<p>My daughter just received her housing assignment - her housing preference was for Towers double - last choice would be single sex dorm/single. She's been assigned a single in Holland - the all women's dorm. She is VERY upset. She was so looking forward to the freshman experience of having a roommate. She's pretty quiet and I see that Holland is both upperclass and freshman students. How easy is it to make friends? Hoping that there are some CC'ers that are current Pitt students and can tell me about Holland and having a single freshman year. She attended Pitt Start last week and got very few classes she wanted and now gets her absolute last choice for housing, it hasn't been too encouraging a start........</p>
<p>I would really not worry about being in Holland at all. Last year I was in Towers, and after going to friends' rooms in Holland, I wish I had lived there. Other than not being air conditioned, the rooms were really nice. They were huge compared to Towers rooms, and since they weren't in a circular building, it wasn't loud all the time and you couldn't hear everything. Also, I wouldn't worry about it being an all girls dorm, in Towers last year the bottom half of the floors were guys, the top half girls. So, unless you were on the floor that began the girls floors, it was practically like being in an all girls dorm anyhow, IMO. Finally, when I went to PittStart, I absolutely hated it. I cried when I was there and wanted to change colleges. So, a bad experience there doesn't translate to a bad college experience. Hope this helped!</p>
<p>pinkelephants12 - thank you! I appreciate your reply. I'll relay this to my daughter. Do you think being in a single will make it harder to adjust to school? I think having that safety net of having a roommate to go to dinner with those first few days, etc. especially for someone who isn't necessarily very outgoing. I am wondering if Pitt does something to help connect Freshman living in singles with each other.</p>
<p>Well, I can't speak from experience since I was in a double, but I know that my RA encouraged everyone to keep their door open the first couple of weeks so that you could get to know everyone. That made it pretty easy to get to know people, you would just see neighbors' doors open and strike up a conversation with them. Also, there are all these events that you have to go to as a floor, so walking to them gave you a chance to talk to people and get to know them.</p>
<p>So do you know if they put freshmen on the same hall or do they mix upperclassmen in with the freshmen? I understand upperclassman can live there as well - so I think it would be very hard to meet people if she's in a single on a floor with upperclass(wo)men. Thanks for your help.</p>
<p>My D lived in Lothrop (all singles) per her request her freshman year. It was mostly freshman with maybe a third being upperclassmen. She actually met her closest friends during her Pittstart (they lived in Towers). She made friends on her own floor, too. But the 2 girls from Towers who were roommates both opted to have singles in Lothrop this year. You can definitely have "the college experience" without having a roommate.</p>
<p>Thanks Stowmom. My D is feeling better about Holland. She found out she is on all freshman floor and that the girl next door to her is in a single. She too met some girls during orientation who will be Towers - so she's a bit disappointed to not be over in Towers with them but thinks too that no roommate might be better than a bad roommate experience. So we'll see. When I called Pitt they did say that the girls end up loving it there - nicer dorm, bigger rooms, quieter, etc. and that the RA's will really work to see that the floor is involved (especially the singles). They do have the opportunity to request a room switch after the first two weeks of school. I'm not sure how easy it is to switch - but we're hoping it all works out for the best. She's kind of excited to now be decorating the room totally to her taste, etc. and really make her own. Thanks for the feedback above.</p>
<p>I see your daughter had attended Pitt in 2006 but when I read your post it seemed like I was reading something to the “T” that I wanted to post. My daughter is soooooo upset to be given a single room in Holland when all her choices were in Towers and All for a DOUBLE room not ever a single and then they tell us we are expected to pay for a single?! HA, what did you do? My daughter wanted the “college experience” and this is definitely not what she was hoping for. Please let me know how your daughter survived? I would greatly appreciate if you could respond. Thank you.</p>
<p>^^ Not that I have a dd but my ds would’ve been alot better off without a roommate, believe me. His best buds now have come through activities/clubs and some just happenstance, but definately not one of his 5 suitemates does he consider his close friends and he hopes to never run into his roommate ever again.</p>
<p>@jsmom- My D was placed in a Holland double last year and despite initial disappointment it worked out fine for her. Holland Hall has some advantages such as larger rooms and no long waits for elevators. I don’t think there is any process to change the housing assignment but you could call Panther Central and ask.</p>
<p>I just want to point out that in terms of freshman housing, Holland houses one-third of the girls. So for girls, unless you tried to apply for an LLC, you’re going to have a 1/3 chance of getting into Holland. That’s why a lot of people end up in there who didn’t even ask for it. Pitt does say that there’s no guarantee that you get the housing assignment that you attempted to pick in your application.</p>