<p>So as I understand it, all the Honors housing will be in the three towers of Ridgecrest for next year. I can see minor differences on the floor plans on the housing sites, but are there other differences that are important? Does one tower have a food court or anything that the others don’t? For those of you experts that really know Bama- please clue in the clueless like me!</p>
<p>Rolling on the floor laughing over the food court comment. Don’t they wish!</p>
<p>Again, going by three years ago, when we toured the model room at Ridgecrest South, the newest one with the two towers with the parking deck underneath, there are two rooms on either side of the living room. The living room has a cafe table, tall table like you see in a bar, rather than a kitchenette style round table.</p>
<p>Son lived in either Ridgecrest West or East this summer, and it was very similar to his suite at Riverside. The room did seem a little smaller. The closets were different, in that the doors opened up to you, rather than the sliding doors he has at Riverside.</p>
<p>The big difference I found in the Ridgecrest suite kitchen versus his Riverside kitchen is the size of the kitchen sink area. As we have a draining board for the boys to drain their clean dishes on, I went to set that up in the Ridgecrest kitchen and found there were very little room on the side of the sink to set this up. If your child is going to be doing a lot of his own cooking, this may prove to be an annoyance. Son opted to use disposable plates, cups, etc, during the summer, but I don’t know if this would be feasible during the whole school year.</p>
<p>Just my picky pet peeve, but it may not be an issue for others.</p>
<p>Of course, the parking garage is the perk for Ridgecrest. Son has a car this year, and is in his third year at Riverside. When we came back from Christmas break, we found that his usual parking lot was undergoing renovation. So now, he parks in the higher parking deck that may usually be used for other complexes. Not too much of a walk, but a little bit farther away. Again, a picky thing for some, but may not be a deal breaker for others.</p>
<p>Oh, almost forgot. The kitchenette type table is in both the Ridgecrest East/West and the Riverside, if that’s important to you as well.</p>
<p>As for the color of the couches, the purple couches in Riverside West are not garish. They are definitely not the LSU purple color, but more of a deep muted color. In fact, we were not tempted at all to put gold color throws on them to feel more at home.</p>
<p>None of the Ridgecrest residential halls have foodcourts. There is a variance in the floor plans. Ridgecrest South is the newest building of the Ridgecrest buildings it consists of two towers -North and South Tower, so if you live in the North Tower you will be living in Ridgecrest South North.</p>
<p>Doesn’t one of the towers connect directly to the garage?</p>
<p>^^^Correct. Ridgecrest East and West are in separate buildings from the parking. My son lived in either East or West during the summer, but did park in the garage. I don’t know if this is the case during the year, since he lives in Riverside during the year.</p>
<p>Can someone chime in on this?</p>
<p>I’m sure a student who has spent considerable time in the Ridgecrests could give you a better answer and will have noticed more differences, but here are the differences I noticed from staying in RCS during Bama Bound and then seeing my D’s RCW room at move-in. </p>
<p>Ridgecrest South (north and south tower) is a couple years newer, and has a different floorplan. There’s a center area with two bedrooms and a bath to each side. The “living” area is smaller than in East/West, and has modular furniture and a high cafe table with two chairs. The kitchen area is more open to the main area. The beds loft higher. The bathrooms are a bit different. RC South is much bigger, and has the parking garage underneath (although students in all the “Yellow Zone” buildings, including RCW and RCE, can use the garage, and it’s just a short walk away). The main desk for all the Ridgecrests is in RCS; the desks in RCE and RCW aren’t staffed (so, for instance, you need to go to the desk at RCS to check out your pool cues and ping pong paddles).</p>
<p>Ridgecrest East and West have a larger “living” area with a different style of furniture. There’s a normal height dining table with 4 chairs. The four bedrooms and two baths are down one hallway; it’s not a split plan like RCS. There’s a storage closet outside the unit. The beds only loft to 60", so you couldn’t put your desk under the bed and work at it. </p>
<p>This year, I think Ridgecrest West is quieter than RCS, and I think there tend to be more upperclassmen in RCW (although there are certainly freshmen, my D included). Ridgecrest East and Ridgecrest South (south tower) are non-honors this year. With the switch to all of Ridgecrest being honors, the dynamics could change next year.</p>
<p>So as I understand it, all the Honors housing will be in the three towers of Ridgecrest for next year</p>
<p>There are two towers that make up Ridgecrest South (north and south). There are also two other bldgs (not towers) that make up Ridgecrest East and West.</p>
