<p>I've heard mixed feedback on sub-free: quiet (pro), can be isolated from others (con), no opening your door to find a puking drunk person (pro)...
What do you think?</p>
<p>There is definitely a divide between sub-free and sub dorms. Sub-free students are thought to usually keep to themselves and be very quiet…and sometimes the sub kids think they are a little weird (but in all honesty, all pomona students are a bit quirky). Sub kids tend to party on the weekends and be a little bit more socially active, but it always depends on individual people. If you live in sub it doesnt mean that you are going to have vomit all over your halls. Worst comes to worst, you MIGHT have some puke in your bathroom once during the entire year. I live in a sub dorm and we go out maybe once a week so it gets just a little bit noisy on the weekends (but who does homework on sat/fri nights anyway?) but during the week, its pretty easy to get work done in your dorm. Also, not everybody in sub drinks and not everybody in sub-free abstains from drinking. Granted, not all sub-free people keep to themselves. I live in Lyon Court and the second floor is sub-free and I know some pretty outgoing people, but most sub-free people keep to themselves…
It would be nice to get a sub-free kid’s view on this too!</p>
<p>If you asked me what to sign up for (without me knowing you), I would recommend that you sign up into a sub hall because personally I find that you get to know more people through your friends. If you fill out your housing form honestly and specifically then your sponsor group will probably be of the same sub-level as you if you get what i mean. Oh and I really do recommend that you fill out your housing form yourself (specifically the last section in which you’re supposed to talk about yourself) because it really helps in choosing your roommate/sponsor group! Good Luck!</p>
<p>I live in a sub-free dorm and I love it! What OP said is all very true, but what I love about sub free is how close-knit the people I live with are. We all definitely have friends outside of sub-free too, especially people with a lot of activities. Personally, my closest friends are in my hall, but I like it that way because I’m the type of person that likes to know a few people very well rather than lots of people generally. But, obviously, everyone’s different. Personally, everyone I know in sub-free halls are extremely socially satisfied.</p>
<p>That said, I think there is definitely a different culture between the two types. Rather than go hit a party, my hall prefers to hang out and talk and read magazines and watch movies on the weekend (though, we do definitely hit many campus events, we just don’t go out all the time). Personally, I like that. Sub halls definitely do party more than we do, but whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing is a matter of preference.</p>
<p>Opening your door to find puking drunk people is kind of funny.</p>
<p>I’m in sub-free, not a sub-free person (didn’t want puking people in my hall), and I regret the choice. It’s really hard to find people to party with (assuming you are not a sub-free person) because everyone is really tight with their own sponsor groups. Also, while you will not usually find drunk people puking in your hall, you will likely be above or below a sub-optional hall. I have one upstairs and one downstairs and people are always stomping on my ceiling and smoking pot under my window. Unless you are actually a sub-free person and want to bond with other sub-free people, don’t bother unless you want to have no social life.</p>
<p>Happy medium: If you write on your housing form that you’d prefer a sub-optional hall that isn’t too crazy, they’ll most likely give it to you. Halls are generally grouped keeping in mind that they’re subfree, lowsub, midsub, or highsub.</p>
<p>Can a current student possibly shed some light on which dorms are currently sub free or sub optional? For example, is Mudd - Blaisdell sub free or sub optional?</p>
<p>Next year the entire second floor of Lyon Court, the entire second floor of Wig, and two sponsor groups on the first floor of Mudd will be sub-free, and maybe one or two sponsor groups in Harwood. I think that’s it, but it also depends on how many kids sign up to be sub-free.</p>
<p>Can freshmen be placed in Oldenborg without applying? I really don’t want to end up in there.</p>
<p>Nope All freshmen are put in Lyon, M-B-G, Harwood or Wig. Only sophomores and some upperclassmen live in Oldenborg! Don’t worry about housing - Pomona takes care of you in that respect :)</p>
<p>Oldenborg is competitive. If anyone were forced to live there, there would be a bunch of angry rejected applications.</p>
<p>I have a question: do people from sub-free dorms ever go to sub-optional parties?</p>
<p>Yes. It really depends on how sub-free the sponsor group is, imo. Some groups will never go to sub-optional parties. Others will have a mix of people, and yet others, like mine, will be fairly substance heavy (despite living sub-free).</p>
<p>Thanks lolcats. I think I will PM you.</p>
<p>Though some people who live in sub-free do go to parties with alcohol, I think it’s a very bad plan to go into a sub-free sponsor group planning to do that ahead of time. You may find yourself living with people who look down on you for what you do on the weekend, and having to search for friends outside your hall. Of course, this isn’t true of sub-free sponsor groups in general, but I know someone who has had that experience.</p>
<p>And if there are any parents reading this who don’t want your kid being irresponsible, forcing them to live in sub-free is probably a very bad way of going about that. Your kid is going to go to parties if they want to, and they are much more likely to do something dangerous if they go out alone to parties at CMC or Mudd. Living in a sub-optional hall provides an area where students have a communal experience of integrating their newly amplified academic and social lives.</p>
<p>Arrrghhh this is so difficult! I have to make my decision by tonight 
But thanks for the input!</p>