Junior Transfer - Residence Hall or Ram Village Apartment?

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill
1

<p>I am a junior transfer trying to decide on my housing situation. I am a social guy who wants to meet new people and have a quality “first year experience”. I understand that Ram Village offers a special program called Transfers United to acclimate students to campus, but I am not quite sure if the program is offering the experience I am looking for. I am afraid that apartment-style living will create social seclusion within my community. I am also worried that having an apartment on the far-south end of the campus will make me feel secluded from the social on-goings on campus since the social areas and most of the students live on north and mid campus, and since that’s where all the social areas are (such as the pit and the quad). </p>

<p>However, having a private shower and bathroom would be nice.</p>

<p>I am fully aware that I am by no means chained to my dorm/apartment and I can always meet new people by walking across campus; I am just worried that living in a secluded apartment on the edge of campus is going to render a more restrictive social experience, especially at night, than I would want from such a lively and fun campus. Am I right to be worried about this?</p>

<p>Which do you think I should do and why: Residence Hall or Ram Village apartment?</p>

<p>If residence hall, what are some of the better ones for meeting and socializing with new students like myself? Please detail your experiences.</p>

<p>If Ram Village, please explain why the apartment-style living won't be a hindrance to my social experience at UNC.</p>

<p>Thank you in advance!</p>

2

<p>Hey! I live in one of the Ram Village apartments, so maybe I can help you a bit. I’m not familiar with the Transfers United program. It’s housed in Ram Village 4 (Taylor) and there are only about 20-ish people in the program. From what I’ve heard, the program is okay, but If I were you I wouldn’t base my housing decision on the program. You could always join Tarheel Transfers if you want to meet other transfer students.</p>

<p>Honestly, the apartments aren’t the most social atmosphere. People don’t hang around in the lobby areas like they do in other dorms. They’re usually pretty quiet and it can be hard to make friends who live in the apartments because there are hardly people in the hallways. I usually only see people on the elevator… and walking to or from the elevators. If you’re planning on making friends from clubs, classes, or whatever else then you will be fine. Rams is definitely not going to give you the “first year experience” of bonding with your roommates, and leaving your door open. Most of the people who live there are juniors and seniors, so they already have their own groups of friends. This doesn’t mean that people are unfriendly, but they’re less open to making new friends. Also, many people don’t have meal plans, so you might miss out on that whole nightly eating get-togethers at the dining hall. A plus is that the RAs are usually pretty chill, and they don’t get involved too much with reporting students.</p>

<p>As for the distance, that is not an issue at all. Rams 1,2, and 3 are located across from Craige, which is a freshman dorm. It’s close to Hardin, Craige North, and Morrison, so people are usually coming and going. There’s noise and people outside playing volleyball and You won’t feel secluded at all. Rams 4 & 5 are located near Horton and Hinton James, which is the most “freshman”/“social” dorm on campus. It’s a 15-20 minute walk to the pit/quad, or a quick bus ride, but there are so many people walking back and forth throughout the day that you won’t really feel isolated. Usually the Pit is most social during lunch hours and the afternoon, and you’ll probably have classes around the same time, so you’ll be on North Campus anyway.</p>

<p>Private shower and bathroom are very nice. Although I’m not too fond of Rams, you can’t beat having your own room and a decent bathroom right outside of it (plus you only have to share with one other person!)</p>

<p>At night, the distance will still not be a problem. At night/weekends most of the “fun” isn’t in the Quad or the Pit, it’s on Franklin Street. Even people on North and Mid-campus usually take the shuttle up to Franklin street instead of walking. UNC runs a shuttle called the Point-to-Point (aka. The P2P) from 7 to 3 AM that you can catch to go to Franklin Street or a dorm on North Campus, etc. Living on South Campus doesn’t restrict the social experience at all, imo. Also the late night dining hall is on South campus, so people will be there at 11 PM eating.</p>

<p>I would say if you are truly looking for the “first year experience” then you should choose a residence hall. If you are a relatively outgoing person and don’t mind missing out on the “freshman living experience” then choose Ram Village. Honestly, I’m not a super outgoing person, so living in Rams wasn’t the best choice for me as a transfer, but it could be fine for you if you’re good at making friends from clubs, or through other people.</p>

<p>Hope this helps! If you have anymore questions, feel free to PM me.</p>

3

<p>Thank you so much, your post is proving very helpful! After doing your research and reading your post, I am strongly looking into a residence hall. I really want to have a first-year experience since I didn’t get to have one at the school I am transferring from.</p>

<p>My next question: which dorm would be best for me?</p>

<p>Apparently, the first-years are being assigned to Craige, Ehringhaus, Hinton James, Horton, Koury, Craige North, and Hardin–so I’ll probably choose one of those.</p>

