I’ll be attending Northeasten this fall, and I’m curious about the freshman dorm arrangements. I’ve seen the diagrams provided on the school’s website, but I haven’t seen an actual picture of a room. I’m aware that this may just depend on which building you live in, but could you guys clarify a few things for me?
What comes standard in each room?
Are the floors carpet, wood, etc?
Is the dorm a comfortable place to hang out in terms of temperature? I know the dorms aren’t air conditioned—which is a shocking thing for someone who lives in the south to hear haha—but will we be allowed to buy those compact air conditioners that I see so many people up north use & put them in the window? And I’m assuming there’s a heating system.
Are some dorm halls in noisier locations than others?
I’m not in honors, so how nice are the bathrooms and how many people will I be sharing it with? (Each floor has one, I assume)
Is there any way for me to see an actual picture of a freshman dorm?
Do the rooms vary a lot between each dorm hall?
How big are the freshman rooms?
I’ll be in a Bouvé health sciences LLC if that makes any difference.
Thanks 
Freshman dorms vary tremendously and the LLCs are not in the same dorm each year. This page describes the freshman dorms:
http://www.northeastern.edu/reslife/firstyear/oncampus.html
complete with exterior pictures and sample floor plans.
This page talks about the LLCs and where they are located this year:
http://www.northeastern.edu/reslife/firstyear/fb.html
Northeastern rents ac units but only for summer terms - you will survive without it although it will be hot the early part of September.
Congrats on being accepted and welcome to Northeastern! You’ve made a great choice.
I am a current freshman living in Stetson East, and it’s pretty good. Beautiful view of the Pru/111 Huntington/ Hancock.
Each room, regardless of the building/llc, comes with a bed, desk,chair and two dressers. A few dorms have carpet, and some of the suite style ones in Kennedy have a couch and a few chairs.
I am from the south as well (Texas) and I was in shock when I heard there is no AC. BRING A FAN. BRING A FAN. BRING A FAN. The stores around campus price gauge fan’s in August/September. Truthfully, the heat only stays until the second or third week of September, then you will be good. You can’t install an AC unit unless it is for health reasons (must have a doctors note).
Stetson East (along with stetson west, and Speare) have common rooms on the 2nd and 4th floor (seats and a TV), and study rooms on the 1st and 3rd floor (big table, white board walls, few chairs). The dorms are fine for “hanging out”, but don’t limit yourself to staying in the dorms to meet friends. GO OUT. Rush a fraternity(or sorority? not sure of your gender), go up to upperclassman in the dinning hall and ask about parties (they will laugh and might give you an address), go to MIT (but pregame), go to the Hill (bring lots of girls)…get out!
Stetson East can be pretty noisy, and quite hours go in effect at 10pm Sun-Thurs and 1am Fri/Sat. Some of the RA’s obviously were not loved enough as children, because it seems their only goal is to write you up. Just be cognizant that you are living with lots of other people, and even on weekends/snow days some of your floor mates will need to get up for practice, work, etc.
Bathrooms are fine. Cleaned REALLY WELL once a day, and trash is always being taken out. The first few weeks you may have to wait for a shower in the morning, but after September you will never need to. The bathrooms have not been a problem for me.
The rooms are not that big, but they get the job done.
A lot of Bouve students live in Stetson West. Their LLC is there. Stetson West is fine, but it is mainly guys (engineering LLC is there as well). I am a business student, but didn’t live in the business LLC. I think this was a good decision.
I can try to private message you on here and send pics of my room. Not sure if that is a thing, I am new to posting on cc.
My suggestions: Find the page on the ResLife site that lists where each LLC is. If you want a suite style, look for a dorm named Kennedy (fusion LLC I think).
Get a microfridge. You will thank me when its 4am and you want to make popcorn.
Getting a Random roommate is hit or miss, but usually a hit. I really like my random roommate, we get along well.
Remember that your fourth amendment still applies in the dorms. Never let an RA, rent-a-cop, or real cop in your room. They don’t have the right nor the invitation.
