Freshman housing?

<p>As far as a minifridge, BU offers what they call a "MicroFridge" which is obviously a fridge, freezer, microwave combo unit for about 200 bucks a year...Almost everyone rents them. There are of course lights in the room, but they are the bright flouresent (sp?) white ones that really strain your eyes. Me and my roomate brought in a tall floorlamp with that softer yellow light, and for some reason it makes your room feel more like home. After you get your roomates contact info in the summer, you two can work out what each other is bringing so you wont end up with 2 of everything. I brought a flat screen tv this year, and its size is just perfect, we put it above the microwave in the center of the room. Some other things that can help are a rug, which you can get here in Boston at Shaws (the supermarket) or Bed Bath and Beyond nearby. Alot of hangers would be nice, and the best thing for me this year has been my rack raisers. I got the 25 inch ones which sell for 90 bucks, but the advantages of them are awesome. They give you tons of room under the bed, and you can store anything down there. So yeah, thats just some of the things off the top of my head.</p>

<p>sort of on the topic of these threads, how is BU for relatively straight edge kids? i know some smaller schools have things such as wellness/substance-free or quiet dorms, but what about BU? are there certain dorms we should avoid if we want to avoid the whole passed out naked/puking in the halls thing (though that's probably inevitable anywhere...)? are there dorms where students tend not to drink as much? (btw, is weed prevalent at BU?)</p>

<p>BU actually has specialty housing for totally substance-free living, I believe it's called the "wellness house". Also, in the big dorms, BU is more like a "if you want it, you can find it" type school where drugs and alcohol are there only if you surround yourself with people who do that. Well, I mean it's there, but by no means forced upon you. People drink anywhere, but the upperclassmen tend not to go crazy in the halls, but there are those exceptions of course.</p>

<p>BU's also has very very strict policies regarding drugs and alcohol in the dorms. People on my floor have had housing hearings and real court hearings twice for drinking in their rooms. Also, it only takes two RA's smelling marijuana to get you in trouble, even if they don't find anything. Basically, what I'm saying is, if anyone is drinking on your floor, they have to be very, very careful. People do it, but people also get caught fairly often (mostly for being loud). I figure, that is the annoying part of the drinking anyway. I don't care what other people do as long as it doesn't bug me.</p>

<p>Yeah and a lot of it goes on at the non-Freshman dorms where there is less security. If you want it its there and you may have a decent RA or a tough one but if you want to do other things there are plenty of kids involved in non-alcohol events. It is college so it does go on.</p>

<p>Everyone I know that gets caught is being obnoxious and loud to the point that it cannot be ignored. Two of my friends wrote and appeals letter, which you can do, and the noise violations were dropped.</p>

<p>starlex, BU is so huge that you're sure to live with some people who aren't straight edge and some that are. i think it's more prevalent in bigger freshman dorms like warren, but that's just from what i've heard. i'm fairly straight edge, so i've given this considerable thought in choosing my dorms. :]</p>

<p>Do we have to buy rackraisers from RackRaisers or can we buy them from an outside source? I think I read somewhere on the BU site that said we can only buy them through RackRaisers but I can't remember..</p>

<p>Of course you can get rack raisers anywhere you'd like, there is no BU rule against this. BU sells them for 90 bucks (the 25inch metal ones), and the Barnes and Noble sells like 5 inch plastic ones for 13bucks.</p>

<p>thanks GOBU. fluorescent light kind of ****es me off. we have those in my school's library and they're just ver tiring. i'm tempted to stash them in a closet somewhere and just buy normal lamps. lol. i'm really worried about my roomate situation. hopefully i get someonw with similar interests/ tastes. can you change roomates if the situation is absolutely unbearable? or would that be a bad idea? do you gusy ahve any funny/ interesting freshman roomate stories?</p>

<p>Well, the lights provided in the rooms are permanently stuck to the wall, theres one one each side of the room, and they can be turned on and off independently. </p>

