<p>Does anyone know the types of rooms in each residential college? For example, I went to Owl Days and lived in McMurtry which had double rooms with private baths.</p>
<p>Also, does anyone know how the application process for housing works? I heard there was a personality sheet we each had to fill out, but then again others are telling me it's random. I would really like to get a single room/suite.</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>For rooms, I can tell you about Baker. We have some of the double rooms with private bathrooms that you saw at McMurtry. We also have singles, doubles and two-room triples that share hall bathrooms. We have 8-man suites, which consist of 4 doubles, a common room and two bathrooms. And we also have suites with involve 2 sets of 2 doubles and a common room connected by a bathroom. So, there’s a lot of variety for us here.</p>
<p>I think why you are a little confused about housing is that it is a two-step process. First, you get randomly assigned into one of the residential colleges. The only way that this process isn’t random is if you had a a family member in one of the colleges, and then you can choose either to be put into that one automatically or ask to not be put into it (or go through the random process like everyone else). After your college is assigned, you will receive a roommate questionnaire from your O-week coordinators. One this questionnaire you will put all sorts of preference information. I believe one of the questions is whether you would want one or more than one roommate, which could help get you a suite. It is extremely unlikely that you would get a single as a freshman. And I suppose you could always state your preference for a suite in the any other comments section of the form.</p>
<p>Hope this helps!</p>
<p>Actually, if you log into your Esther account you will find the roommate questionnaires and forms there now. I’m not sure if we will get more forms once we have been placed in our colleges - but I know there are forms on Esther already. :)</p>
<p>As sffhgoalie says, the chances of getting a single are near zero. As for the suites, it depends on the college. Some of the newer buildings like McMurtry, Duncan, Martel, Wiess, New Brown, Jones Central, New wing baker have suites while others are rooms off a hallway.</p>
<p>Thank you guys so much!</p>
<p>Sidizen here. All of our suites at Sid (except the 6 man but that’s not an option for an incoming freshman) are the same: two connected doubles that share a bathroom. We don’t really have common space in the suites, but you get the floor lobbies which have couches and a balcony and plenty of space. If you live at Sid, you will not get a single. We only have the suites. </p>
<p>(Sid is a little creepy in some parts but don’t listen to the people that say it’s gross. They lie! It may not be shiny new like other colleges, but it is home and a great place to live.
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<p>…and great for parties…</p>
<p>There’s a special place in my heart for Sid. <3</p>
<p>After Owl Days, not sure I want to live at Sid. Especially depending on how often the 7th floor is used. I’d like to keep my sleeping and partying separate haha.</p>
<p>Many of my closest friends are on Sid 7th. It takes a special person to live up there, and they don’t put anyone up there who doesn’t belong (that floor is really close, though, and they have their own unique culture that is really cool–especially in the first couple weeks of class). The other floors (except maybe 6th, which gets some of the reverberation) are completely normal. Sid is a great place to be.</p>
<p>Don’t judge Sid, or any college really, based on what you saw at Owl Days. You have to understand that while it is intended to give you a look at what living here is like, it is NOT the whole picture. It doesn’t even come close. Don’t base your view of a college based off one or two days. </p>
<p>People will tell you a bunch of nonsense about college sterotypes but the truth is that every college has party locations and every college has quiet locations. People are assigned to colleges randomly so you get a mix of both kinds of people. Sid 7th is a party spot yes, but so is Baker 4th and Lovett 2nd. If you don’t want to live in a party spot, you won’t. It is as simple as that. Sid 5th floor, for example, is a very calm place to live.</p>
<p>Oh that may be the case, it’s just that you could hear the music from like the 2nd floor at Owl Days. That may not usually be the case always, I’m not dissing on Sid or anything. McMurtry and Duncan seem pretty awesome to live in, but then again, my host was in McMurtry haha.</p>
<p>That was a somewhat special occasion. And even then, below the 6th floor the music won’t be loud enough to disturb you if you are in your room working/sleeping.</p>
<p>Any college you are assigned to will be great; you’ll love your college and think you live in the best one no matter what.</p>
<p>FallenAngel9, just curious: define “special person?”</p>
<p>“Special person” = “mentally challenged,” obviously.</p>
<p>(I’M JUST KIDDING OMG)</p>
<p>Special person as in someone who likes and can handle the atmosphere the floor has. The coordinators will be able to tell from your roommate forms if you belong on that floor. They won’t put you somewhere that you don’t feel comfortable. Especially Sid’s coordinators this year, which are AMAZING.</p>
<p>Honestly, this is my only gripe with college system. At schools with dorms, you pay based upon what dorm you live in; nicer/newer dorm is more expensive, and vice versa. Here at Rice, since you’re in the same college all 4 years, you may or may not have the best/newest rooms or the exact same living situation opportunities as your friend who is paying the exact same for room and board. I find it ridiculous that people living in Hanszen new dorm, Lovett, etc. have to pay the same as people at some of the newer/renovated colleges.</p>
<p>Hm. That really is annoying but if it was done differently then colleges would be segregated by class. That is not Rice’s focus. Rice focuses on mixing people from different walks of life, with different interests as much as possible. I would sacrifice one or two thousand for that kind of a learning experience ANY day.</p>
<p>I graduated in May 2011, but I’m sure not that much has changed since I left. I think most of the important stuff has already been covered, but I want to address this:</p>
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<p>When I first came to Rice, I felt the same way since I was in one of those “worse” dorms (Lovett). I’m actually glad that I was in one of the older colleges. When people have really nice rooms, they tend to stay in them. Being in a not-so-great room really helps strengthen the bonds you have with your college mates. That’s not to say that you won’t meet and know the other people in your college, but from talking to a lot of people at other colleges, there isn’t as much of a strong bond (especially between classes).</p>
<p>I remember that we’d go to other college commons on regular weeknights, and they were all empty except for Lovett. In the end, your happiness and best experiences are going to be based on the friendships and camaraderie you forge. I know everyone says their college is the best, but there are other great aspects to living in one of the “worse-building” colleges that are much more difficult to quantify. Yes, you pay the same, and on the surface it seems pretty bad, but college is really what you make of it, and if you’re determined to be social, I guarantee that the quality of your room will be pretty far down on the list of things you really care about.</p>