Can you pick to be in a suite or is it randomly assigned?
The first year, almost all dorms are standard doubles. After your first year, you pick housing, with most of them being apartment style.
The very few suite style dorms are random - you get your freshman dorm based on your LLC (Living Learning Community) and they move around based on size.
Thought I’d add that all honors freshmen live in IV, which is all suites. It’s the Honors LLC.
however the IV rooms are suites without kitchens - most of the others on campus have kitchens
@PengsPhils I got assigned to an Economy Quad and I’m not sure if I’m gonna like it. Is there any way to switch out? I would MUCH, MUCH prefer a double and having only one roommate instead of three…
Plus the fact that it’s an Economy Quad, the cheapest room option, rather than Standard Quad probably means the room is smaller and worse quality.
Was there ever an option to choose room type? 
That sucks 
- do you know what building you’re in? An economy quad may actually be a lot better than it sounds if it’s Loftman / Hemmingway - you’ll get your own common room, and there will only be two people per room, with the connection via said common room.
I would send an email to the housing department and see if you’re able to switch. I don’t think there was a room type request beyond a single if I remember correctly.
The economy quads at Hemenway are one room with two sets of bunk beds and an attached bathroom. No common space. Is Loftman a first year dorm? Don’t think so. Could be wrong but I think economy quads for first year students are at 153 Hemenway, White and Light Halls only and I doubt any of them are very fancy with a common space.
@thesebajun, You can panic about this housing assignment or give it a go. There is a period after you get there where one can switch out but it will be going from random assignment to another. And some first year doubles are really small too.
My son was placed in an economy quad his freshman year and was really freaked out about it. His room was probably the bottom end of the Northeastern housing food chain. But he felt pretty lucky for the most part with the roommates and it sort of worked out so he chose to stick it out the entire year. Yes… moments that were not perfect and certainly studying in the room was almost impossible. But it provided a built in social life between the 4 of them and the fact that for better or worse, their room seemed to be the social hub of the floor. Some first semester freshman struggle with finding their people. Strength in numbers can make that easier.
Economy quad in White Hall.
I emailed housing yesterday asking if there was any way I could switch, but they said no, and told me about the Open Room Change period that starts September 12th. I also asked them why I got placed into an economy quad, and they told me that room assignments were based on how late your deposit was. Mine was on May 1st, a day before the deadline. If I had known that I would’ve deposited much more earlier
I posted on NEU’s subreddit a month or so ago asking about the quads in White Hall, and people said they were pretty cramped. I haven’t contacted any of my roommates yet, or neither have they, I don’t feel comfortable initiating it. I looked all three of them up on multiple facebook groups to see how they’re like, but couldn’t find any of their pages.
The thought of living with three other people in a cramped room in bunkbeds makes me feel uneasy, no matter how hard I try to reason with myself.
Also, I move in early on August 30th because I signed up for orientation late and got the last one on Sept 1st. Guess I’ll be the first one in the room? Am just going to be alone in that room on the 30th and 31st? What do I even do the 31st, the day before orientation? Been stressing out for the past few weeks… I just want one roommate to deal with.
You will be in Boston! Take the T or walk downtown and explore the city.
You just have a case of the jitters because you are facing a major change in your life.
@thesebajun Perhaps you can request a change in your LLC which may land you a dorm that has a double. Other than that try to make the best of it. NEU housing should have matched with roommates that are compatible with you…so you may make your first great batch of college friends.
As far as the 31st there will be other students moving in early so this will be a chance to meet people as well. Good luck!!
I don’t understand why NEU doesn’t at least ask you to list your preferences (no guarantees). So you could say: double, triple, quad - for example. There must be some kids that WANT a quad for money saving purposes.
@TomSrOfBoston Yeah, over-worrying is one of my worst habits.
@LkL5789 I’ll look into that LLC changing, but I don’t know.Tthe email I received from housing told me that “all freshmen bed spaces are full”…
@suzyQ7 My point exactly. Only after I received my housing assignment and room type did I get an email that showed me each of the room type rates, with economy quad being the cheapest out of all. On the page it literally says “Explore some options below and find a rate that’s right for you.” – why say that if first-years are forced into room-types without a choice?
What sucks is that this all might’ve happened because I was very indecisive on my major. This led me to choose the Journeys LLC as my 2nd choice (with fusion as 1st). I initially applied for engineering then finally decided to switch over to finance in June. I got placed into the Journeys LLC, which gave me White Hall. If only I had been more decisive on my major, I would have chosen the business LLC instead of Journeys. Overworrying and indecisiveness are one of my biggest flaws.
I don’t mean to sound pretentious in any way, but I’ve always wondered if I would have gotten into the honors college if I initially applied to the business school instead of engineering. A couple friends of mine with lower stats, but in the business school got accepted into the honors college. Then, if I got into honors, I could’ve had a nicer dorm, a double with a private bathroom. Having to share a bathroom with every guy on your floor sounds scary…
Welp, it doesn’t matter anymore at this point, don’t know why I always constantly think about that.
