<p>My son just happily learned he was accepted at Purdue for the fall! He is still weighing his options, but is thinking he'll send in his housing deposit early if he can come up with a housing preference. I see references in other threads here to some housing options: what are YOUR thoughts about the residences? Which ones are best for which kind of student? Do they have defineable "personalities" that mostly hold true (even if they're kind of stereotypes)? We live in CA and won't be able to visit for a while so I thought I'd ask here. (He doesn't visit CC so I'm posting this on his behalf. The only Purdue people he knows are alums from long enough ago that their living experiences might not be relevant anymore.) </p>
<p>Is there anywhere else where the pros and cons of the various residences are discussed by people who live in them? He is definitely a "live on campus" kind of guy for now. Thanks for any thoughts!</p>
<p>I had hoped one of the students would have weighed in, but as a parent, I'll try to give what little I know. You didn't say what you're son is majoring in, but I know quite a few engineers live in Earhart or Cary Quadrangle. My S is doing engineering and likes being with the study-hard crowd and not the party-hardy. I got the impression that Cary is a little more laid-back and more boisterous.</p>
<p>I think more of the business students are in such dorms as Owen. McCutcheon is considered one of the worst dorms (according to my son). His GF is in that dorm and the rooms are extremely small and they have no cafeteria (or AC) and the amenities are not as nice.</p>
<p>Cary is closest to the engineering building and I'm not sure if they have a cafeteria, but Earhart has a nice cafeteria. The boys got air conditioning this year.</p>
<p>I have only seen the outside of Tarkington and it seemed old and uninteresting. Cary Quadrangle has interesting architecture and has been remodeled. I think Cary would have been S's second choice.</p>
<p>One thing he likes about Earhart is that he can store his things over the summer down in the basement. That really was a relief for us as we are 1100 miles away. Check out the Purdue website for dorm room sizes, etc. and hopefully some of the kids will post their opinions here.</p>
<p>Thanks very much for the observations, Tookie and momofchris, I've passed them along to my son. He's accepted in CGT (Computer Graphics Technology) and is a comp sci guy. Earhart popped out on the list early, he also saw that there's a CGT community in Owen, which also looked pretty good, so I guess it's not all business types there?</p>
<p>I guess not a lot of current or recent students visit here. If there are any who'd like to comment, feel free! Thanks again.</p>
<p>Im a current student at Purdue :-) Currently I'm in Wiley Hall, which is a good dorm except for the fact that it's all male. Other than that, it's perfect, the rooms are big, we're the closest to campus, the rec center is right next door. But normally the top picks for dorms are either owen (for its location and co-edness) or Shreve and Earhart, since they have AC and are the newest facilities.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Yes, Owen is co-ed. However, there are two wings to Owen and they are separated by building, NOT floor level. The west wing is female and the east wing is male. You still need a female escort to enter the female side of Owen just like every other female dorm on campus.</p></li>
<li><p>There are stereotypes for each dorm, non hold true. You will find diversity in each and every dorm residency at Purdue. </p></li>
<li><p>Owen, Tark, Wiley, Meredith don't have air conditioning. It will be hot at the tail end of summer and the beginning of spring (there are a few more dorms without AC, those are off the top of my head).</p></li>
<li><p>For your son, look into Living at Wiley, Shrieve, or Earhart. Those three dorm complexes are closest to Knoy - the school of technology where your son will spend most of his time working on CGT projects AND realizing how much of an jerk Professor White REALLy is!! :)</p></li>
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<p>I looked at the floor plans for the new rooms at Cary, they seem much bigger... and the semi-private bath helps. Any opinions of the renovated rooms at Cary?</p>
<p>My S was accepted last year and moved in this Aug (loves it by the way). My recommendation is to get the housing deposit in as early as possible because it really makes a difference on which dorm they get.</p>
<p>Yes, I was surprised to hear the worried murmur going up in the auditorium on Monday this week at "Purdue's for Me", when an awful lot of admitted students realized that they hadn't yet sent in their housing deposit. Also note that if you are choosing to room with a specific person, the housing deposit date becomes the <em>LATER</em> of the two individual dates, so if your intended roommate deposits in Nov. and you don't get yours in until Jan., you jointly sit at the Jan. date in the housing queue.</p>