<p>I just sent in my confirmation of enrollment today (I was waiting on their financial aid package, which I received today). I’m wondering if there’s an application for the meal plan and/or housing and their due dates? Or do they just put you into whatever dorm and you have no say in the matter? Also, this may be a dumb question, but are singles available to freshmen?</p>
<p>Singles are available, but at a higher rate. And are limited in quantity. As a freshman you will live in south side dorms, namely Clark, Roper, Anderson, or Letts. (Freshman rarely get into Centennial; it’s upper-classman suites.) Rates are here:</p>
<p>[On</a> Campus Housing Rates | Housing and Dining Programs | American University, Washington, D.C.](<a href=“http://www.american.edu/ocl/housing/housingrates.cfm]On”>http://www.american.edu/ocl/housing/housingrates.cfm)</p>
<p>As for housing, I don’t know how that works because I was enrolled in a program called University College (worth looking into yourself) that basically arranged housing for me.</p>
<p>All freshman are required to have a meal plan, and will default to 150 meal ‘swipes’ which get you a meal in the cafeteria, known as “TDR” for “Terrace Dining Room.” There are two other places that accept these swipes: Tavern (pizza, burgers, fries, etc.) and Salsa (burritos, nachos, quesadillas, etc.).</p>
<p>You can’t go below the 150 plan until sophomore year (where you can opt-out entirely) and all plans come with $200 “eagle bucks” and $200 “dining dollars.” Almost all places on campus accept EB, DD, or both. EB are also usable off-campus for CVS, Whole Foods, and a few other partner stores to make purchases. It’s a regulated money system so your parents know the cash they give isn’t going towards booze.</p>
<p>If I missed anything, ask again.</p>
<p>Or, go straight to the source and email Housing and Dining at:</p>
<p><a href=“mailto:housinganddiningprograms@american.edu”>housinganddiningprograms@american.edu</a></p>
<p>seanrmilligan…Regarding meal plan…Do you think 150 is enough for the average freshman…did you end up with swipes left on your card or have to add on???</p>
<p>In May, after the deadline for deposits has passed, Housing and Dining will email through your AU email, so be sure to set that up. There will be a period for you to meet other incoming freshmen online–kind of a mash-up of Facebook and Match.com–and find a rooming group. If you don’t find a roommate (or two, if you’re tripled), they’ll randomly assign you one. After you’re matched with a roommate, you’ll then select a room. Your priority in selecting a room–also in determining whether you’re doubled or tripled–is based on the date when you send in your deposit. Last year, my daughter deposited on April 15, and she was not tripled.</p>
<p>Ladyelizabeth, as for singles, don’t count on it! I don’t know of a college or university in the country where a freshman can expect a single unless she has a compelling medical reason.</p>
<p>Jankie, do take a look at the Housing & Dining web site. My recollection is that if you run out of swipes and you have to pay for them a la carte, the price of a single entry into TDR is hardly any different from the price you pay per swipe when you buy a bundle of 150 (or more) swipes. In other words, if you run out of swipes and have to pay for meals with money, you won’t pay a significantly higher price. On the other hand, if you have left-over swipes, you can’t spend them the same way you can spend cash (e.g., on concert tickets, at iTunes, at the mall…). So, IMO, it’s better to run out of swipes and pay cash a few times than to tie up your cash in swipes you don’t use. But I encourage you to do your own research on this matter, because I’m just working from memory here.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the info! I’m afraid I might get stuck with a triple considering I just sent in my enrollment agreement yesterday (I had to wait for them to send me my FA package so I could know whether or not my deposit could be waived, which it was). </p>
<p>I was asking about the singles because I have a friend who’s going to Cornell and he has the option of getting a single. Also my former physics teacher who went to Cornell had a single in freshman year. I was just wondering if American also offered them to freshman. </p>
<p>The info’s been really useful, so thanks again. Also, when’s the earliest we can check in to our dorms in August?</p>
<p>Saturday, August 18. Take a look at the brochure that’s online here: [First</a> Year Students | Housing & Dining Programs | Office of Campus Life | American University | Washington, D.C.](<a href=“http://www.american.edu/ocl/housing/firstyear.cfm]First”>http://www.american.edu/ocl/housing/firstyear.cfm). It will address a lot of your questions.</p>
<p>Thanks for the info. One last thing, you mentioned that the earliest we check in is August 18. Does it have to be on that specific date, or can it be during any time the week of? And when do the meal plans start to take effect?</p>
<p>That I don’t know. Call or email Housing & Dining.</p>
<p>@Jankie Whether or not 150 is enough, it really depends. That works out to ~9 meals a week. You have to consider how often / how much you eat. Some get by on a two meals per day schedule, others do not. I ate almost exclusively at TDR, so for me it was not enough. Some go a few days without stopping by because they go to Chipotle with friends or have unorthodox schedules and order in food late at night. I’d say give 150 a go for now, and then decide for the second semester whether or not you want to go up.</p>
<p>@LadyElizabeth The meal plans take effect by the second or third day of welcome week. I arrived the first day of move-in, which was a Friday or Saturday, and TDR was open for a Sunday evening meal.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the help, everyone!</p>
<p>You can check in anytime between that date and the start of classes. However, the earlier you check in, the more time you’ll have to meet people and straighten out any administrative issues. Also, I think that there are floor meetings starting on Thursday evening. </p>
<p>Last year, my daughter arrived on Tuesday, and that was fine.</p>
<p>Am I screwed?
