<p>I was just wondering if there were some students here who could tell me about the different housing options and dorms available. I've seen the sample room in Tower A as well as a friend's room in Lothrop Hall. So, if somebody could provide information on the various student housing buildings, feel free to share. Thanks</p>
<p>There are several housing options. However, you may not get your first choice.
Towers A & B - Freshman dorms- all doubles- a/c co-ed by floor(B has honors)
Towers C- Freshman and Soph. dorms - mostly singles a/c
Food options available in the Towers, laundry facility, gym, banking machine, lobby
good location in the quad</p>
<p>Holland- female dorm, single, doubles, and triples
No food options, no gym, no a/c-ceiling fans
good location in the quad</p>
<p>Sutherland- up the hill-(near Petersen)
co-ed
food options
triples, quads, doubles- more suite like, more spacious than Towers</p>
<p>Best thing for you to do is check out the site that describes the dorms- it is very accurate- or call Panther Central and talk to an admin in housing they will answer all your questions</p>
<p>The dorms are all different- it depends on what you're looking for.</p>
<p>My daughter lives in Tower A. </p>
<p>After her tour, she was sure she wanted to live in the Towers because most of the freshmen live there, and she wanted a fairly social dorm. </p>
<p>The rooms are quite small, but that doesn't bother her. </p>
<p>She lives on a floor w/ restricted noisy hours, I think it's a designated quiet floor. </p>
<p>She and her roommate "hang out" on other floors and floor lounges through out the dorm. </p>
<p>She likes the fact that most student services (gym, food, Panther Central, Eddy's Cafe) are all contained within her tower dorms.</p>
<p>Chrisd is correct. Most seem happy in Towers- even though the rooms are small. Having food and being centrally located are definite positives for choosing Towers.</p>
<p>the quad actually has its own gym, for use for all the quad occupants. secondly, the quad is RIGHT NEXT to towers, and all the food places (ie-union and the food places in the towers lobby (marketplace & eddies). So if you are thinking about distance, unless you are not willing to walk exactly 20 feet to get to eddies or marketplace, the quad is very good. Plus, alot of people go to the union, and so you have to walk from towers to there anyway. each of the buildings in the quad have their own laundry facility inside each dorm, so that shouldn't be an issue either. Panther Central isn't really all that useful unless you have a problem (and usually, most of these problems are forgetting your ID in you're room, paying a fine, etc.) and problems dont really occur that often.
I was in tower B honors last year, and I loved it, because there were so many people in tower B, and everyone was friendly, and the lounge was used alot, and so I met basically every single person who lived in the honors dorms within 2 weeks. Tower C is the single dorm, and most of my friends who lived their said it was quite boring, because alot of people there seem antisocial, and most of them just went to towers A or B to hang out w/ friends.
Tower A is similar to tower B, but just not as big. The quad has no A/C, but do include fans in all the rooms. The A/C is not THAT big of a problem. It is nice to use the A/C, but this is turned off after about 2 months anyway, and heat is kept on for the remainder of the school year (until april).</p>
<p>Bruce doesn't have ceiling fans. But it does have two windows per room and fairly good air circulation. Window fans helped. Still, there were a few really hot days in early September.</p>
<p>Although I am now getting some negative feedback from D, I am still going to reccommend trying to get in the Towers as a freshman, and if you're in Honors College, try to get into their floors in Tower B. You will meet a lot more people that way and also always know when activities are happening. Even though everyone in HC is invited to the activities, for some reason they are not as well advertised in the other dorms and people complain they don't know about them 'til it's too late.</p>
<p>D has a friend in Holland and claims they all hate it 'cause it's just women. I suppose that depends on what you want. Also a friend in Lothrop, which is very good if you are a nursing major. It seems like it's mostly singles and most rooms have a sink in them, which is a real plus that the towers don't have.</p>
<p>As for the complaints, does anyone else hear about there being too much activity in the towers +/or the quad? As in too long lines to check in past security, too many tables of clubs and organizations to get past (they are soliciting for members, etc) just to "get home", too noisy, etc.?</p>
