<p>Woo Hoo! It's official! We made the deposit and ds is going to be attending Carnegie Mellon this Fall!
Now he's stressing about housing & which dorm to choose. Any help would be appreciated!</p>
<p>A few current students write admission blogs for the school, and one of them recently posted a link to her’s on the CMU 2014 facebook group. She says she’ll be reviewing all of them, having started with Donner. Also, in the “ask a current student” section, if you can find the post, a couple of students talk about the housing. Good luck!</p>
<p>[Amy</a> Revak](<a href=“http://www.enrollment.cmu.edu/admission/blogs/arevak/]Amy”>http://www.enrollment.cmu.edu/admission/blogs/arevak/)</p>
<p>You could start with the virtual tours on the housing website. It seems like the majority of the kids are putting Mudge as their top pick. [Virtual</a> Tours](<a href=“http://www.housing.cmu.edu/Tours/]Virtual”>http://www.housing.cmu.edu/Tours/)</p>
<p>My son seems to think Donner would be good cuz it’s close to the engineering school. What about the dorms on the “hill?”</p>
<p>The hill ones are small with no AC; I wouldn’t recommend them.</p>
<p>Donner was nice because it had huge rooms, good sized windows (and at least two per room), and relatively close to classes. Only downside is its distance to Oakland compared to dorms on Morewood.</p>
<p>If you search “Housing” under the main CMU board you will find tons of opinions from the last few years, including ours:</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/carnegie-mellon-university/710978-best-housing-choice-freshmen.html?highlight=morewood[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/carnegie-mellon-university/710978-best-housing-choice-freshmen.html?highlight=morewood</a></p>
<p>The blog referenced above certainly is informative!</p>
<p>I would be happy if I got into Mudge, Morewood, and Mudge. The kids I know on the hill hate the dorms there.</p>
<p>Does anyone know if special interest housing is available to freshmen? Or about Wellness House at Henderson?</p>
<p>Steelers-- you’re being unreasonably critical of the Hill-- you’re not even a current student.</p>
<p>I know many students on the hill-- those who lived and or currently live in Welch, boss, Mcgill and Henderson- it’s a tight group - just like every dorm. Many Henderson students live there multiple years! Quiet, clean rooms…</p>
<p>The advantages of some of these are the Prime vs. standard rooms.</p>
<p>Henderson is AWESOME- it has A/C! It is a new dorm and the rooms are nice sized and CLEAN.
The wellness / drug thing is overstated…in fact there is not more than once monthly OPTIONAL wellness “something” to attend …there was MASSAGE twice last year, cooking classes , etc. Half the students actually did drink – although not in the dorm.
Henderson is getting an unrealistic bunch of posting here for no reason.</p>
<p>The only drawback of the hill was the lack of a printing cluster.
And when it snowed ALOT, steps a bit slippery until shoveled.</p>
<p>I agree I am being unreasonably critical of the hill. When I said the kids I know on the hill hate the dorms there I was only talking about Hammerschlag and Scobell. I also forgot the specify which dorms I was talking about in my last post.</p>
<p>Although I am not a current student I believe my opinion does matter. I spent a night at Hammerschlag and Scobell. Which would happen to be two nights more than you momof2012and14 >.> and you’re not even a current student either >.></p>
<p>And when I posted “I would be happy if I got into Mudge, Morewood, and Mudge.” I meant Mudge, Morewood, and Donner.</p>
<p>Well, I haven’t stayed in any dorms either but our son has. Every student has their own valid personal opinion based on their experiences. Here’s what I said last year:</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>He thought Hamerschlag had good cameraderie and was satisfied with his time there, even with the steep climb up the hill! Don’t want to give too much identifying info, but he had a terrible experience first semester freshman year being assigned to a remote suite at the last minute instead of a traditional freshman hall. And I can assure you that having a private lounge, bath, and kitchen does not make up for being isolated from other freshmen outside the suite or having suitemates who decide to turn the place into a racous drinking club every weekend.</p>
<p>The main point is that the dorm assignment is not going to be the deciding factor for your experience at CMU. From a parent’s perspective, here’s the most positive points of the dorms above:</p>
<p>Morewood - location, common areas, dining on site, near 28X stop
Hamerschlag - friendliness, common areas
Mudge - common areas, room size, courtyard and lovely decor
Resnick - location, dining on site, suites</p>
<p>As an ex-Hamerschlag-er, I can attest to the fact that I was disappointed to learn that I was placed in all-male dorm on the Hill.</p>
<p>However, believe me when I say that students living on the Hill are indeed a tight group of friends. Floormates bond very well and my floor pretty much bonded like a frat. </p>
<p>I haven’t seen that kind of tight-knit friendship anywhere else.</p>
<p>I should add that when people say Mudge is the furthest away, they mean that it’s a six and a half minute walk at a leisurely pace from the UC (we timed it for kicks early on in the year). Stever and Morewood are literally about 30 and 100 feet away from Mudge respectively, so don’t let distance be much of a deciding factor in which dorm you choose. Really, no freshman dorm is really very far except for perhaps London Terrace Apartments.</p>
<p>Also, unless you’re physically handicapped to the point where movement is difficult, you cannot live in Resnik as a freshman, so I feel like that should be ruled off the list, haha.</p>
<p>Steelers…yes, your opinion counts…I didn’t say it doesn’t. My apologies if that came off the wrong way.</p>
