@newrecruit Call TAMU Reslife. They will have information about your deferral application.
Hi, I was accepted for BIMS at TAMU, where would you suggest I live? I would like to be close to my major’s area and in a good position for freshman year but have no clue where that would put me. When I visited campus I was unsure of what my major would be and did not think to ask where I ought to have stayed, so here I am!
@sk69 @Southpaw1 There is no right or wrong place to choose to live your freshman year. Your classes are likely to be all over the place and you will end up all over campus, whether it is from dorm to class, dorm to dining hall, class to library, etc. Go over the style of dorm and their cost and determine which would fit you and your budget best.
Does your major have an LLC (Living Learning Community)? A lot of students like the Modular style halls. My son stayed in McFadden during his NSC and really liked them but had already been assigned Mosher, where his LLC is. The Commons on southside my son says are ok, It’s dorm life. Not apartment life. They don’t like Duncan dining hall so have to go to Sabisa, which is a fairly good walk, but then, so is everything, so it is all relative. The big common area between the 4 dorms of the Commons is under construction and will be amazing by fall 2017. My son picked Mosher, for the LLC, but also because during our tour last fall, the guide mentioned it would be complete by August and it was left to assume August 2016.
Because housing apps are time stamped for priority, Hullabaloo Hall is likely full by now. At our NSC in June, we were told it was full by Oct 1.
Do get on researching the styles and rates, because you have 30 days to apply after admission decision for priority housing.
@Thelma2
Question, say I want to get into Mosher and I apply to mosher with the freshman priority housing policy. Can I change my housing choice to a more affordable option after I receive my financial aid package (you know,in case i need to start saving money in places)
@lessonwitch2 You can change your dorm choices, as many times as you want, up until May 1, with no issues. After that date, and you need to switch, you will have to call reslife and find out what your options are. Students do move around some after assignments and even after school begins but your options won’t be as many.
Is the housing application down for anyone else? Cause I can’t get access to it. I already finished it, but I wasn’t able to see who my roommate was.
@JHwang29, Roommates are not assigned until June.
@lee6666 Not exactly. I already have accepted someone as a roommate, but I wasn’t able to copy their contact info/
How does the whole roommate match go? When DS did his housing application there were a few “matches”. Now there are no options when we go back. Is he doing something wrong?
@2017seniormom The entire app is having problems right now. I emailed the housing admin and they said that there were some issues with the page. It should be back up in a few days.
The housing portal and roommate matching/selection process has changed this year from last year and years past, In the “old days” (up to Fall 2016) You listed 4-5 preferences for which hall/apartment complex you wanted and room type (single, double sharing bath/community bath etc) and you found out what hall and room number you were placed in on June 1.
Now, like my other 2 kid’s universities, it appears you can actually not only pick your hall, but your exact room.
I also noticed that NSC overnight accommodations link is now open. Whether you attend with your parents or not, I highly recommend staying in the dorm. If it works the same way it used to, you can room with someone you know who is also going or be assigned a roommate. My son had a roommate and had a great experience.
The other thing, once you know your NSC dates, and if you will need a hotel, make your reservations now. In fact, For parent’s weekend in Spring (April) of 2018, make the reservations in August or September. The rooms that are normally $100 a night will now be $200-$300 and they will sell out in CStat.
My daughter will be at the Blinn engg academy? Would you advise on campus housing or off campus? Any suggestions on which ones are good?
I just applied for housing last night!
When do you get notified if you have a place to stay? I applied for White Creek and I have already been matched with roommates. Still a bit confused on the whole process!
Thanks!
@Bree98 You are hereby designated the Fall 2017 housing guinea pig. The housing process is completely new this year from years past and those with us with current students, don’t have access to the housing portals so we can’t tell you how it works right now, I am sorry to say. You will just have to stay involved on this forum through the end and give us a step by step of the process so future applicants can have something to look back on and those of us on the forum can know the process to help them out. 