<p>As for the roomate situation, there are always options available if he or she is unbearable. During freshman year actually, I moved two doors down the hall. Me and another kid did whats called a direct swap. It turnes out that me and the kid down the hall, and that kids roomate and my original roomate were more compatible (did you get all that?), like my original roomate was a heavy drinker, etc. and I just didnt like it. Haha, he had a tendency to never lock the door when he went to class so one day I locked him out, and then he learned his lesson. It never got vicious or anything, don't worry, and me and my original roomate are still good friends. But yeah, I am happily living with my best friends in a brownstone and everything worked out great. So the answer to the question is, yes, you can direct swap with someone you know, or you can post a roomate switch request, its this board in each residence hall that shows people from other parts of campus that are looking to switch for various reasons, and you can then switch with them.</p>

<p>I'll be starting as freshman at COM this fall...and I'm still very confused about the housing, I took the housing survey last week and put Shelton as my 1st choice....but I'm still not sure if Shelton's the right place for me..and the housing website sucks..so please help out....
I have a few questions:</p>

<ol>
<li><p>Which is the best dorm to stay in if you're a freshman at COM?</p></li>
<li><p>Do all the rooms at the HoJo have bunk beds?</p></li>
<li><p>Do any of you have more pictures of the dorms? (yes, I did check out the backdoor site.)</p></li>
</ol>

<p>hairspray_king, i'm going to be a freshman at COM too, and i was going to put shelton as my first, but then i talked to my friend who lives there now and she said that it's hard to get in there as a freshman. who knows, maybe you'll get lucky. the rooms are pretty nice though. and the study hall has an amazing view. i put myles as my first choice because it seems like there are more freshmen there than in shelton. also it's relatively close to COM, like a 10-15 minute walk. you could also put down the east campus brownstones if you like apartment style and being independent and stuff. as for Hojo i've been hearing different things about it. on the backdoor site, it says that some floors have doubles and singles, but then i talked to someone who goes to BU and she said that all the rooms have been converted into bunks. so i don't know. but hopefully i'll get to see a room at Hojo next week, so i can see for myself and ask questions and stuff.</p>

<p>You can call or email the residence/housing department at BU and they will give you the % of Freshmen in whatever dorms you are interested in. Our S chose WEST. The RA arranged several events the first two months so that kids could go out together and make friends but it still seemed that kids he knew at Warren had an easier time making friends. He met kids his first week in Writing class that were sharing a suite in Shelton and said they were instant friends since they were not that many other Freshman.</p>

<p>hey BUers! ive been accepted to CAS but havent received my acceptance package yet. i live in france and supposedly the france-bound packages are stuck in new zealand :S well i was wondering whether BU has roommate surveys/profiles which the high school seniors fill out so that the housing administration can try to pair up people who would do well together. most colleges do this but i heard NYU does not have these surveys so maybe BU doesnt either.</p>

<p>i did my housing stuff and it appears taht the school is too big to pair up personalities so it seems as if its a random process in that regard, however they do ask a few questions about whether you'd like specialty housing..( e.g. SMG floor, all smg students)..also theres a space provided where you can sya if theres anythin specific taht you'd want...but i did the thing awhile ago soo i've forgotten some things..anyhow good luck w/ everything...i'm really glad to see the diversity we have at BU...its very exciting</p>

<p>hey mimi28, i'm french too! althoug i moved to hawaii at the beginning of my sophomore year. i would thik that you're my friend from lycee interational but you don't ahve the same bday so i guess it's not you. lol. what school do you go to? ooo and sorry everyone for monopolizing the conversation in a housing thread.</p>

<p>I really cant make my *<strong><em>ing mind up on the dorm choice. Warren seems like the party place cause of the 2000 kids shoved in it, but the other places offer better rooming, end point WHAT THE *</em></strong> IS AN ENTERING FRESHMAN SUPPOSED TO DO? And is the fact that Warren dorms don't have their own bathroom a problem??</p>

<p>anyways yeah, adding to that a friend of mine is going to Cgs while im in Cas, and we were planning on rooming but things still so doubtful..
how long is the walk from Warren to Cgs?</p>

<p>i think walking from warren to cgs is about 10-15 minutes. depends on whether or not you are a fast walker.</p>

<p>i feel like i keep seeing COM kids discuss housing at places other than warren - is it because it's super far away?</p>