<p>Can anyone give me help on deciding if Granville Towers is better than staying on campus? They were cheaper than the dorms last year and they said they are sure they will be cheaper this year. The room they show you at Granville Towers that is set up just for tours is really nice. Do you lose anything by staying at Granville Towers instead of the dorms-as far as the college life experience? Any help is appreciated.</p>
<p>alcook - Couple of things about Granville. You have to buy their mealplan which means you can't drop in to any of the campus eating facilities to have a meal with friends or classmates, unless you want to pay. And I've heard Granville is a good way to go if you interested in the Greek community....lots of instate kids who go Greek there.</p>
<p>alcook4u: A current student might be better able to help you with this question, but as I understand it, once you go into Granville, you've basically lost the option of trying to get back on-campus (in an on-campus dorm), should you ever change your mind. Also, Granville seems to be kind of far away (but that might just be my perspective). I have also heard that it's noisy and a bit of a party scene, but maybe that's just a rumor. ?</p>
<p>it's not too far away, but i wouldn't recommend it AT ALL unless you want to go greek.</p>
<p>I don't have a kid at UNC (lol, see my screen name?) but my friend's D lived at Granville her freshman year and didn't like it. Said most kids on her floor were into partying and Greek life in a big way. She was not into that at all. She moved out to an apt. her soph. year. The only perk to living there for her was that she could take her car as a freshman and park it there.</p>
<p>That is not true about losing the option of trying to get back on campus. I wouldn't stay Granville though just because you're pretty much staying within a homogenius community, and are almost obligated to go greek.</p>
<p>chillmandan: Thanks for the correction on that. I had understood that to be the case, but maybe it's just more difficult to get back in an on-campus dorm, though not impossible.</p>
<p>jack</p>
<p>You were not far off. It used to be next to impossible to get back into the housing system but with all the new housing that has been added (plus Morrison back online) it's difficult but not impossible.</p>
<p>While it's not written in stone that living in Granville precludes you from getting into the housing system at a later date, understand that those in the housing system will get priority housing when they re-up and what is left goes to the rest. You can count on not being able to get into anything but South campus dorms like HJ or other less desirable dorms if you enter the housing system after freshman year.</p>
<p>Everything that has been said regarding strong Greek presence, own meal plan and party atmosphere is true. One other thing is that many instate kids live there with groups of friends from HS giving it a very non-inclusive feel for an outsider.</p>
<p>Really late on this one, but I've lived at Granville since I've been at Carolina. There are definitely a lot of frat boys/sorority girls here. (quite a bit of my hall this year it seems....or at least suitemates and the boys next door), but that's to be expected as close as we are to frat court and the sorority houses. The convienience of the Agora being right downstairs and late night dining is great. The food here is pretty good and the social activities (casino night, hypnotist, exam study breaks are fun) It's super close to classes which is nice so you can just run back/grab lunch/drop your books off if you have an hour break without spending the entire hour running across campus. South is more subdued than the other towers (the top 2 floor are "supposedly" substance free) . East is packed with sorority girls and the private rooms and west is the party tower.</p>
<p>Granville is really meant for a specific type of person. First of all, you pretty much have to be in the Greek system to make friends there. I somehow managed to make a few friends in Granville who were non-Greek, but most of my friends live on campus. The atmosphere is not social like south campus, where you can simply strike up a conversation with anyone, and everyone is looking to meet new people. </p>
<p>Not all of the girls in Granville are this way, but many of them are hostile, and they give other girls the death glare as if they are in some huge competition. Also, a lot of the kids there love to show off mommy & daddy’s money. If you scan the parking lot, you will see Hummers, BMWs, the occasional Benz, and the new, nicer models of jeep wranglers. It seems that all of the girls there are OBSESSED with Lily Pulitzer and (ugh) jack rogers. Basically, you’ll see a bunch of sorority girls who are trying so hard to be ‘perfect southern belles.’ So if you aren’t loaded…people will look at you funny. </p>
<p>As for the guys, they all tend to dress like frat dudes, wearing sperrys, chubbies, hats turned backwards, pastel button-downs and (gag) bow ties. Ladies, if this sounds like the sexy look that you want to see in a man, go for it! These boys are all over granville. Also, I know that this may sound bad, but Granville seems to have very little diversity. By that I mean you will see mostly a bunch of white people, more so than on campus. I’m not saying anything against white people; I am white myself. However, I like to hang out with people from different backgrounds because I simply think it’s more interesting that way. </p>
<p>Further, if you are serious about your studies (especially if you are SERIOUS about going pre-med, pre-health, etc) than living here will be difficult because this place is noisy and full of the most annoying freshmen on campus. It will be hard to sleep some nights. </p>
<p>And with respect to being “close to classes,” Granville is not close to classes if you are a science major. I am majoring in Biology, and all of my classes are in Coker, Wilson and the Genomic Science Bldg (on the southern end of campus). The business school is even further south, so consider that if you major in business. </p>
<p>So if these cons don’t apply to you, go for GT. But if you are unsure about any of them, maybe south campus is better for you. And if you don’t believe me and choose G-ville regardless…you have been warned. 
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