I deposited today (May 1) and my (future) roommate deposited 3 days ago. Which roommate’s deposit date do they use?
We’re going to live in Hughes if that matters (heard there’s pretty much guaranteed space and no triples).
I don’t want a crappy dorm room :(</p>
<p>My daughter deposited April 30 last year and was tripled in Hughes. She was offered the chance to detriple before she even moved in.</p>
<p>Krndandaman, although I agree that there appears to be guaranteed housing in Hughes for all incoming Honors freshman, whoever told you that there’s no tripling in Hughes was incorrect. I was told by AU’s Housing & Dining Department that approximately 25% of the incoming Honors freshman could be tripled in Hughes this fall, based on the date that they made their deposit. Of course it depends on how many Honors students request housing in Hughes, since some request housing elsewhere.</p>
<p>Also, I watched President Kerwin’s Spring 2012 speech here:</p>
<p>[Office</a> of the President | American University, Washington, DC](<a href=“http://www.american.edu/president/announcements/Video-April-30-2012.cfm]Office”>http://www.american.edu/president/announcements/Video-April-30-2012.cfm)</p>
<p>and he mentioned that they had a 50% increase in Early Decision applicants this year. Since ED candidates had to make their deposit earlier, and there were more of them this year, that seems like it will increase the chances for an incoming Regular Decision student to be tripled.</p>
<p>NewJerseyMom, how did your daughter get lucky enough to be detripled before classes even started? Did one of her other two roommates never materialize? And did she enjoy living in Hughes? Thanks.</p>
<p>Ugh… I really do NOT want to be tripled. That was one of my worries because I really need all the extra living space I can get. Plus, I’m going and rooming with a close friend of mine so we’d rather it be just us two. Since I deposited on the last day, is it like near 100% that I’m going to be tripled with my friend and another random guy? I saw rooms that were tripled and I felt horribly claustrophobic… God help me.</p>
<p>Nobody really knows, but I’d say it’s likely you’ll be tripled. You may as well know now, though, since what will be will be.</p>
<p>You’ve read this from the web page of Housing and Dining at AU?</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>[First</a> Year Students | Housing & Dining Programs | Office of Campus Life | American University | Washington, D.C.](<a href=“http://www.american.edu/ocl/housing/firstyear.cfm]First”>http://www.american.edu/ocl/housing/firstyear.cfm)</p>
<p>Yes, I was told the same thing when I visited AU last week.
I really didn’t want to triple though, even if it was temporary because it’s just a hassle with having to arrange the room again and someone move in and back out.
However, does “de-triple” mean that I will leave my room to meet a new roommate and double with him or does that mean that the 3rd guy in our room would leave to find a roommate for a new double? I’d imagine that if it was the former we might have that awkward situation where the 3rd guy does not want to de-triple and we’re left with a “you can choose to leave to de-triple” when my roommate and I do not want to be separated. Hopefully it’s the latter… I guess we’re probably getting tripled as both my roommate and I deposited too late.</p>
<p>oh and I forgot to thank you guys for the helpful posts! thank you ^^</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Well, if you treat him like some random interloper rather than a classmate whom you might be delighted to get to know, perhaps he would do that just to annoy you. </p>
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</p>
<p>Well, my daughter was assigned to a double in Hughes but deferred for a year before room selection took place, so her roommate probably got someone else assigned who was designated for a triple. That’s one way it might have happened. People might also have withdrawn after being accepted off the wait-list to a school they preferred.</p>
<p>The process is very unpredictable. My D was assigned a triple. Both girls decided not to attend (one just never showed up), and sure enough, two others were assigned to her room. She was de-tripled within a few weeks. No conflict–one of the girls had a friend in another building and chose to go there. I think triples are much less of a problem for guys, who tend to have far fewer possessions.</p>
<p>@DeskPotato
Point taken, but I can’t really see myself happy in a triple… my host lived in a triple when I went for an overnight and let me just say that I was going dizzy from claustrophobia. Regardless of whether the 3rd roommate is an amazing person or not, I just really can’t stand a triple. I really don’t get why AU have triples with such small rooms… other colleges seem to have rooms double the size for triples.</p>
<p>Hopefully I get lucky.</p>