I’m looking for opinions on freshman dorms. My son has been accepted into the Honors College. That has a specific dorm. He was also invited to live in the business LLC at Bruce Hall. Are there any pros/cons to living in the Honors setting or LLC versus a regular freshman dorm? A friend of his who a freshman is living in the Honors dorm (engineering major) and doesn’t like it. In fact, he is switched to the Towers second semester. Any input is appreciated.
Our Engineering freshman is living in Honors (Sutherland) this year and has chosen Honors dorm for upperclassmen for next year. She has said that she is happy where she is but there are advantages in the Engineering LLC and in Honors and she probably would have been happy in either. She did say she might have had an easier time finding homework help in the Engineering LLC, but she said sometimes she needs a break from Engineering and enjoys friendships with strong students in a range of disciplines. She has found other Engineers in Honors to study with. She has enjoyed the programming, social and academic, that the Honors dorm offers. She likes the cafeteria in Sutherland and likes upper campus (she said it feels a little quieter). Although even in honors she finds plenty of socializing! She has commented several times about how supportive and attentive her RA is. From what we’ve experienced, the Pitt student residential association seems very strong and well managed. Your student would probably be happy with any choice. Glad to hear your son’s friend was able to switch if he was not happy.
My son is a freshman living in Honors in Sutherland and has been happy with this choice. He’s in the business school and planning to double degree in math, so he was also considering the business LLC in Bruce Hall. He thought it would be more interesting and a broader experience to live in Honors with kids of all majors as opposed to just business students in Bruce. He has a good friend in Towers and has been there a lot and says there’s a notable difference in the students. On the whole, I think he finds the Sutherland students a bit more mature and the dorm a little quieter. He’s a quiet guy but found it easy to make friends in Sutherland and they seem to go out in groups a lot. My son also thinks very highly of his RA and has found her very helpful a number of times. He and a fellow Sutherland student are considering living in an an Honors dorm or apartment next year. @tighemom, it might be informative if your son could find out what his friend dislikes about Sutherland.
He thought Sutherland was too far from the action and kind of boring. This student’s girlfriend was in the Towers and they spent most of their time in her dorm…where it was fun. I’m not sure how much fun is too much fun!!
LOL. I guess it’s a matter of what kind of fun you’re looking for. My son likes being right next to the athletic center adn works out and plays basketball there regularly. Sutherland is separated from other freshman dorms, but the campus isn’t all that spread out. It’s really a matter of personal preferences and what the student values.
Anyone staying in the business LLC in Bruce Hall???
My son lived in Bruce Hall his freshman year as part of the LLC. It was strongly encouraged by the business school. He loved his apartment (especially having a kitchenette), his roommates, and his RA. He also had his freshman business class in the same building.The one drawback that he found was that he and his roommates didn’t get to meet as many people as they had hoped they would due to the layout. They used to leave their door propped open but because of the way the inside is set up (the door does not open directly into the living area), they rarely had the opportunity to interact with someone who was just passing by. It didn’t help that there was only one apartment past his in the hall either. Only the kids from that apartment were the ones passing by. He felt that if he had been in a standard dorm room he would have had better opportunities to get to know others on his floor because you can easily make eye contact and start a conversation with people passing by. With that said, he would live in Bruce again if he had the opportunity.
My other son chose not to live in the Engineering LLC or Honors dorm because he wanted to be able to meet people with all different backgrounds. He ended up in Nordenberg (which is a fabulous dorm!) and most of his floormates are Engineering majors. Go figure! There are quiet study rooms on the floor where you can meet with small groups but fabulous lounges to hang out with everyone from the floor. He pretty much knows everyone. A very different experience from his brother’s experience.
Thank you for the info!!