Are the more expensive/premium housing options at IU Bloomington guaranteed to all who apply? Also, is the housing different for Kelly/Honors College students?
What are the best dorms for an incoming freshman who likes to be social, meet new people, OOS, play pick up sports and attending the Kelley school?
Following…
Also any current students that could recommend suggested first and second semester classes for incoming freshman majoring in accounting at the Kelley School for a manageable course load? Thanks!
Looking for housing recommendations for incoming freshman boy in Kelley school
FinalChildof3 - spoke with some current students as the dorms he suggested were Briscoe, Foster and McNutt (which the later two should be opened this Fall). Hope that helps! In reading online I think you can request a neighborhood, not a particular dorm.
I currently have a Kelley DA student at IU. Housing is anyone’s guess for next year due to mold issues in the dorms, lawsuit and many areas undergoing renovation. The University has announced it will take over all leases at a private apt building uptown called The Avenue on College. I believe these units are just for upperclassmen. They typically keep all freshman on campus. They have also announced that the Collins Quad of dorms will be closed entirely next year for renovations. The Foster Quad buildings are currently shut down undergoing renovations due to mold issues as are the McNutt Quad buildings. Last year, August 2019 many families commented on social media that housing assignments came out much later than expected, not finding out until just weeks before move in. Typically, in past years students were only allowed to preference a neighborhood/price point. The current freshman class was permitted to rank/list preference specific dorm buildings and price point preference. According to numerous social media posts on a parent FB page, it seems there were those who got close to what they preferenced and many who were disappointed in not getting any of what they preferenced in terms of location or price point. The school converted lounges to house students in the first semester due to overflow issues and parents reported some doubles had 3 students assigned to them. This is not typical and I am thinking it’s not the way they prefer to have housing but last year was a real challenge with the mold and renovation issues and unknown timelines and inventory. I do not know how many of those students still are remaining in those temporary lounge set-ups as the second semester opens. As a current parent and one with a student already graduated, the best I can offer is that university is undergoing unprecedented housing challenges due to the mold issues and extensive renovations that have been stepped up on the timeline. If you drive by campus you can see large cranes, etc and construction sites near McNutt and Foster.This has also impacted parking options that had been available near freshman quads. It is important that you carefully read the housing contract and understand what the language indicates. If it says preference, it means preference. They have not offered guarantees in the past and I would assume that will be the case for the future. There are honors floors. I think this year one was placed in Teter (half of Teter Quad is also closed for mold renovations right now as well - the honors floor this year was in the section they just completed May 2019.)I wish you all well in the housing process. Pack your patience. The last two years they welcomed record-breaking freshman classes. This August broke the record from the previous year. Last academic year due to housing issues, returning students who had already signed contracts/received assignments for on campus locations had those assignments taken back in January, long after many of the popular off campus locations were booked up. A housing lottery was then developed for those students to be place off campus into one of 3 apartment complexes instead of on-campus. Off campus places in town open leases in Sept and Oct so keep that in mind, even though it seems crazy a few months into freshman year, that you should be thinking of who you want to live with and where sophomore year. Many places have sliding price scales, like a hotel. Early sign ups can get best pricing, the longer you wait, the higher the price may be. It’s a good time to own quality, clean, safe student rental housing in Btown! Lastly, I would encourage your student to look into LLC’s through university housing. IU has many great options for varied interests! You don’t have to be a Kelley DA to apply to the Kelley LLC. There is usually a separate application process for LLC’s with essays/deadlines etc.Also an extra fee if you are accepted. Some, like the Kelley LLC, can be very competitive and may even have a waiting list. Check with RPS to find out what the notification period is for those acceptances. TIP: Often times they will announce which dorm a specific LLC will be in, so if your student really wants that dorm, maybe applying to that LLC might improve the chances of being placed there. Kelley LLC had been in McNutt for years, but got placed in Eigenmann for this current academic year when McNutt was closed for mold/renovations. My understanding is that the Kelley LLC is typically in a dorm of a median price point to make it accessible for all students that might qualify. Good luck with the process! (If your student wants a specific roomie, they both have to be accepted to the same LLC, or they will have to make a choice as to which is first priority - being in the LLC or living with that person.)
Thanks, this is very helpful. I had seen some information on the mold situation, but it is hard to nail down from afar. On a related note - did your Kelley student do the LLC? If so, how much did it impact the experience? If they did not, do they feel they should have? Seems like a strong selling point, but you don’t find out if you are in until June, so you have to go in without knowing. But that seems to be the same at the other schools he is considering.
