Help! Walter williams scholar and dorm issues!!

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Missouri - Columbia
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<p>I am going to be a freshman at Mizzou and will major in convergence journalism. I visited today, and whilst on my tour (yes i just said whilst, get over it), i realized that the choice of dorms was going to be very difficult.</p>

<p>I have been accepted into the Walter Williams Scholars program for journalism students. Now I know it's typical for WWs to go into the 2 WW figs in Mark Twain. And yes I know about the pool and dining hall (neither quite impressed me), and yes i saw the rooms. Honestly I never really believed that the Mark Twain people would seem... "different," but somehow they did. and to top that off that the room i saw seemed really small and the cinderblocks made it seem prison-like. I haven't ruled it out yet by any means, but I'm really worried that because it is a bit isolated and I really don't know that I'll quite fit into to an incredibly studious crowd that I'll end up not having a very good time.</p>

<p>On the other hand, I am considering Schurz. Since it was renovated in 2008 the rooms are very nice and still SMELL new. I like that it has community bathrooms, because it never occurred to me until the tour today that one shower shared between 4 girls could get a little hard to organize. However having 20 girls share 5 showers would mean that it would be a rare occasion when one would not be open- AND there's the fact that the community bathrooms get professionally cleaned a lot more often. If I went into Schurz I would be in the honors journalism fig, which I would say might keep me in the loop with the benefits of being in the program, but would also allow me to step outside of the Walter Williams clique. And there are lots of other dorms nearby, not to mention the fact that the Rec center is so much closer along with quite a few other things. And the walk to the J-school would be LONG but my freshman year I hear I wouldn't take many classes there anyways and I could honestly survive a long walk for a better residential life experience.</p>

<p>As a final idea, I'm thinking Defoe-Graham single room 2 person suite. I would try to be in the Journalism and Communications learning community, which would still keep me in the loop somewhat. I know its closer by a bit to places where I would go to classes, but still not quite as close as Mark Twain. Its also across the street from the Rec center, and I might like the fact that I'm not in a Fig.</p>

<p>I know it seems like I have a lot of information- and i've heard both sides of the argument that either: A) mark twain is weird and so are the people there OR b) schurz is so far away its not worth it and its not that great of a dorm, like mark twain would be, anyways.</p>

<p>what i really want to hear is real experiences from people who've chosen either course. or even if they just have a perspective on which one would be better. or EVEN if they have a different option i might look at. honestly i'm a little overwhelmed with all these considerations to keep in mind. I think I need someone who knows what its like to live at mizzou to tell me where i should go with this.</p>

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<p>bumblebee, there are several students on this thread who’ve had helpful comments about housing. Look back through past topics and you’ll find some information. If these students don’t reply to your question here, you might try PMing them. I’m sure they’d be glad to give you feedback. My secondhand perspective: My son, a sophomore, liked his Schurz journalism honors FIG (and Schurz)–very good student, had a great social life, made good friends. The central lounges on every floor are a big plus. This year, though D-G sounded good on paper (it was still under renovation during room selection) and was in a great location, he and his roommate didn’t like it for a variety of reasons and moved out to Campus Lodge. He says he would not have liked it as a freshman because of the layout (endless narrow hallways).</p>

<p>The Mizzou campus is large, but you’ll get used to the walking. Think of it as a way to get exercise, and be sure to come prepared with a good umbrella and wind/cold protection!</p>

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<p>That was the sort of response I was looking for, geezermom. Actually I’d take students or parents answering. I have looked through the other threads meticulously, but sometimes I find the answers really only fall into stating that one dorm is better than the other yet rarely WHY. I’m just glad I’ve narrowed them this far. I’m glad you say that D-G is not what you’d expect it to be. On the tour of course they showed us two untouched rooms set up to appear “new” and “open.” And when I visited Mark Twain on the spur of the moment I most likely just happened to be set up with a messier and less creative pair of girls that really didn’t do the other dorms justice.</p>

<p>I’ll keep waiting for other opinions, but thanks geezermom. It really does help knowing your perspective.</p>

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<p>I thought all Walter Williams Scholars live in the same dorm and even on the same floor…
D. was assigned to her room by the Dean; and they had their first “floor” meeting on the move-in day.
I know some girls participate in sorority activities during this year, but all of them live on 7th floor of MT.</p>

