<p>I thought I would start a new thread for people to ask questions and get answers on dorm choices, as there are no recent threads on that topic (and yes, I've read through all the old housing choice threads, but I, and I'm sure other people, have questions not answered in those threads). I think my choices are going to be as follows: 1) Burton Judson 2) Breck/Broadview 3) Pierce</p>
<p>Burton Judson:
I roomed in max p for my admitted students and I definitely thought that dorm was a little too "normal", I wanted a bit more quirky and unique dorm. However, from what I've read of snell hitchcock I definitely feel like is too quirky, I don't see myself really fitting in there either. Are there any dorms that fall in between these two sides of the spectrum? And where does BJ fall on this scale? </p>
<p>How are the showers in BJ? I know they're communal, but are they always hot, do they vary in temperature whenever the toilet is flushed? etc. </p>
<p>How easy is it to get dowtown from BJ? Do students typically take the 6 bus or the 55 to the red line from BJ? Or something else?</p>
<p>How close knit is the community at BJ, especially relative to somewhere like pierce? (which I know is the most close knit).</p>
<p>Breckinridge:
I haven't seen too much info on this dorm from current students, can anyone speak to what it's like socially and where it falls on the "quirky to normal" scale?</p>
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<p>If any current students or anyone knowledgeable people could help answer some or all of these question it would be much appreciated. Feel free to post your questions too and hopefully this thread can become a large resource of information on housing.</p>
<p>Pierce is going to pretty similar in Max P in terms of “normal people.” I would say the great divide between “normal” vs. more “quirky” is Max, South, and Pierce vs. Sh, BJ, Breck, Blackstone, and Maclean (which tends to be the most quirky, etc. depends year to year on who is in the house and your definition of quirky). Stony is going through a rapid change as they just started allowing 1st years to live there. Broadview tends to be a mixed bag depending on the house/year though they are probably more similar to the BJ/Breck/Blackstone/Maclean.</p>
<p>I personally love the people I know from Breck. The rooms are split between singles and doubles though people tend to hang out a lot in the lounge. Breck RIGHT next to the metra which will get you downtown in ~15 minutes vs. every other CTA method which will take AT LEAST 30 minutes (possible 1+ hour depending on traffic/when you are going). Most don’t tend to party inside the dorm much though there are regulars who go to parties on the weekends. Breck tends to be very close knit (many people spend hour(s) at the house table for lunch/dinner, for instance).</p>
<p>I wouldn’t worry about the temperature of the water in the shower. I have never had an issues.</p>
<p>BJ throws more parties inside BJ compared to Breck/Blackstone/Maclean. Breck is farther from campus, but they have more buses that go by that will take you to various points around campus.</p>
<p>If you want something that’s a little quirky and a little normal, go for Hitchcock House (in S-H). We strike a pretty good balance, have a solid party group as well as resident intellectuals. </p>
<p>As far as your other questions, we generally take the 55 to red line or the 2 or 4 buses. The 2 and the 4 stop at 57th and Cottage Grove, which is literally two blocks from the dorm. The showers and bathrooms are very nice; I don’t quite understand it but somehow Hitchcock has better/more reliable facilities than B-J despite being older.</p>
<p>Hitchcock is pretty tight as far as houses go, but in addition to the house we also have an established ‘section culture.’ Basically, Hitchcock is built in a European landing style whereby there are 4 doubles on a floor and 3 floors attached to a staircase known as a section. This means that if you live on the upper floors, you have to pass by the landings below you, which quickly establishes community. </p>