<p>I think I am being given a sales pitch for an off campus apt., but we can't afford that with a scholarship that pays part of room and board. Is being too close to the action a problem? Are quad rooms/apts quieter, more "home"-like?</p>
<p>Also (sorry!) what about Sutherland and/or Panther (the new dorm). The food is supposedly better and it's alleged to be quieter, but is going up and down the hill more trouble than it's worth, esplly in the dead of winter with snow (which D has not yet experienced). Thanks.</p>
<p>That's pretty funny mercymom- the "sales pitch." </p>
<p>I'm wondering how much choice freshmen have? Can they choose a dorm, or state a preference? Even if they don't want to be in the towers, are they apt to end up there anyway?</p>
<p>I am a firm believer in freshmen living in social dorms - BUT - when my son, at 6'5" was in that tower room - wow, it was just so claustrophobic. I mean I've been in MANY dorm rooms, but that is the only one that I really thought that the claustrophobia level might just be out of control.</p>
<p>Weenie, the housing app, if I remember allows for you to put down maybe a 1st, 2nd, 3d choice, or some variation. In fact, I think it goes by choice of type of room, like single vs. double vs. triple. There is a space where you can write in a choice too, I think. </p>
<p>There is a separate app for honors housing and if you get picked then it's automatic you get tower B, but it probably helps to also ask for it on the main app. There is also a separate app for SPACE, the freshman engineering floors in Tower A. SPACE still had openings while we were at Piitstart in June, so seems easier to get in.</p>
<p>D's friends in Holland and Lothrop did not ask for those dorms, I don't think, they just got assigned to them as the others were full, but don't quote me.</p>
<p>Yes, I think the Towers are the smallest dorm rooms on the planet, and I can't imagine a boy 6'5" in one of them (sharing with another guy that size?), but I haven't heard any complaints filtering back. D's take is that the guys have more space in their rooms 'cause they don't bring as much stuff with them (girls tend to bring their entire lives and all physical evidence to date - gets crowded).</p>
<p>The older dorms would most likely have bigger rooms; at least that's how it is at D2's school.</p>
<p>Here's a thought. For someone really tall. Find out where they put the athletes and ask for that dorm. Unless it's exclusive for the athletes, that might be your best chance of getting a large enough room to be comfortable. lkf725 might have some good suggestions too - S lived in towers and is now in quad I believe.</p>
<p>Mistake on my part, D2 is the Pitt d, her older sister's school has some dorms built in the 30's with very large rooms and tall ceilings. Pitt's quad rooms might be similar, esplly as they used to be private apt houses.</p>
<p>Thanks mercymom! Very helpful!</p>
<p>True about the boys with less stuff - but you should see my son's computer equipment...he has a water cooled (!!!) computer with two monitors that he swears he CAN NOT live without. Can you imagine? </p>
<p>Well, we're a long way from actually choosing a school yet. We have to see how all the money falls out in April. I'm just worried that my son's big reservation about Pitt is that tower, and I think it's silly. </p>
<p>PS He'd rather die than be in the athletic dorm. He is a total computer geek. Hence, the Computer Engineering...I'm making him out as fussy, but he actually isn't.</p>
<p>Maybe the total computer geek would like the SPACE living group in Tower A? As I understand it, that's several floors just for engineering students.</p>
<p>D lives in towers and is very happy. Noise has not been a problem. D likes the convenience of having everything "in" the building. Living in Towers is a typical freshman college experience. Yes, you can always choose a single or to live in another building. Towers are the most requested freshman dorms. Most of the athletes live in Sutherland-people seem happy there. Your son shouldn't choose a college based on freshman living conditions.</p>
<p>"Your son shouldn't choose a college based on freshman living conditions." I totally agree, but try telling him that.</p>