@goaggie You need to go online and read up on the different dorms, their room types that suit you, amenties, and costs. See which type is the best fit for you. http://reslife.tamu.edu/options/halls/ There are several dorms in each type at the same cost. Hullaballoo is the most costly per semester, The Commons; Aston, Krueger, Dunn and Mosher are the next level and they will have a brand new common area https://reslife.tamu.edu/commonssneakpeek/ The
The modular are popular and are at the second most expensive per semester with the Commons. Balcony Halls are a step down in cost. The doors to the room are outside, like a motel, vs inside a building, like a hotel. Corridor style are same price as balcony. These have community bathrooms. Then there is ramp style, the least costly, with window AC units. Walton was male only, from what I understand but will become freshman only and coed Fall 2017.
@Bree98 did it tell you that you got Priority Housing or Guaranteed? It told me that as of 2/1/17, they are only offering guaranteed instead of priority.
Thanks @Thelma2 . I read up on all the info but now there is only guaranteed housing left. Anyone has any idea about the dorms with community baths? My daughter is not very sure about that.
With the housing process different than in years past, I am really hoping someone does a detailed write up of the process so we can have something for next year’s applicants!!!
Does guaranteed housing let you put in preferences still?
A friend’s son was wait listed for housing last year.He did not get his Blinn Team decision until that last big release on the 3rd Friday of February. He then moved up to guaranteed and eventually priority and was eventually placed in Aston, in The Commons.
If you can still choose a prefered dorm, the way it worked last year, is that if you put a lesser expensive dorm as a first choice, they would not place you in a more expensive dorm, even if a room came available. For example, If you list one of the Balcony halls as a first choice, they would not put you in one of the modular or commons dorms, even if space was available. They would put you only in a monitarily equivilent or lesser dorm room. I wish I knew how to bold the letters on the forum to stand out (there is a way, I just can’t figure it out-and you can color text-can’t figure that out either) because a lot of people do not realize that.
The community bathrooms are fine. Hundreds of kids use them every year and they have a sink in the rooms for teeth brushing, getting water, etc. Two corridor dorms are female only and the other is gender by floor. It is not what she is used to but she would be fine if that is what she gets. She can still dry her hair and do make up in her room. In fact, for my daughter (at another school), I bought acrylic drawer stuff at the container store and a light up make up mirror. The acrylic stuff stacked on top of each other and her desk became her vanity table. She did some studying there but most of it was in the library, on the lawn, in the student building, etc. A pair of noise cancelling headphones for graduation makes a GREAT gift.
Here’s another side to that. The majority of freshman move off campus for sophomore year. A&M doesn’t make you move off campus, but they do really like to have as much space as possible for the next incoming class. The email this year went out on Jan 30 to everyone who lives in a dorm to sign a contract for next fall and they can choose anywhere they want to live. They get priority over the incoming kids and their priority date is the same contract date they signed as a freshman. A friend of my daughters was in Leggett last year and is in Hullabaloo this year. She will move off campus for next year.
Off campus housing can also be competitive if your student is wanting to live in Northgate, where you can easily walk to campus. U Center at Northgate fills up before Thanksgiving of a current year for the next fall term. The rates also go up incrimentally everywhere. Your best deals to be had are usually September-November. We signed in a 4x4 in early Nov at Northpoint and our rent per month will be over $150 less per month (not including electricity) and parking is included, which is extra at some other northpoint complexes, than what a dorm room in The Commons comes out to be. Most of Northpoint is also on the bus routes as are most complexes that are east of Texas Ave or over in the southwest area of CStat.
In response to @Thelma2’s question: Does guaranteed housing let you put in preferences still? Yes, you get 3 choices.
Thank You @kaydeeloo!
Also, my post should say, parking is extra at some NorthGATE complexes and most of NorthGATE is on the bus routes. I intermingled NorthPoint and NorthGATE and made it confusing.
@Thelma2 Thank you so much. All the info you gave was not available elsewhere. I didnt know that this was how they allotted the dorms. We will have to rethink our choices now.