Goodness @MomAAL ! Wow. @Harding , I’m a Kelley grad and was in Briscoe…it’s the closest to some sporting areas (tennis courts, stadiums, a park, and where the athletic teams play) and was definitely walkable or easily bussable to the business school. The dorms mentioned here are in a row heading towards the business school, and closer towards the IntraMural Center/student gym (unless there are new options now). Back to the Briscoe end, it is closer where you can park your car if you bring it (in one of the stadium parking lots)…but not a huge deal. In my day, Briscoe unlike the others had a dining hall in the basement and offered some classes there which was nice. I don’t know that it’s any nicer than the others especially if they are renovating McNutt and Foster, and don’t know the current culture/personality of each building if there are significant differences.
Nonamefits. I think the LLC is personal choice. I will give you my best view based ona . highly irregular year we had last year with our daughter due to the mold crisis. My son who graduated Kelley a few years back lived in the KLLC and also my current Kelley daughter, but she only lived there for two months before they had to evacuate her because she deteriorated so quickly from the mold exposures and impacts on her health. Last year was not a good year to measure or inquire of people how the KLLC was to live in because by November it was a community impacted by so many kids who had to move out and the constant disruption of the disorganized mold remediation process in the rooms. Some rooms were deemed uninhabitable due to high mold levels they could not successfully remediate in Foster, McNutt and Teter Quads by January so the feeling of community was really destroyed by the mold crisis. That was a great sadness for my daughter as she had bonded so quickly with the kids who lived on her wing in the McNutt KLLC and all of that was lost due to the mold issues when kids transferred to other schools, moved to hotels or elsewhere on campus. Since she no longer lived in the LLC by end of first semester, she asked to be released because the benefits were lost with the KLLC kids living all over and clear across campus. It was very unfortunate for what was a great program they had worked hard to be accepted to. But great life lessons were learned as well. For my son, which was about 6 years ago - I would say it was a real benefit. Even for my daughter, though she had a short-lived joy of it, it was awesome having kids down the hall studying the same things and up at the same hour doing the same homework or projects etc. The flip side is that both of my kids did say it can become cult like, depending on how sociable your kiddo is. Meaning it can become quite insular if that’s your whole social circle is just business kids. Both of my kiddos are very sociable so that was not an issue and they had circles of friends that they had met at New Student Orientation NSO and also other clubs and things they got involved in like IUDM (Dance Marathon - DO IT!!!) So, truly it depends on your student’s comfort zone. There are pluses and minuses for sure. They are required to take other classes/seminars as members and those usually take place in the same dorm building. Because of all the upheaval and renovations with unknown completion time lines it’s anyone’s guess as to where the KLLC will be next year. There is a fee per semester for the LLC living community you pay on top of housing bill. Please keep in mind that kids who are not Direct Admit Kelleys and maybe not even in the business school DO get admitted to the KLLC. My daughter’s roomie was one of those. By end of year, she had taken business classes but enrolled in the Media School. Same goes for other LLC’s - you don’t necessarily have to be “that” major to be accepted. Good luck with the process. I am not sure how the assignment process works if your student applies for LLC, is not admitted, or is admitted by roomie of choice is not, then what is the default plan. There is a newly appointed interim executive director of RPS and a newly appointed interim director of Residential Life this current academic year. It will be exciting for future students who will benefit from renovations to housing, dining, meal plan concepts and overall residential life leadership. Difficult period to go through but good will come of it for the future.
TS0104 Good observations about Briscoe. Something I forgot to mention, post mold crisis all windows in all dorms with air conditioning are bolted shut now and cannot be opened. The turn on/off of heating systems, and AC systems are controlled centrally. Temperature control is pretty limited for students in some locations. Plan to bring a fan and an air purifier if that suits your student’s comfort needs. Hotel room windows in the IMU are bolted shut as well, which is a real shame as it used to be lovely to open them, hear the chimes or the birds or catch a breeze. Briscoe is super convenient to sporting venues/ tailgate fields 
which is one reason it is popular. I do not believe there is a traditional dining hall in the lower level as those students utilize Gresham Dining Hall l(part of Foster complex down the road). There is a dining option/cafe inside the Kelley School of Business Hodge Hall, next door at SPEA and also one on the lower level of the graduate school side of the complex but those are more like cafes. Currently the student parking spaces right at Briscoe have been taken back and it is fenced off as part of the construction zone around McNutt. One parent with a current freshman who initially had one of those spaces at start of year was told it may be years until that Briscoe base lot will be open again. With construction, it’s always difficult to predict. But the stadium lots, which are the most affordable parking option for most kiddos with cars on campus, is a really easy short walk or hop on the bus, by Evolve Apts. There is a restaurant in the bottom of Evolve near the bus stop, I think called Rush Bowls. There are C stores in many residential buildings across campus which feature grab n go quick eat options as well. IU Dining has accelerated dining renovations in many areas which is really exciting. Most of the dining options in the IMU Biddle Complex (Student Union) were just closed a few weeks ago for renovations that will go on for approx a year according to press releases. The Starbucks and Circle Cafe remain open in that location. Also, the master plan (announced a year ago) featured a new dorm called “North” that was to be begin construction last winter just behind McNutt. That location would also feature a new state of the art dining facility with demo kitchen etc. I believe that is still going to happen, however they announced the construction start date had been delayed. Lots of exciting things are happening in the Northwest neighborhood in the years ahead! Hoping this info is helpful to those trying to evaluate housing preferences.
