weigh your options carefully, since being with all freshmen may not be for everybody.</p>
<p>If your an applying freshman ask for east. You will have a small room that will look like a jail cell, but its worth it!! All the freshmen are in east and it helps to be surrounded by all of them. Although west has the way better dining, and south and pollock are closer to college ave., east halls is an experience that you want to get.</p>
<p>location wise, pollock and west are the best. South isn’t bad either. West and South have the best food. Pollock and South dorm rooms suck. East is the worst.</p>
<p>I am in South and I love it. East is unbelievably far from everywhere and the dorms are pretty ghetto. My building in south is all Freshmen, its close to downtown and to my classes, and had good food.</p>
<p>How are the honors dorms? I saw some nasty, dark, basement rooms a few years ago and I was not too impressed. But I have heard they are nice. Where are those?</p>
<p>Hey, is there any way to switch dorms for next semester? I really can’t stand my hall/roommate; I want to live in Atherton. I can never sleep early, because the girls from upstairs always come down here to chat/flirt with my roommate and it feels weird telling them to leave. It’s already 1:00A right now, and they’re still here really loud and I have class at 10:10A tomorrow. Just imagine next semester when I have class at 8:00A, and I have to wake up earlier to get the YMCA for my rock climbing class…</p>
<p>Anyway, is there any way to get out of Hoyt for Spring semester?</p>
<p>By the way, does the Room Switch eBoard thing work on eLiving? If I find someone who is willing to switch with me on the eBoard, can we switch for the Spring '08 semester?</p>
<p>Do you have an RA? He should be able to mediate the conflict between you and your roommate. But in all fairness, you will need to tell your roommate that you want quiet after a certain hour. Maybe he will be agreeable! :)</p>
<p>There pretty nasty from what I saw.</p>
<p>lil killer, you might want to take a look at e-house, in west halls (mckee). the slo is for engineering students, so they all have similar course loads, the floors are coed and there’s a mix of upper and lower classmen. they sponser a mix of social events and academic related activities. The rooms are nice and big (I believe McKee was built as grad housing) and I have heard they have the best food on campus. also, it’s right up the street from hammond.</p>
<p>[E-House</a> Home](<a href=“http://www.engr.psu.edu/e-house/home.aspx]E-House”>Engineering House)</p>
<p>also, i agree with lkf about the rock climbing.</p>
<p>lil_killer-
Check with the assignment office. I know there are rooms opening up in other dorms on campus. S and roommate, as well as some of their friends, were on waitlists for other housing and got it.</p>
<p>Can I still apply for E-House for this Spring? Most of the guys on my floor are engineering students, and they have heavy schedules (16-18 credits). I don’t know how they do it…</p>
<p>I would email the engineering advising center–
[Advising</a> Center Home](<a href=“http://www.engr.psu.edu/ADV/]Advising”>http://www.engr.psu.edu/ADV/)
they should be able to direct you to someone who can help you with this.</p>
<p>I agree with talking with the RA and checking with Housing, but there is no guarantee that wherever you switch to will be any different. I suggest finding a person to room with that you are more compatible with schedule wise.
And keep in mind that room draw is coming (I think in January) for next year and it would help to have a friend to ask to room with or else know that you want to move off campus and start looking into that.</p>
<p>lil_killer -
Do you have a friend with whom you would like to room? If you do, both of you should go together to Housing and ask if it is possible to be put together in a room next semester. You might not be able to get into Atherton (like you prefer) but Housing might be able to find a place where you will be happier, especially if you can live with a friend. If you think that this might help, do it soon! Housing is in the process of making room assignments for spring.</p>
<p>No, I don’t have one. But I emailed housing, and they told me that there is an open room switch thing going on between November 28-30 and to stop by the commons in the area I’d like to live in and apply for any vacant rooms. Hopefully I can get into Atherton this way; I have a friend who lives in Atherton right now and is planning to transfer out.</p>