<p>I missed accepted students day, so I have a question regarding the dorms. </p>
<p>Can we request to be in Upper or Newton or is it a lottery system? Do we have a better shot of getting our dorm request if we send our deposit early?</p>
<p>Also, have any of the EA students sent in deposits or are you all waiting until spring?</p>
<p>No & no to the first two questions. The computer really is a lottery system for everyone who ‘plays’ by the deadline, sometime in late spring.</p>
<p>Dunno what acceptees are doing, but there is no value to send early.</p>
<p>If you want to be on Newton, you can email BC to request it. It’s not guaranteed you’ll get it, but they’ll try. You can’t request to be on Upper though.</p>
<p>From what I’ve heard, if you request Newton, you’ll get it because the majority don’t want to live there. If you request Upper, you have like a 60% chance of getting it.</p>
<p>Yeah, someone at AE Day said that you could request Newton but I dunno for sure. It couldn’t hurt to try I guess. And no, I don’t think depositing early helps you–I sure hope not, since I still have no idea if I’m actually going to attend (a little lazy submitting FA, so I haven’t heard back yet).</p>
<p>i’m pretty sure you can request newton, but not upper campus. I would rather be on upper. imo</p>
<p>No one, initially, wants to live on Newton. Case in point, I applied for housing programs on Upper and still ended up on Newton. Even if your Honors, you are not guaranteed Upper Housing. </p>
<p>With all that having been said, I live on Newton and love it. Don’t worry about it too much. Both freshman dorm sections have great aspects and definite trade-offs.</p>
<p>Dear trizz75 : Incorrect assertion about Honors Housing - if you are accepted into the Honors Program and you have opted for Honors Housing during freshman year, you will absolutely be placed into Medieros on upper campus.</p>
<p>For the class of '13, you could request Newton and would be assigned there; one bonus was avoiding forced-triples on Upper. But BC changed its request policy last year and did not accepts requests. Who knows what will happen this year.</p>
<p>As Scottj notes, Honors housing is guaranteed in Madeiros but only if you request Honors housing. Not all Honors students choose that option, however.</p>
<p>People affiliated with BC commonly think that, but let me substantiate my correct assertion.</p>
<p>1.) Medeiros holds 100 students, and the program typically accepts roughly 140 students per class. </p>
<p>2.) One of my floormates told me that he requested Honors housing as an A&S Honors student and did not get it.</p>
<p>But, in the big picture, if you want Honors housing (assuming you are an Honors student), you have about a 95% of getting it.</p>
<p>I am a current freshman on Newton and also on Newton. I made the choice to request a roommate, which, to many people, is viewed as an automatic placement on Newton. I DO NOT KNOW IF THERE IS ANY TRUTH TO THIS. However, I know a few students who requested their roommates and all of them are on Newton. I doubt it’s a guarantee, but I’m sure it’s easier for BC to fill their Newton dorms with already-formed doubles. </p>
<p>Newton vs. Upper is a big debate. To be honest, I do not like Newton…but hear me out. I am one of the few who doesn’t like it, and I am a RARE case. All of my friends that I made in class, at orientation, and in my honors class are on Upper. I am dead serious when I say I met about 2 friends on Newton in my first week at school. However, Newton has become much better as time went on. The bus is DEFINITELY a pain, but you get used to it. Unfortunately, I do not get along with many of the guys on my floor (it isn’t bad at all, we just aren’t going to be best friends any time soon). All of that being said, if I took all of my friends that lived on Upper and had them live on Newton, I would rather live on Newton than Upper. It just becomes evident that Upper does have an advantage when all your friends roll out of bed at 8:30 for 9 am chem and you need to wake up at 7:30 to make a not-terribly-crowded bus. </p>
<p>The truth, to me, is this. I know many people on Upper that do not like people on their floor. I need to clear up a myth though. “Floors” and “dorms” are closer on Newton, primarily because these communities form when students go back to their dorm right after class and don’t have much to do besides hang out or go eat at Stuart (the Newton dining hall). Upper is said to be less of a community, but it is what you make it. Medeiros is, in my opinion, the most tight-knit freshman dorm. Everyone knows everyone. That’s why I regret my decision. However, upper isn’t very “community-like” because Upper students don’t have to go right back to their dorm after class to be comfortable. They can go to their room, drop off some stuff, head to the plex with a few friends, and then go to Bapst for the rest of the night. It IS less of a community, but Upper is (for the most part) entirely freshman. When I came to BC I thought it was a solid mix, but it isn’t. It’s all freshman except for some VERY unfortunate sophomores who are very hard to find, so that’s about it. </p>
<p>Advice:</p>
<p>(-) If you have someone you want to room with, don’t fear Newton. You will grow to like if if you are placed here.