At the same time be nice to the RA’s, that 2am RAGER in your dorm room can go from alcohol violations/noise write ups, to a verbal warning and a high five.
Get ready! You are going to have such a wonderful time! Congrats again, welcome to Northeastern - get excited.
@southernhusky16 are you in the leadership LLC? I’m highly considering northeastern for next year and I’m trying to decide whether to go with leadership or the college of science one if I commit. Thanks!
@risingsenior7 Yes I am - “Leaders of the Pack.” I wouldn’t say the LLC’s play a big difference, besides for the people you live with. Like I am not becoming more of a leader living in this LLC. But I am meeting people who are not exclusively business majors, or in your case - science majors.
I lived in White Hall freshman year. I highly recommend it. It was a more low-key dorm (at least my floor), but there was still the “party floor” (in 2013/14 it was the 3rd floor). The floors are industrial carpet, but because the building is shaped like a u/v where it has “arms”, there are several rooms on a corner that are much larger than the standard dorm (I lucked out and got one of these). Best part of White Hall is that a little grocery store (wollastons) and the gym are both right across the street (literally like 100 feet away). I literally only went to the gym when I was living right across from it, its a huge motivator. Also, the LLC literally doesn’t mean anything. I can’t even remember what my LLC was called, and it wasn’t ever mentioned once I actually moved in. Also White Hall is 100 feet away from a Green Line stop.
I was accepted into the business school (female here) and also considering attending northeastern. The white hall sounds great, super convenient, but how much larger are the economy double rooms vs the standard double rooms? @camgard
@chocolateswag My room in White was a standard double. I honestly have no idea what rooms are considered double and which are economy. All the other dorms in white MAY have been economy doubles because they were slightly smaller than mine.
I’ve lived in Melvin but have spent time in quite a few freshman dorms so I can give you an idea. The information they give you is extremely limited online and, trust me, the floor plans are not all accurate. There also really aren’t any pictures online. Melvin is near the MFA and the Fens on the far side of campus. It is a converted apartment building so each of the rooms vary a ton in size. i know rooms of 3 that were really small and singles that were huge so it really is completely random. My room was fairly small and had carpeted floors. It was also on a floor with a lot of singles so very few people had to share the bathrooms which were each individual bathrooms with a separate shower and toilet which gave you a bit of privacy. However on some floors there are more people sharing bathrooms.There is also usually only one closet per room. Melvin has a huge basement with a pool table and laundry room and the mail is on that floor as well. There is no printer in the building. Next door to Melvin is Kerr. Kerr was recently redone and has a really nice lobby because there is an admissions office in the building. It has vending machines and a tv in the lobby as well as a room for practicing music. It has a bit of a reputation because it is the music dorm. The rooms are nicer, they are carpeted but just newer looking. They also have two closets and are slightly bigger. There are also two common rooms, one with a tv and one set up more like a conference room. The bathrooms are communal, but cleaned everyday and there is never a wait for them. You share with about 25 people. I haven’t been to Loftman or the Hemingways but I’m sure it’s fairly similar since they are all part of the M1LK dorm complex. Light Hall is another freshmen dorm I’ve been to where it is carpeted. There are less people sharing the bathrooms and the rooms are about averages sized.
Every dorm has a heating system but most freshmen dorms don’t have air conditioning. I don’t think you are technically allowed to bring an air conditioner but if you put it away during room checks it might not be an issue? Probably not worth it though because it’s not hot for long and you can always use fans.
In each room you have at least one closet, a desk for each person, a mirror, a bed, and a dresser. The dresser has 3 drawers and the desk has 4. Each person also gets a chair but some chairs are nicer than others depending on the building. There is also attachable shelving for the beds and the desks if you ask ResLife about it they will give it to you.
I saw someone commented that you don’t have to let police or RAs into the room which is not true at all. The dorms are Northeastern property so you do have to let them in.
Let me know if you have any more questions!