Housing Cultures

Hi, seeking some input from current students about housing, for me specifically but I’m sure other admitted students would appreciate general information.

I’m pretty much as nerdy as they come, whether it’s literature, philosophy (my admitted major) or physics. I’m also “alternative,” insofar as I see that term used to mean gay, vaguely leftist, and considered somewhat weird. Not huge into partying. I was admitted as James Scholar, so applying for the Nugent Hall dorm is a possibility.

Could a current student write a bit about the different dorm cultures? Thanks.

Sounds like you’d love Allen, it’s full of alternative types.

I’d advise against Nugent/Bousfield/Wassaja because those are mostly upperclassmen with established friend groups while other dorms are more freshman oriented.

ISR is a weird mix of engineering/sorority people thanks to it’s location close to the engineering quad and a lot of the sororities on Goodwin/Lincoln.

Allen is a fairly social place with a lot of cool events (visiting artists, workshops, etc.). Generally it’s more oriented towards quirky, alt people.

LAR is pretty chill and quiet, close to the main quad but out of the way.

FAR/PAR have a social atmosphere and are the most diverse dorms on campus because most of the people in there are people who lost the housing lottery. (They’re both nice, but freshmen put too much stock into how close dorms are to campus. CUMTD is a wonderful resource)

As for the Ike dorms, they’re considered more fratty and party dorms. Scott, Weston, and Hopkins are always pretty lit.

Taft-Van Doren is a dump and will be demolished soon (I think 2022? I don’t remember the plan off the top of my head.) Highly advise against living there.

Snyder is the drug-free community, other dorms have 3 strike rules but Snyder will just boot you. It’s pretty social but much more “straight-edge” if that makes sense.

If you have any other questions, feel free to ask. I’m a current student.

@jpop1111 Thanks for asking the question
@literallymarx , great information - Thanks. Is there any particular dorm that Engineering students congregate?

ISR but its pretty unlikely you’ll get in unless you do the Innovations LLC or win a first-day selection in the lottery.

Otherwise the engineers are pretty spread out around campus. FAR also has a decent concentration of them (if you identify as a woman) thanks to WIMSE .