(-) If you plan on playing a club sport, please, please guarantee yourself upper. Your life could get very sticky if you have 6 am practice and Newton buses don’t start until 7 am. Think these things through.
(-) If you’re in honors, go for Medeiros. If you’re worried about a lack of partying, I know about 2 people in honors that don’t party Friday AND Saturday night (barring illness or general lack of desire to party for the umpteenth time). </p>
<p>Best and Worst Dorms:</p>
<p>Understand ALL DORMS HAVE PROS AND CONS. You will end up liking where you live. </p>
<p>Best Dorms on Upper: </p>
<p>1) Fitzpatrick/Gonzaga: Basically one building, these dorms are very nice, well-connected, and cozy. It is close to the upper staircase and the back entrance from college road, so it is overall, in my opinion, the best dorm to be in.
2) Medeiros: great community, if you have the option. The rooms, though, are a bit smaller than average and the dorm can get VERY hot in summer months (I have some fantastic memories of scrambling to help my friend assemble her fan while her roommate had her head in the refrigerator). </p>
<p>Best on Newton:
<p>Worst on Upper:
<p>Worst of Newton:
<p>Dreamsofivy - You description of freshman housing is very helpful. I went to BC over 25 years ago and lived in Keyes South freshman year. It was a great dorm to be in on Newton. When I attended BC, I thought most of the freshmen, other than athletes, were on Newton, so it was a good experience. I still remember classmates by their freshman year dorm on Newton (i.e. He’s from Keyes North…). Your post reminded me about waiting for the buses which was a pain but we just accepted it as the norm. Most sophomores were on upper campus. I lived in Loyola sophomore year, and CLX rooms were doubles. My son applied to BC and I initially thought I would recommend Newton if he gets in. Now I’m not so sure.</p>
<p>I don’t understand why CLX is now triples if enrollment hasn’t increased dramtically and they have built additional housing? Are most students still required to live off campus one year (even though I had 4 years of housing)? </p>
<p>I’m not sure he will go to BC if he gets in but reading some of the posts reminded me that housing can be an issue at BC.</p>
<p>^^BC is still awaiting final approvals from the City to complete the next dorm. It may be open in time to house the '15’s, but don’t bet the ranch. If not, then yes, many Juniors are forced off campus.</p>
<p>Housing is definetly hit and miss at BC. I live on Newton and its great… all except for the bus. Rush hour can take up to 25 min to get from lower to Duchesne (first stop in Newton). Newton Centre is a huge perk, though. Last weekend I went to a great restaurant up there, and the T-stop is within a 15 min walk of Newton. </p>
<p>If you want material conveniences, then Upper would suit you best. But, for the non-tangibles Newton is superior.</p>
<p>@lovethecape, housing is, in my opinion, the worst aspect of BC. Freshman year, Newton CAN be a pain or a blessing. Sophomore year, if you don’t have an 8-man suite lined up things can get sticky. That being said, housing is only a bad experience for a very small part of the population. Typically the more reserved, less outgoing people get the shaft. However, housing works well for the social butterflies. If you don’t mind people, a forced triple freshman year and an 8-man sophomore year sets you up for an amazing housing experience at BC. </p>
<p>Again, that is the WORST part of BC, in my opinion. Everything else, though, vastly picks up the slack. </p>
<p>Here is my advice for choosing BC:</p>
<p>BC has a bit of everything: great academics, many good sports teams to follow, etc. However, this isn’t a place where you’re going to get rockstar academics, a raging party scene, or anything else. It’s kind of a mix. </p>
<p>The student population follows suit. Obviously the student population varies a lot and everyone can find their niche (that’s true of most any school with 2000+ students per grade), but the “norm” at BC are the students that are lax bros and party girls that are actually very intelligent. The honors program offers that special something extra, but if you want to know the truth about the honors program, PM me and I’ll tell you about all the pros and cons. </p>
<p>@lovethecape, CLXF is NOT all triples, but it is where a lot of forced triples are. Many students sign up for forced triples to be guaranteed upper, and these students are typically in CLXF or Cheverus. Additionally, sophomore year housing is either “College Road” (the Newton of sophomore year but not as bad) or Lower (where everyone wants to be). But again, the forced triple thing isn’t a rule. You could be in a forced triple in Fitzpatrick, Kostka, or Gonzaga. However, the latter three typically tend to be non-forced triples, quads, or regular doubles.</p>
<p>OP: There are many past threads discussing the pros-n-cons of the Newton campus. I encourage you to do a search and read them.</p>
<p>If after reading those threads, you don’t understand trizz75’s comment “But for the non-tangibles Newton is superior.”, then you haven’t read enough.</p>