Double or suite-style?

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Alabama
1

<p>Hello, everyone. </p>

<p>Right now I’m almost sure that I’ll commit to Bama this year as an international student. I’m accepted to the honor college with a free tuition scholarship. Honestly, back in December I really couldn’t see myself actually wanting to go to Bama but now UA seems to be the most reasonable option - and it’s not bad at all. Also, I changed my major to Mech Eng’g and just recently received the additional $2,500 eng’g scholarship in my Bama account.</p>

<p>My online housing selection will start tomorrow. As of now I haven’t made a decision on my dorm yet, still debating whether i should go with a double-occupancy dorm or a suite-style one. I know the double is cheaper and more social;however, a UA student I know told me some of the students complain that it is the harshest, nowhere as comfortable as a suite-style dorm. I know the roommate thing is often a hit-or-miss, but I definitely do not want to come back to my dorm after a hard day’s work and find a bunch of dudes playing beer pong in my room - that is a no-no. Also, I’m wondering if all my belongings are going to fit in a double because I have two guitars, a bass and two amps and I’m afraid I’ll be bringing all of them with me.</p>

<p>So, my question is: Do you think the suite-style dorms are worth the extra money? What are the pros and cons? And I also want to hear about your views on the honor dorms.Are they worth the extra $4,000 a year? </p>

<p>Also, I’m a bit confused when looking at the rates on UA’s website - what is the difference between “traditional dorms - suite” (which is $3,200/semester) and “single” ($3,425)? If a suite-style dorm only costs $3,200/semester, that is only $300 more! Can someone explain that for me? Many thanks!</p>

2

<p>dang it already started !</p>

3

<p>Rate chart</p>

<p><a href=“http://housing.ua.edu/pdfs/2013-2014_PROJECTED-Residence-Hall-Rates.pdf[/url]”>http://housing.ua.edu/pdfs/2013-2014_PROJECTED-Residence-Hall-Rates.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

4

<p>You’ll generally have a roommate and a bathroom down the hall in a traditional residence hall, which is why those rooms are less expensive. If you look at the price list, it notes that some traditional dorms have bathrooms which are shared by only a few double rooms. The suites most people talk about on CC, of which the Honors dorms are an example, are $4700 per semester. </p>

<p>I don’t recommend bringing tons of stuff for your dorm room, but all the stuff you mentioned isn’t going to fit in a shared double room and regardless of where you live, your neighbors probably won’t appreciate someone playing guitar with an amp right next door while they’re studying.</p>

<p>If you can afford any dorm, the choice is up to you and whoever’s paying the bill. Many students are used to having their own room and as such a traditional shared dorm room takes some getting used to.</p>

5

<p>Thanks, seatide. There’s a thing called headphone jack on my amps : )</p>

6

<p>Yep, my DH’s amps have those…he doesn’t use 'em…but they’re there…</p>

7

<p>At this point in room selection, you probably aren’t going to have all that many options for rooms, but definitely a suite if you can find an open one since there is no way all of that stuff is going to fit in a double occupancy room. I picked my room last week and there weren’t all that many suites open then, but the website did say they process cancellations a lot so some more could be open now. Best of luck :)</p>