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<p>It’s true that in past years (from what I can see) all 40 WWs went to the 2 FIGs that both fit 20-- so it worked out perfectly.</p>

<p>However, I know last year over 50 were accepted, and who knows how many will be accepted this year.
By no means are we forced to be in the FIG. Nor will everyone FIT into the two WW FIGs. I’m sure the runoff will go to the Honors Journalism FIGs, and every single FIG has the same move-in day. You do live as close as possible to other WW people. And you certainly can be assigned to the room, but with facebook in the picture, I kind of want to make the decision and request one myself (in the WW FIG).</p>

<p>Dean Brooks gave me a funny look on my intro the J-School tour when I asked the implications of not joining the WW FIG, which is what scares me the most. I was expecting a “Nothing too much, but you will have to stay informed of the events more independently.” He said that, but the reaction made me wonder if it really dilutes the benefits. </p>

<p>Because of that I think I’ll just go with trying to get into Mark Twain. I know I’ll pledge, so if I really don’t feel comfortable (which I doubt will happen- I’m just being overcautious) I’ll just bide my time for the semester and spend most of the time doing sorority activities. I feel like my “what if” moment would more likely come from missing out on MT activies than missing out on Schurz activities.</p>

<p>I’m still open to more opinion, but I think I have once again changed my mind “for good.”</p>

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<p>By the way, D was very sure that she would join sorority at her sophomore year and changed her mind after 3-4 months of freshman year:-) Now she is very excited to move in to apartment (the Reserve extended housing) with her WW friends next year.</p>

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<p>I’m currently a Walter Williams scholar living in Mark Twain. I can’t say that I know what the best decision for you is because I know little to nothing about the life in the other dorms, but I can tell you what my experience in Twain has been like and let you draw conclusions from that.</p>

<p>Mark Twain itself is, compared to the rest of the dorms on campus, a mediocre dorm. The rooms are a tad small and quite a bit old, the elevators constantly break down, the pool is gross and seldom used (just go use one of the three pools at the Rec if you want to swim), and the food in Mark Twain Market isn’t anything to get excited about (although most of the food on campus isn’t). The building itself was supposed to be renovated after the Fall 2010 semester, but that had to be postponed for financial reasons.</p>

<p>Its location is good in a lot of respects. Major academic buildings like Middlebush, Arts and Sciences, Geological Sciences and Strickland are all within 5 minutes walking. Twain is also about as close as you’ll get to downtown without living in McDavid (which is located even further north than Twain). It’s a long way from the rec center and the football and basketball stadiums, which is a hassle. It’s also a long way from the other dorms, which means most of your friends will be in Twain unless you get involved in other organizations (Greek life, etc.).</p>

<p>The Walter Williams scholars of this year are about the most diverse group of people I could ask for. It’s not an incredibly studious crowd by any means. Yes, there are a higher proportion of people who don’t go out on weekends than on the rest of campus, but there are still plenty of people who go out if that’s what you want to do. There are WW scholars who have moved out to join frats already, and there are many girls in sororities. There are WW scholars who do quite a bit of partying and still maintain excellent grades. There are also those of us who spend our weekends going to movies, doing stuff around Twain or other crazy shenanigans (my group of friends has driven as long as 3.5 hours just to go to cool places to eat dinner, but that’s our thing). Regardless of what kind of person you may be, you’re going to meet someone like you. I’m glad I had that opportunity to go out and party because it made me realize that I didn’t want to.</p>

<p>To me, the people I met were the primary benefit of being in the Walter Williams FIG. If you don’t think that’s enough, then I’d say the only major thing you’d miss out on by not living in Twain would be face time with Dr. Brooks. He’s a good person to get to know as the Associate Dean of the J-school. He was more than willing to write me a letter of recommendation for my transfer applications, and he is always looking to help out the Walter Williams scholars. (I’m most likely transferring back east after deciding rather quickly that journalism was a poor fit as a major; however, that’s more because I want to be closer to home and that UMD-College Park is much better for me financially as a Maryland resident. It has only a little to do with me not liking Mizzou because it’s tough to find things to do in Columbia if you’re not proactive or a partier.)</p>

<p>If you have any questions, feel free to send me a PM; that’s the best way to contact me because I don’t check this forum that often, but I do get emails when I get a PM.</p>