Is Foster House a good dorm for a freshman?

<p>My freshman daughter just found out she's been assigned a single in Foster on the South Green at OU. From what we can tell, that's a dorm for upperclassmen. She's worried about being isolated from other freshmen and perhaps lonely in a single. Does anyone have any info on Foster? Single rooms at OU?</p>

<p>My son had a single room as a freshman and sophomore - in Hoover (another South Green dorm). It was great - no roommate problems, privacy, etc. BUT the dorm was set up in a “mod” arrangement: 3 halls sharing a common room, 5 rooms to a hall (4 singles and a double). These were coed arrangements… There were 12 girls and 6 guys in his mod. There was a lot of interaction because of that arrangement but of course so many of his friends came from outside the dorm.</p>

<p>But you are right that Foster is for upperclassmen. The arrangement there seems to be more “hotel-like” (only single rooms). I wouldn’t worry too much about it… seems like so many friends are made during the orientation sessions, and then in early classes.</p>

<p>btw, you are from the 'burgh. I met my wife in that city. I was working in the Comp Sci Dept. at CMU and she was a student (not my student). Loved that city, but it took about 6 months to a year to warm up to it.</p>

<p>Also btw, I love OU. I am so glad my son ended up there. It’s fantastic.</p>

<p>Thanks for the info. We were just there this week for orientation and checked out a sample room in O’Blenness (sp?). I think it helped ease her/our minds considerably. She also found out that Foster now has a mix of freshmen and sophomores. Her mod has four freshmen and two sophomores – each in singles. And, she has been in contact with some of them.</p>

<p>I think I’m more relieved to hear that a CMU prof (I assume) was so pleased with OU. That’s a great endorsement. OU wasn’t her first choice (couldn’t afford that one – they didn’t offer enough $… while OU was very generous) but I think this will work out OK. It seems like a great fit for her. She/we are so very tired of hearing people refer to it as a “party school.” But they certainly made a big effort to dispel that reputation throughout orientation. With her learning community, peer mentor, a good class schedule, etc., I think things will work out fine.</p>

<p>Glad you loved the 'burgh. It is a great town.</p>

<p>I was not a prof, but had a research job in one of the department’s labs. I only taught one course, but it was more like a TA-type thing (even though I wasn’t a TA). They thought I was nuts to ask for a class since it was not part of my job, but I loved teaching and they needed someone for one section of a programming course. But CMU <em>was</em> amazing. All around my office were the offices of people who had written some of my grad school textbooks.</p>