<p>I'll be a first year student next year, and housing choices are coming up. I am wondering if anybody has any input on the best places to live as a first year student. I'm a guy, and 100% want a co-ed dorm. Right now I'm thinking about Virginia or Global, but am still wondering if anybody could provide some thoughts on my two top choices right now or other options that might suit me well. I am also looking for a really social dorm, one where everybody leaves their door open, sits in the hallway, common room, etc. Thanks!</p>
<p>Congratulations on your acceptance! Because the Global neighborhood is so new, hard to say about how social it is. But - great location near new Lakeside dining facility and with all of those new dorms open in the fall, it should be the hub of freshman living. Would be my pick.</p>
<p>Virginia is much older. Good location as far as being near the academic buildings.</p>
<p>Take a look at the learning communities also:</p>
<p><a href=“Elon University - America’s Top-Ranked Teaching University”>http://www.elon.edu/e-web/students/residence_life/housingselection/learningcommunityinformation.xhtml</a></p>
<p>Global is really beautiful…</p>
<p>Sloan and Virginia are both co-ed dorms in the historic neighborhood. Some of the halls are very social – open doors, students in each others’ rooms, etc. Some aren’t – it just depends on the mix of kids. There aren’t common areas there but the rooms are big and students hang out there. My daughter loves living there – loves the location in the middle of everything and the feel of that part of campus with the big oak trees and older buildings. She wouldn’t trade it for anything. I haven’t seen Global, but from what I hear they are beautiful, with common rooms that have TV’s and kitchens. I don’t think you can go wrong either way; my daughter’s friends live all over campus and they are all happy with where they are living.</p>
<p>Not sure how much truth there is to this, but there is a rumor going around that students will not be able to request individual dorms next year, just neighborhoods (Historic or Global) (Daniely and Colonnades will be mostly sophomores, from what I hear). I’m sure there will be information about that at the admitted student weekends in the spring. </p>
<p>I personally plan on Colonnades or Global. This was posted on the Elon18 facebook group by a current student. Very insightful:</p>
<p>"Colonnades A and B: About 6 years old. Mostly upperclassmen. All singles with private bath or 4 person suites where each person has their own bedroom and there are 2 bathrooms and a common room for those 4 people</p>
<p>Colonnades C, D, E: About 3 years old. Mainly Freshman for the jack and jill style rooms(2 doubles sharing a bathroom) and mainly upperclassmen for the singles and then there are 2 person pods for sophomores mainly where 2 people have 2 bedrooms, a bathroom, and a common room.</p>
<p>Global Village: New. Double jack and jill style(see above) for freshman, singles for upperclassmen, 2 person pods(see above) for sophomores.</p>
<p>Sloan: Historic. Mostly freshman in jack and jill style rooms with a single on most floors for the RAs.</p>
<p>Virginia:Historic. Mostly freshman in jack and jill style rooms with a single on most floors for the RAs.</p>
<p>HBB: Historic. 6-8 person suites where there are 3-4 double rooms and one bathroom(with multiple toilets and 1-2 showers) shared with all persons in suite. Almost all freshman.</p>
<p>Carolina: Historic. All Girls. Double rooms with a hall bathroom on each floor. Almost all freshman.</p>
<p>West: Oldest building on campus. All Girls. Said to be haunted. Jack and jill style. Almost all freshman.</p>
<p>Smith: Historic. All Boys. Double rooms with a hall bathroom on each floor. Almost all freshman and usually one floor with only football players.</p>
<p>Danieley Center: Dr. Danieley will greet you when you come to check in. 6-10 person suites with 3-5 double rooms, 2-4 bathrooms, and a kitchen for all to share.</p>
<p>The following have common rooms, computers and printers, and kitchens on each floor for all residents: Colonnades ABCDE, Global 12345, Danieley(no computers or kitchen but yes common room).</p>
<p>Smith, Carolina, and Sloan do not have any common rooms.</p>
<p>West and Virginia share a common room as they are connected.</p>
<p>Oaks, Mill Point, and Danieley Apartments as well as Crest apartments are almost always exclusively for Juniors and Seniors."</p>
<p>Thanks everybody! Anyone else care to chime in on this? preferably some current students or parents of students. </p>
<p>My S lived in Virginia last year as a freshman. His floor was very social, and it was what I consider to be the quintessential freshman dorm experience - older building, doors kept open, socializing in the hallway, etc. He also liked the close proximity to the Varsity and late night McEwen. Virginia has the added plus (over Sloan) that it is connected to West (all girls) and they share a common room. I think he would make this choice again for freshman year, although now that he has his own big room in a quiet apartment, he is really a happy camper! The overly social aspect of his hall started to wear on him towards the end of the year, mostly because he had found his own social niche elsewhere and would have preferred to have a quiet space when he came “home”. </p>
<p>Wow, thanks for the insight Embracethemess, that’s great to know that your son lived in Virginia and liked it! Did he socialize with any of the people from West or was it mostly just his hall in Virginia? Did people use the common room a lot? Thanks!</p>
<p>smee, he definitely met girls from West that he would not have otherwise. One of them is still a very good friend, even though they don’t hang in the same social circles. My impression of the common room was that it got used, but wasn’t necessarily a central gathering space for larger crowds. On family week-end I saw a small group of girls watching tv, and a family playing cards at one of the tables. It is in the center of the “T” shape of the dorms, so it gets a lot of through traffic. Other gathering spots for Virginia/West residents are the front and side porches. I often see kids sitting at the tables on the side porch of Virginia. </p>
<p>Thanks for the prompt response, sounds like Virginia is exactly what I’m looking for!</p>
<p>Virginia had a serious mold problem in 2012-2013 when my D lived there. They brought in fans and high-strength cleaning materials. When I visited for Parents’ weekend, half the hall was sick. Not sure if there was any connection between the illnesses and the mold, but I wouldn’t choose to live there without first hearing that the climate control issues are a thing of the past. Apart from that, it’s a great, centrally located dorm.</p>