What are the main differences between honors and regular housing? Is it worth dropping down from honors housing to live with a roommate that isn’t in honors? Is there a way I can bring my non-honors roommate into honors housing?
You can never bring in a non-honors student into honors housing (true for freshman and upperclassmen). The honors housing for freshmen this year is the newest dorm on campus - East Village . You will live in a double connected with another double through a private bath and have air conditioning when it gets warm. This is compared to most of the freshman dorms where you have communal baths down the hall and no AC. If you have a friend who is not honors then it also means expanding your horizons - you can hang in their dorm and they can hang in yours.
I wouldn’t recommend it simply because random usually works out better than picking a roommate. If you know them personally, then you’re risking a friendship. If you don’t, you’re picking off of Facebook likely on interest more than roommate compatibility. I’d stick with Honors housing and go random.
I’d recommend living in the honors housing for your first year. It’s nicer (albeit more expensive), but it’s also a nice community and will help you get more engaged with what the honors program has to offer. After that, there are sometimes better upperclass housing options for honors, but I know a number of people who opted for non-honors housing after freshman year so they could live with non-honors friends.
By rejecting the honors program you will lose out on the other honors perks like the “Global Bank Account”, additional research opportunities and whatever new stuff they come up with.
Go random and hang out with non honors friends. East Village is right across the street from the freshman dorms