Try to go in with an open mind. You may end up loving it!
@thesebajun, I’m a big believer in thinking the glass may be half full until proven otherwise. White Hall is a very convenient location. It’s right next door to Marino Center and so close to classes whatever your major. And maybe the room won’t be perfect but maybe, just maybe these roommates are about to turn out to be life long friends.You get a sample of 3, not just 1. Keep the faith. Write to them this summer. Maybe you will realize you won the roommate lottery. My best friend to this day I met my freshman year in college.
Easy to say on the other side of things. My son panicked about his economy quad assignment too and I had to talk him off of the ledge. But he reached out to the roommates and realized the guys he was assigned to seemed OK and for the most part, they were. And yeah, an economy quad was hardly his idea of freshman year nirvana. But it worked out. It led to other things. And he is still mostly very friendly with the former roommates though he doesn’t live with any of them now. He doesn’t regret the experience and as the bill payer, neither did we. It allowed us to say yes to a dialogue that he wanted to do the first part of Summer 1 after freshman year because there was money left over that wasn’t spent on housing. Big picture.
Also @thesebajun being at the last orientation means pick of the litter as far as which desk, which bunk, which side of which closet. Consider yourself lucky. It’s a huge benefit when it comes to being in economy quad where space is at a premium.
And YES to what @TomSrOfBoston is saying. Go see the city. Get yourself a Charlie Card and GO! Boston is the best city to be a college student and once classes start, you won’t have the time you have now. You won’t be the only person there. International freshman and other students that live far away will be there too. My son was there for the last orientation too. Find somebody open to exploring and GO!
Don’t second guess your indecisiveness about LLC and major. It is what it is. My son had the same issue and maybe that also explains why he got the economy quad as well. (Never dawned on me until now.) Oh and forget the wondering about honors college. My son should have gotten into that too and didn’t and by stats I don’t know why. But you know what… once he got there he realized that as great as honors is, it also isolates you somewhat.
AND and this is a biggie… trust me on this. Sharing a bathroom that is shared by many young men but cleaned daily by a janitor vs. a private bathroom that you and your roommates have to clean and probably barely will… Winning!
Good post/advice @halflokum
I stayed in White Hall during orientation last month! It’s actually a fantastic dorm, with a great location right next to the T stop and Marino. I got a pretty good look at a lot of different rooms, and while most were set up as singles or doubles for the summer, they were surprisingly roomy! It’s an older building, so the rooms really vary in size, but it’s not like they’re going to cram four beds into what is meant to be a single. The room I had for orientation was supposedly a double, but could have easily fit three. I wouldn’t worry about being boxed in. That said, make sure you don’t bring anything that takes up too much space and is inconsiderate of your roommates. Plus, like @halflokum said, since you’ll be there before your roommates, you get your choice of everything.
White Hall rooms are generally on the bigger end of most halls, and the location is pretty great right across from Marino, the freshman quad, and next to Qdoba.
Moving in early is good in a quad as agreed; it will help ease your nerves to grab the bed you like (pro tip, choose based on proximity to outlets). It might be scary the first day or two alone, but you’ll make it. For what it’s worth, I’m an RA, and don’t be afraid at all to e-mail or talk to your RA about suggestions of things/places to see if they don’t have a bulletin board set up for it. My favorite recommendations are Georgetown Cupcake on Newbury (get the PB fudge!), Newbury Street in general, walking along the Charles River Esplanade (bring a good book to read by the water on nice days), Faneuil Hall if you’re a Boston newbie, or just walk and see where you end up.
Room changes are allowed, and you will see each specific room you have the option to move to before you do, so don’t be scared to look into the process. That being said, quads can be super helpful in establishing a nice group, and I’d imagine the group might get along better than a roomie pair. It’s easier to have a common set of “rules” (no lights past 1, headphones when watching Netflix, whatever) when there are 3 people to hold one accountable, you know? And if one of them ends up being a total weirdo, well, you have two others! Search Youtube for a freshman housing tour at Northeastern, a girl made one of I think Kennedy a year or two ago.
As for the room rates, I do think it would make sense to be able to request a cheaper room as I’m sure there are students in standard who would’ve liked to pay less. That being said, I can appreciate that the process is still a little random so students from lower income households are all shoved into economy housing. It might be kind of divisive.
@suzyQ7 @halflokum @whitespace @novafan1225
Thanks for all your responses! I read them thoroughly. I feel better about the situation now, but the worrying and anxiety is inevitable.
Also, @novafan1225, do you have any other quad room pro-tips or dorming in general?
and @whitespace, what non-obvious things are you bringing to your dorm when you move in?
@thesebajun If you’re in White, I’d make sure to bring a fan - it’s going to be hot for the first couple of weeks at least. I’m not taking one, but that’s only because I’m in IV. Otherwise, some “non-obvious” things I’m bringing are a power strip, cleaning supplies, a first aid kit, pain meds (think acetaminophen or ibuprofen), a desk lamp, a keurig, and some good earbuds. Message me if you have any other questions!