<p>My thoughts:
~Hardin is for girls only; since I am not of that species, I have removed Hardin from my list of choices.
~Craige, Hinton James, and Ehringhaus are much bigger and seem more social, and the layout of their floor plan makes the community look more integrated.
~Craige North, Horton, and Koury individually seem less social and the floor plans look more like corridor-style, but the fact that each is part of a community consisting of two residence halls instead of one might make up for that.
~Craige, Hinton James, and Ehringhaus have 8 people to a bathroom, while Craige North, Horton, and Koury have four to a bathroom. Having four seems much more convenient, especially since there’s only one shower.
~Craige North is in the same community as Hardin, the all-girl residence hall. I like girls, so I like the idea of living in Craige North.</p>

<p>I haven’t seen the inside of any of these residence halls, however, and don’t know anything other than what I have deduced by looking at the UNC Housing web site. And for all I know, living with first-years may be undesirable; I wouldn’t know, I havne’t experienced it yet. So I need some feedback for those of you who know more about residence life at UNC. Please offer suggestions as to where I should live, and detail your experiences with the different residence halls. Thank you!</p>

4

<p>Craige, Ehringhaus (Ehaus) and Hinton James (HoJo) are very similar structurally. They are the freshman high rises. You share a bathroom with 7 other people, which can be annoying at times because you have to wait for people to take a shower, use the toilet, brush their teeth, etc. The good thing is that your bathroom is cleaned by housekeeping. The RAs are more involved in planning events, building community, and facilitating relationships between residents.</p>

<p>-Craige is known as the least desirable hall on campus. It has the same layout at the others, but it doesn’t have that alluring social aspect. They recently renovated it last summer, but I haven’t been in there so I wouldn’t know how it looks now. I think they updated the bathrooms or something. Craige kind of looks dingy and rundown from the outside (I have to see it everyday lol). It has a great location for bus stops. You’ll have more convenient access to more bus stops than if you lived in HoJo or Ehaus. This might not seem like a big deal, but it’s nice when you have to take the P2P or NU bus route back at night. Having that extra bus stop decreases your walking distance and waiting time.</p>

<ul>
<li><p>Ehaus has a nice view of the Boshamer baseball stadium. There’s a nice bus stop for the P2P near it. Instead of crossing twice over the intersection, you only have to cross one on your way to class, which saves time. Ehaus is relatively social and it seems like a great option for you. They had a Harry Potter theme for the dorm this year, which was pretty awesome.</p></li>
<li><p>Hinton James is social. There are 800+ people who live there. The downside is obviously the distance from the quad and the rest of the class buildings. There’s a huge hill that you have to walk up everyday unless you take one of the buses. There’s a basketball court and tennis courts. It’s close to the Dean Dome. The rooms aren’t fantastic, but the social aspect can make up for that if you value that more.</p></li>
<li><p>Manning East (Horton/Koury) & Manning West (Craige North/ Hardin) are the four person suites that share a bathroom. It’s nice only having to share a bathroom with 3 other people. You’ll have to clean your own bathroom because housekeeping isn’t allowed to enter through your room. From my observation, these four halls are slightly less social and more quiet than the other freshman choices. They don’t really operate together as a community except for community events put on by the Residence Hall Association. Craige North and Hardin are across the street from each other and in the same community, but that’s as far as the interaction really goes. The plus side of these are that they’re pretty new, and well-furnished. They’re definitely better in terms of better, newer facilities. I visited Koury and Horton. The people there were friendly. The atmosphere is more toned down than the high rise dorms.</p></li>
</ul>

<p>You might also want to consider Morrison, Carmichael and Connor.</p>

<ul>
<li>Morrison - has the best location on south campus. Freshman won’t be living there this fall, but there are a lot of sophomores and juniors. Morrison is close to the dining hall, Rams Head gym, Starbucks, the Student Administration building. Great bus stops nearby. There’s a basketball court. The set up is the same as the other high rises. The walking paths from South to North campus go right by Morrison. I love Morrison. I wish I had lived there this past year. The people are fun.</li>
</ul>

<p>-Carmichael - a lot of athletes are housed here because of its proximity to many athletic fields and Kenan Stadium. It has a suite style set-up with 8 people to one bathroom. It’s the most unique looking dorm on campus. It’s a short walk to classes. It’s close to the Student Recreation Center, the Student Stores, and right in between the two dining halls. I’m not sure about the breakdown of the classes, but I think sophomores and juniors mainly live here. I get an impression of Carmichael as a laid-back hall.</p>

<ul>
<li>Connor is the North Campus option for freshmen this fall. If you want to stay on North Campus and be closer to classes this is a great option. It’s close to classes, the Pit, Davis Library, and everything else. I don’t know too much about Connor. It’s hall style, so you’ll use a hall bathroom and share a room with one other person.</li>
</ul>