<p>If I accept at BC (very likely tomorrow), I enter into the Honors Program. Can any current or recent former BC honors students advise as to whether there are benefits or drawbacks to living in Honors housing? I have not seen the inside of the honors dorm (Medeiros) but i think it is on upper campus, and is apartment-style living from what I have heard. Is it too quiet? Or is it, on the contrary, great to have quiet place to live and study? How about seeing the same faces in class and in the dorm? Is the dorm too nerdy? Is honors housing, by definition, substance free and lights out at 11 pm type of thing? Is it a nice respite from beer pong and rap music blaring in the middle of the night? If I don’t go for honors housing, do I end up on Newton campus (or like 40% chance of it, from what i have heard here)? Does my list of spazzy questions mean I am a definite candidate for honors housing?</p>
<p>Any guidance or insights (even if they are just random opinions or rumors) are greatly appreciated.</p>
<p>I don’t think Medeiros Hall is apartments. I think it is more like 5 or 6 towers, each comprised of 4 or 5 pairs of rooms stacked on each other, with common bathrooms for each group of like 4 or 6 rooms. Yes, I know, what is she talking about? OK, suffice it to say that it is NOT a long hallway like you see in tradition dorms, it’s more like if you took a traditional dorm hallway of say 20 rooms and then stood it on one end and then rotated the doors 90 degrees and put in a stairway so you could “climb” the hall. Your neighbors live above and below you, not next to you. Oh n/m, I give up. </p>
<p>And sorry, I can’t answer any of your other questions about it because I have not lived there, just visited.</p>
<p>I talked to a BC alumni who graduated last year (or the year before that), and this is what he told me— “From what I remember, I think most of them are language oriented. I don’t think that add a little bit additional academic pressure since you probably have to take particular classes to join them. If you are interested in what the program, I would say go for it, but I don’t think it makes much difference rather than adding some academic pressure.”</p>
<p>Dear TheDukeofEarl and GoJumbos2013 : If you are accepted to the Honors Program, you have the option to choose Honors Housing. Medeiros Hall on upper campus is a very different housing experience from the other classic freshman dorms. Medeiros feels like a townhouse in layout and design. The building is divided into three sections (the left as you look at the building’s front being “A”, the middle being “B”, and the right, “C”). Within each of these three divisions, there is a left side and a right side, but students will identify themselves as Medeiros A, Medeiros B, or Medeiros C. Each building will develop its own flavor and culture but there is a unifying bond among the students.</p>
<p>The building’s interior is like a townhouse as stated. As you walk into the building, there is a large common room (can hold 40-50 people easily for TV viewing) and the staircase winds through the center of the building. Each half-landing has another four rooms (doubles) and a common bathroom used by about eight rooms or so. The bathrooms are serviced by the campus so the freshmen are not responsible for their own bathroom upkeep although common sense will lead the students down the path of keeping it reasonably neat. The buildings are coed and the very open floor plan makes it easy to see many of your other dormmates.</p>
<p>Many of the student room doors are left open throughout the day when someone is home, part of the open door culture that evolves.</p>
<p>Note that Medeiros is not air-conditioned - as with many of the freshman dorms. Now, this is Boston so after September it will cool off, but in late August or in an exceptionally warm September, you will want to have a substantial fan to keep the air moving.</p>
<p>The following link provides some pictures of Medeiros C for those interested in seeing the building design.</p>
<p>For those with questions, the following FAQ document from the BC website might provide some additional background on Honors Housing through the years.</p>
<p>That helped a lot, scottj. Thanks. Does the architecture of the building end up stiffling the traditional long dorm hallway with all open doors and everyone running from room to room? I’m also wondering about how "uptight’ the environment is, in terms of noise control, etc. I understand that Honors housing implies a certain amount of respect for the potentially higher academic workload, etc, so I am trying to envision what life is like in Honors vs non-Honors. I am not a madman looking to party daily, but i don’t want a monastery either. </p>
<p>Your description of the building and environment was greatly appreciated.</p>
<p>The open-door community was great because it made it easy to get to know people, and it became kind of like a sign, where an open door meant “hey come visit me” and a closed door meant “I’m working or sleeping or not here, etc.” Also, I didn’t think the environment or the people were uptight at all, it’s more like a mutual respect for academics as a priority, where people also enjoy having a good time, partying, whatever, as much as anyone else, but just know how to balance it. You become a tight-knit community pretty fast, and there’s definitely partying if that’s what you want to do. One benefit, in my opinion, was that Medeiros partiers were “smart” partiers, at least in my building – i.e. took extra steps to ensure parties didn’t get out of control and thus get everyone in trouble. You get to know your RA pretty well… and also when they make rounds. And still, the option is always there to go out to other dorms on upper or wherever and party if you want a slightly different atmosphere, and then you get to come “home” to Medeiros. You usually won’t have the problem of people partying or disrupting you during the normal hours of the day or during regular weeknights – which might be a different story in other dorms. I lived in Medeiros last year, and enjoyed it… I would pick it over Newton any day but that’s just my opinion</p>