Thanks everyone for your input! Very helpful
What a nightmare. This housing situation would cause me to choose a different school entirely.
One more question is there a site that you can search for potential roommates? Some feeds mention an app on Facebook but not sure where my DS should be looking. Thanks in advance!
I don’t know about IU specifically, but many colleges have Facebook pages for students or some for the specific incoming class (on Facebook, search IU Class of 2024, or IU Bloomington Students, for example). Then some students introduce themselves on the page and try to find roommates connections there.
I’m a current senior at IUB Kelley. I’d strongly recommend against the KLLC. You will be surrounded by other Kelley students for your entire college career and if you don’t do a dual major/minor in another school, will actually be kept quite insular within the Kelley community. Go into a normal dorm and meet all kinds of people. Its nice to have a group of friends who are going through different experiences than yourself.
If your student is looking at premium housing at IU, Union Street apts on campus may be on their radar. The housing website indicates windows are operable there. They are not. All windows in all dorms that have AC have been bolted shut and are not operable after the recent mold challenges in campus housing in an effort to control humidity levels. There are some ventilation challenges in Union Street, as units appear to share ventilation, meaning in some units a student will get the strong odors from another unit directly into theirs which may include weed, cigarette smoke, food, etc. The AC/Heat is centrally controlled seasonally and within the unit a student can only adjust the temp within a limited range. Getting fresh air/relief when getting odors infiltrating from other units is a challenge. Security staff have indicated they cannot knock on or enter other units to isolate the source coming from other units, such as weed etc. So, if you have IAQ concerns, keep that in mind.
where do u suggest living? My son got into Hutton honors and is a direct admit to Kelley.
JohnBran - do you recommend selecting northeast neighborhood as #1 and Southeast as #2 - seem like decent dorm choices in both. Thanks much!
With the announcement that all of Collins Quad will be closed next year, as well as the ‘hoped’ for completion and re-opening of Foster and McNutt Quads, it may be uncertain at this moment what exact locations will be made available for freshman. According to posts on a Parents FB page last Summer, parents posted mixed results in terms of some getting what they preferenced and others not getting any of the areas or selections they preferenced. Some students got assigned to places they did not list and some got assigned to different price tier places they did not select according to various posts from parents. I would still highly recommend applying for housing as soon as it opens. Last year some said they applied the first day and did not get what they wanted, others applied later and did. So it’s difficult to know what occurred.
Housing has been an unpredictable situation there for the last two years with mold issues and overflow scenarios. Last Summer they converted lounges across campus into bunk rooms that held 4-6 students. Last year was another record breaking incoming class in a year, toping the record breaking year before. Two years ago some kids reported they actually really liked the lounge arrangement, so don’t fret if it happens to you. They do try to get kids into a regular room as soon as possible or by the middle of the academic year when space opens up with transfers and withdrawals. Just stay flexible would be my advice and remember lots of kids do end up in the neighborhood, dorm or with the person they want to live with. With so dorms having issues, being under renovation, about to come of renovation, or announced to commence renovation, etc. plus unpredictability of the size of the incoming class, it makes for a challenge for the housing assignment staff. Apply early. It’s best to carefully read the housing contract and understand what it does or does not say and also…that a preference in housing application for incomings, is just that, a preference, not a guarantee. The university has announced it has taken up all the leases at an apt complex in town called The Avenue for the next two upcoming academic years in response to housing issues on campus. This is for returning students and they have 2, 3, and 4 bedroom units that are typically leased by the bed. The BOT meets in the Spring and at that meeting housing rates for the upcoming academic year are usually set and announced in the Summer. Good luck!