Is it worth it to do Honors housing? Are their dorms any better/newer than regular housing? Also, if I do choose to do honors housing, which of the three dorms is best? I don’t mind paying extra to live in a nice dorm, and I will be majoring in Biology in the fall.
@CaptainKong I’d assume that if he gets put into a quad, he’d pay the standard rate 2 regardless of what he put on his contract. I don’t think there are any rate 1 quads though, as far as I know they’re all pretty much the same.
@Saahilak Up to you. However, the honors dorms aren’t really some of the better buildings on campus, for whatever reason.Which one is the best is also a bit subjective.
Bradley is in a good location on South, the rooms are fairly large, and it’s apparently pretty social (not really the impression I got the few times I went there, but my friend may have just lived on a bad floor). However, there’s no AC, which is a deal-breaker for some people. Also not the newest building around, but it seems to be in better condition than say, Baker East or Mack.
Lincoln, if you get in a double, has some of the largest rooms on campus (conversely, if you get placed in a quad, they’re some of the smallest). I’ve been told that the layout also tends to create a pretty good community. Also, it it matters, it’s pretty hard to get caught by the RAs for anything in here because you can go back into the bedroom and close three doors between you and the hallway. However, the massive catch is that you’re a good mile away from anything of note on campus except the Shoe and the RPAC.
Taylor Tower has the typical North Campus-style quads. Since it’s on North, you’re going to be pretty close to a lot of classes. The quads leave a bit to be desired, especially in the personal space department. Also, floors here can be very hit or miss when it comes to social activity (awkward honors engineers and quads are not a great combination). At least it’s got AC though.
I wouldn’t feel too compelled to live in an honors dorm; I know more than a few honors students who chose to live elsewhere because those three dorms are frankly just not that great. However, I also do know that a lot of honors students like their dorm a lot and pass up on a nice shiny new dorm for their sophomore year.
Does anyone know what questions are on the roommate survey on the housing contract?
@CaptainKong Where do you see the 4/rm with bath and a&c/North as a Room Rate 1? If you look at housing.osu.edu and look at each Residence Hall I don’t see any with that description as Room Rate 1. Note that all rooms in the 8 new dorms on North campus are rate 1 regardless of room type. But I am not aware of any true quads in these 8 new dorms. There are suites but those are different than the quads that you would find in Morrill and Lincoln towers where you have 2 sets of bunked beds in the same sleeping area. And the quads in Morrill and Lincoln are not room rate 1.
But to answer your question, if you select North campus and want a chance at one of the new dorms you have to be willing to pay room rate 1 but you are still not guaranteed to get one of these rooms. If you aren’t willing to pay room rate 1 then you will be in an older dorm and/or in a quad situation.
@adlgel It is the last entry under Rate 1. Thanks Marakov29 for the reply. I also received this from the Asst director of housing:
"They are actually two different room types. The one listed as a rate 1 is a 4/room with bath while the one listed as a rate 2 is a 4/suite with bath. There is only one room that falls under the 4/room with bath on north and that is located in Lawrence Tower. It is unlikely your student would be assigned to that room as that is popular among upperclassmen. Please let us know if you have any other questions. "
I am not sure how “4/room” is worth more than “4/suite”, but it doesnt sound like an issue.
@CaptainKong You are right, sounds like a moot point for your incoming freshman (or for you if you are the incoming freshman).
On housing.osu.edu website under Residence Halls, that room in Lawrence Tower is listed as “4/suite w/bath & a/c (Rate I)” not as “4/room with bath & a/c-North” and there is literally only one room of that type in that whole dorm.
There are also rooms listed as “4/suite w/bath & a/c (Rate II)” in North - see Barrett House.
The difference between these two rooms is overall size and bunked vs. unbunked beds - so I assume this justifies the difference in rates. The Lawrence Tower beds are not bunked but the Barrett House beds are. And the Lawrence Tower room is significantly bigger as far as square footage goes.
So it seems most of the Rate I dorms on North campus have non-communal bathrooms and lost of doubles and quads with lounge areas. What are the odds of getting into one of these as a freshman willing to pay rate I?
@Saahilak Unfortunately as a freshman you have no chance of getting into a suite type space in the new North dorms. Since OSU has a requirement that all sophomores must also live on campus and those rising sophomores just went through the housing selection process (my son being one of them) they have filled up all of the suite type rooms in those North dorms.
It’s possible that there are still some dorm rooms with an private bathroom in them (but no lounge space) in older dorms but I wouldn’t count on it
And if you do get into one of the new North campus dorms you will be paying Rate 1 even for the standard double with communal bathroom. Note that the communal bathrooms are less communal than they used to be in the new dorms. Yes, there is a row of 3 or so communal sinks but toilets and showers are not communal - instead there are multiple private enclosed rooms each with a shower and toilet.
So best advice is to assume you will get either a standard double with a communal bath or a quad in Lincoln or Morrill tower which is a suite setup.
@Saahilak Yeah not only have sophomores already selected these new residence hall suite spaces, freshman are not allowed to live in them. They are specifically only for 2nd year students.
Has anyone been in/is currently in the Engineering LC at Houck House? I’m considering doing that, but I want to know what the quad dorms are like. I’ve looked at pictures from the outside and floor plans, but can’t find any actual pictures of the dorm rooms.
@GlennDJ I found some pictures here:
https://undergrad.osu.edu/buckeyes_blog/?p=15720
They’re technically pictures of Drackett Tower, but they’re identical to Houck.
So if I am a freshman and I request to have a rate I and be on south, will I possibly end up around a bunch of sophomores? Or is it likely that I will be around a lot of freshmen. Also, is it a good idea to opt to room random or is it better to use the facebook roommate searches?
I am in the University Honors Program, and I was accepted into the Engineering Learning Community, so I’m trying to decide if I want to live in the Eng LC dorm or in an Honors dorm.
Both appeal to me because I’d be with like-minded people (other engineers or other Honors students).
Honors appeals to me because I’d live with people from more than one academic area (i.e. not be surrounded only by fellow engineers).
Engineering appeals to me because I’ll be with people in the same classes that I’m in, and that would be a super convenient resource.
Any advice on which might be better for an Honors engineering student? Or just which one might a better living experience?
Incoming freshmen here. I’ve completed and sent in my housing contract. Was just curious to know when exactly will I know the housing decision.
@CowlV21 I think we find out sometime in July. I’m not sure of the exact date.
@syd9498 Rate I on South will probably mean Park-Strad or Smith-Steeb, which are moderately popular among upperclassmen, but not enough that it will just be all sophomores. They’re pretty mixed between freshmen and sophomores right now.
My D will be a sophomore at another Ohio college this fall. She plans on applying for OSU in August so she can attend the spring 2018 semester. My concern is that I read on the OSU website that transfer students won’t be able to live on campus. Is this correct or did I misread it? Thank you
@CH3636 That is correct, housing has been near 100% capacity the last few years just from freshman and sophomore students who are required to live on campus. Anybody who is not required to, such as transfer students or upperclassmen, are having a very hard time getting a room on campus.
@CH3636 That is not entirely true. In the fall they do not have space to house transfers. However, last year for Spring semester a lot of transfer students were able to secure housing due to students that had moved out. It isn’t guaranteed, but if you express interest as early as she got an acceptance there would be a decent chance.