<p>I am going to be a first-year engineering student this fall, and I've been considering residence halls. I've narrowed it down to two: Barr and B.E.S.T. Which would someone with experience say is the better overall option for a student such as myself? Thank you</p>
<p>It depends on your personality.</p>
<p>Barr is an older, dorm-style, residence hall. BEST is a new suite-style building. I’ve heard lots of people say how much they like BEST. I haven’t heard too much about BARR. My son lived in Allen freshman year (another building in BAMM); the carpeting was dirty and the building smelled moldy to me.</p>
<p>Thanks for the input guys. Any other information pertaining to this is greatly appreciated.</p>
<p>Barr, Allen, Metzger, and Mattia (called Manttia because it houses only guys) are, and I quote raulum, “dorm-style residence halls.” They are all identical in size and the rooms are the same as well. They are much older, they smell, look dirty, broken AC’s, and basically decrepit. </p>
<p>BEST was built only a year ago. It’s brand new and beautiful. We call it the hotel. </p>
<p>Definitely choose BEST if you can.</p>
<p>BEST is a living-learning community, which means you will have responsibilities beyond just living there (participating in activities etc.). You don’t get to choose which dorm you will live in if you choose a tradition dorm, you only get to rank which campus you would like to live on (so you will put Busch, but won’t be able to choose between Barr, Matia, Metzger etc.). However, you can select BEST because it is a living/learning community (you might find it on a separate page of the housing form, I haven’t seen this year’s version). Keep in mind that spots in BEST fill up, so the sooner you let RU know that you are interested the better.</p>
<p>Barr and Mattia are special interest dorms for first year engineers (I recall being able to select Barr as my preference because of that). The details are really decrepit, but the rooms in the BAMM complex are larger than your average dorm. No dorm will be spotless unless it’s brand new like BEST. I’m not sure whether Barr would be filled at this point, since it’s first come first serve, but I really enjoyed it. Traditional dorms allow you to meet others very easily, and as an engineering student the people on your floor will be in your classes :D</p>
<p>I hear mixed reviews about BEST, some like living in suites and others don’t. It really depends on your preference and personality like Sixflags said.</p>
<p>I’m not sure how likely you’ll get either Barr or BEST this late into the process, but you can always specify your preference! I lived in Barr last year if you have any further questions about it.</p>
<p>Thanks, I filed my dorm request for BEST several months ago, I just wanted to make sure that I was making the right decision for me. Just a few questions drexeler: the dorm building are are relatively close to one another, correct? Would I be able to meet people just as easily as if I were to live in Barr? How many people to a room at BEST (I understand the room sizes vary, just an estimate would suffice)? Would studying with my classmates be feasible is I were to live on BEST?</p>
<p>The dorm buildings are close, yes, but so is BEST. It is adjacent to the BAMM dorms. </p>
<p>Map: [Rutgers</a> Maps](<a href=“http://rumaps.rutgers.edu/?id=C239411]Rutgers”>http://rumaps.rutgers.edu/?id=C239411) scroll right 4 clicks, down 1.</p>
<p>I think BEST is 2 per room, 6 per suite. I don’t see any problem connecting with other engineers in order to study; most of them are on Busch.</p>
<p>I got to see the inside of Barr and one of its dorms when I went to the engineering open house this weekend and the room as well as the building in general was a lot nicer, cleaner, and slightly bigger than a Metzger dorm that I saw before so if you don’t get into BEST, Barr is still a really good option. For underclassmen, the only option in best is 2 people per room and two rooms per suite so you would essentially be sharing a bathroom with 3 other people which is a really good deal</p>