<p>I just think it’s really strong to say that everyone you knew on the hill dislikes the dorms…since you’re not a current student-- that limits you to knowing a small population – even living so close to campus- -perhaps not much more in number than the parents posting here ?..and some parents may even know LOTS more students and spoken with them about living experiences. I like the hilll…the small community dorms are especially clean and quiet - which offers some advantages. My kid didn’t live in Henderson -but when I visited campus, we stopped in to pick up something from a friend…I was amazed-- that dorm was CLEAN and the rooms were a very nice size!<br>
Although i did not spend a night sleeping in a guys dorm (ever)… I have sat in various lounges in different dorms, seen rooms in Mudge, Moorewood E, Morewood, Welch, Henderson and Rensick…been inside a sorority, two frats, a morrison apt and most campus eateries. There is most certainly a flavor to the rooms-- the hill is not the awful place your posts imply…I think you overstated the sample size … maybe you just meant to suggest that being stuck in single-sex dorms was the concern-- but the location of the “hill” is not problem nor does it pose any particular issues??? </p>
<p>You may personally be biased against single-sex dorms…but it’s unfair to imply that all those living there dislike it… . In fact many guys select thse by choice (not forced there b/c of last minute deposit date) and as noted by others-- there’s some great bonding going on in those dorms-- actually in most dorms. Many people have lifelong friendships from the bonds developed in their freshman year-- regardless of which dorm they were placed.</p>
<p>There are pros to all the dorms-- and very few if any seriously worth noting deficiencies in any of the dorms. Rumors about donnor smell are just that…rumors and same goes for rumors about mudge bugs-- not any more bugs there than living in morewood…even resnick and west wing have drawbacks-- rooms facing the fields here the noise of practices early am… apartments can be nice- but yes they are out of the way…</p>
<p>Again - first and foremost-- decide on the bathroom issue first (there’s also a cost factor there), then move on to whether having A/C matters to you for the first two -three weeks of school and then decide if you want a large or small dorm…and it’s really ok not to be paired with someone of your choice-- most people take things randomly and it works out fine…Rooming is about respecting personal boundaries-- a decent mature person can do this with little effort-- even in the stressful times.</p>
<p>Steelers-- we’re cool right?</p>
<p>Except when it’s hot out, Donner actually does smell, as much as I love the dorm. ):</p>
<p>Hey, I know they put priority based on how soon you pay the deposit but what about your FAFSA? Like, I’m applying for the cheapest, a quad, as my first choice and would they consider how I’m entirely on financial aid in placement?</p>
<p>Lucky-- unfortunately absolutely not and they are in no way related.</p>
<p>If you read the housing webpage and also inside the fat package under housing…it specifically notes that the COA is based on a standard-double-- should you select a prime double or even given a late deposit find yourself placed in one of the Oakland Apts (significantly more pricey), you would get no extra financial aid to cover added costs.</p>
<p>Likewise if you are placed in the prime quad, no one will reduce your aid, the pocketed funds are yours to spend as you see fit.</p>
<p>Housing is done in order of deposit and there are absolutely no other financial considerations. Disabilities can be a factor for some accommodations.</p>
<p>Dang. See I’m hoping for as much cash back so I can have some spending. I’m getting about $900 for books from the uni but my family really isn’t planning to send me cash. Actually, because I’m doing workstudy, they figure I’ll even be able to send them money home.</p>
<p>Ah, hopefully not many sign up for quads (after all, singles are more valued, I’d imagine people want to share their room with less people) or since I just finished mine and my deposit was in early that I’ll get that spot. I think I put apartments and singles as last choice.</p>
<p>Lucky,
There are only 8 quads and half for women…Unless you were ED or March 25 (day of announcements), you should aim for a standard double.</p>
<p>Also-- you are being misled about singles- there are close to none for freshman… people don’t want apartments either-- as these are 15/20 minute walk or a shuttle ride…Mudge is highly coveted-- and RD don’t often get a spot there - certainly not the quad</p>
<p>We don’t choose college b/c we get “cash back”…lots of people are struggling to be here and families make many sacrifices…sending money home to help out is a great gesture-- but college is not a “money making proposition”…i think there are many parents and some of your peers who would prefer not to hear how you are “profiting” from attending CMU…since they had to decline CMU offers of admissions or are borrowing thousands of dollars to be here…</p>
<p>Best of luck with your housing situation-- and I would not plan on a Prime Quad</p>
<p>I think “profiting from CMU” is the last thing you could say about lucky’s situation. she’s just trying to cut costs where she can. 
I did the same thing so that I could have some extra money to pay for, you know, medical expenses and things like that. It wasn’t like I went on a shopping spree on the university’s dime.</p>
<p>Lucky, if you can find a few EDers to pull you into a quad, then you could feasibly get into one. Other than that the chances are slim. Most of the quads here in Mudge are filled with all ED/ED2 students. There are a few standard doubles in Mudge and plenty elsewhere, so that is your best bet, but if you can find a vacancy in a quad on facebook, go for it!</p>