<p>My son really liked the Towers for freshman year. He was on an honors floor. The environment lets freshmen meet SO many people. When kids are in their rooms, the usually leave the door open, so people walk around (in circles!) and say "hi". They are small, but convenient and air-conditioned. My 6'4" son was comfortable there. As far as space goes, there are several closet shelves and a place to hang clothing. Each kid gets 5 large drawers in a two part stackable dresser. Also, the beds are infinitely height adjustable, so most kids store a good bit of stuff in bins under the bed. In fact, you can raise the bed enough to fit the dresser parts under there. My son and his roomie kept each bed and desk on the opposite walls and pushed the two dressers together on the small wall. That left plenty of room to put a TV there, as well as some personal items. They also had a couple of folding nylon chairs under the bed to make extra seating if people came by. My son also managed to fit a narrow (12 inch wide?) built-it-yourself bookshelf between his bed and his desk. And the Towers are so convenient! Prime location with two dining facilities, laundry and gym on the premisis. Can't beat it! Apparently, they are planning to redo the cafeteria in the Towers to make it more restaurant-like and to include big screen TVs.</p>
<p>The quad rooms are definitely bigger. The two-person bedrooms are fairly spacious, and there is a kitchenette and living room area. The common area contains a round table with chairs, a love seat, two upholstered chairs and two end tables. On top of that, they fit a fairly large entertainment center and two media racks in there. Each bedroom has a door and you can get some quiet from the living area if you need to. The bathroom is a good size with a commode area, a double sink, a shower stall and many towel bars. And they do have really high ceilings. The only thing I would say is to bring lots of lamps. Each room has only one wall/ceiling light, so they used several table lamps and floor lamps throughout the suite. The quad is great if you already know people, but it is hard to meet people in the hallway. They are really like little apartments and you may or may not meet your neighbors at the elevator. But nobody leaves the door of their suite open. The walls in those old buildings are really thick and you rarely hear anything from other suites. There were a few really hot days in the fall, but window fans really helped.</p>
<p>I think son and his roommates are going to try to live in Bouquet Gardens next year. They are air-conditioned, each person gets a private bedroom and there is no security desk. Now I think this lack of security is bad, but they feel that signing people in and out is a huge inconvenience. Oh well, it is time for them to be on their own and Bouquet Gardens in an easy walk to classes.</p>
<p>Most athletes stay in Sutherland because it is convenient to the athletic facilities. They are new and nice, but the trade-off is the walk uphill.</p>
<p>lkf725, where did your son choose for his sophomore year? My D, the freshman, is happy this year in Towers, but she wants to go to Bouquet Gardens next year. I'm not too worried about that actually happening, as I imagine Bouquet fills up quickly with older students.</p>
<p>In regard to Towers, can the kids study in their rooms? Is there a study (quiet) lounge where a student can go? Or do most of the kids end up in the library? How far is that from the Towers? Does the Honors housing, Tower B, have a quiet designated floor? Do any Honors freshman students end up in C for the sake of a single? How are roommates chosen? Are the RA's involved with the freshman and accessible if there's a problem? Thanks for any advice! (We live a few hours away. If we were closer, my D and I would go learn more about housing first-hand, if possible.)</p>
<p>My daughter lives in Tower A. </p>
<p>When she signed up for housing, she made a choice on the application to live on a "quiet" floor. I don't recall what the limitations are, but she seems happy with it, and says other floors are much noisier--is that spelled correctly? Hmm. </p>
<p>RAs vary from floor to floor. My daughter's RA seems invisible to her. She tells me that other RAs organize floor activities, etc. She says that the only event that brought everyone on her floor together was when one girl put a cinnamon bun in the microwave for 25 minutes!</p>
<p>D studies in her room, other floor lounges, and the library. The library is not far at all from the Towers. </p>
<p>D is very happy w/ her roommate, they've become very close friends. How are roommates selected. . . D received a questionnaire at some point that asked questions like "what kinds of music do you like," "do you study w/ music on," "are you comfortable w/ roommate having friends over after eleven p.m." and so on. I haven't heard about anyone living in a single. Living in a single room really isolates freshmen. </p>
<p>This is our third child in college. One went to a state u. similar in size to Pitt, the other to a very small specialized college. From my daughter's comments about dorm life at Pitt, I'd say there's less drama and less craziness, and more security. But, that could just be my D, or could just be that she tells me less!</p>