<p>When you exit Ridgecrest South (from either tower), there is an elevator that goes down to the parking garage, so it doesn’t matter which tower you’re in.</p>
<p>Ok I have 2 questions. 1) I thought the freshman had to buy the meal plan so why would they be cooking? or am I wrong about that? 2) my son will bring his truck but I’m really thinking he won’t be using it much since why would he need to go off campus?</p>
<p>Beth’s mom- thanks . this is exactly what I was looking for. </p>
<p>So it sounds like Ridgecrest south (north or south) is the better choice? Any thoughts on floor? When my son visited, one person told him that he should get a room on the first floor as it was easier as then you could stay in your room during tornado warnings. Is this true? The guy he stayed with said higher was better as you had less noise. If south south was not honors this year, does that mean there would probably be more 4 person suite availability next year or did the honors students that are in other dorms get first choice before the freshman?</p>
<p>^^ I think it’s a matter of personal preference. There are things I like better about RCW/RCE, and other things I like better about RCS. It probably all comes out even in the end. Any of the Ridgecrests would be an excellent place to live. Perhaps the best dorm to be in is the one where most of your friends are, and it’s hard to know that at the time you’re selecting a room.</p>
<p>As for floor, my D chose a room that’s on the same floor as the community kitchen and laundry room. I personally would probably choose not to be on the first floor, but not at the very top either, because I prefer stairs over elevator but wouldn’t want to be climbing much higher than the third floor. The benefit of the top floor, though, is that you don’t have to worry about noise from above. I wouldn’t want to be below someone who paced or jumped around a lot. Again, I think it’s a tradeoff and you probably can’t go very wrong.</p>
<p>Upperclass students who get housing will choose before the freshmen, but I’d be shocked if there wasn’t space available in all the Ridgecrests when the freshmen choose. When the freshmen room selection began last year there were full suites as well as partial ones available in both RCS and RCW.</p>
<p>The main difference I see with Ridgecrest South versus Ridgecrest East/West is the layout. I’ve lived in Ridgecrest West for all 4 years because it has always been quieter and I prefer the room layout. I also have one of the best rooms in the building, which is why I’ve had the same room for 3 years. I also happen to live on the same floor as a kitchen and laundry room, which is very convenient.</p>
<p>If multiple floors are available, I will always choose something other than the first floor, usually the second or third floors as I can still easily take the stairs.</p>
<p>Especially with the new housing selection policies, there will be space available in each residence hall for incoming freshmen. I’d be in favor of UA having an upperclassman-only residence hall where only students with 30+ credits can live, but I don’t think there is demand for it. I like the idea of having a dorm available only to seniors as is offered at UVA, but that is even less likely as UA doesn’t have a building which would work for that purpose.</p>
<p>Even upperclassmen only floors within the buildings would be nice!</p>
<p>SEA-Tide-What is it about your room that makes it one of the best? My son would love to pick a great room and stick with it but has no clue what to pick other than the Honors dorm</p>
<p>He probably has a nice view! There are views of the ponds and the volleyball court.</p>
<p>My D lived in RC West last year. It was quiet and spacious. This year she choose to be closer to friends, so that meant RC South. Personally, I prefer RCW due to its layout of the rooms. The previous posts explained the differences very well.</p>
<p>All the Ridgecrests are within 200 feet or so of each other so there is very little reason to choose one over the other to be a lot closer to anything.</p>
<p>My D can easily walk to Publix and get her groceries.</p>
<p>Where do they eat???</p>
<p>I am still confused as to where freshman on the meal plan actually get their food.</p>
<p>Lakeside dining is the closest cafeteria. Just around the corner from Paty and Mallet. It is all-you-can-eat.</p>
<p>TX- when my son stayed with a friend who lives in Ridgecrest this fall, they walked to a very close food location, but I don’t remember the name of it. My son fell in love with a new exotic food there- Patty Melts. Have no idea how he had never heard of them before but he was convinced this was something the “chefs” at Bama had invented. His friend’s meal plan included some guest meals so he treated my son for three meals (we took him to Dreamland for dinner the last night). I ate lunch there one day and was impressed with the variety of food offered. I will go look on a map and see if I can figure out the name of it for you.</p>
<p>Found it- it is called Lakeside. Also, here is the link to a handy map where the foodservice places are in blue and as you roll over them, it tells you what they serve:</p>
<p>[Bama</a> Dining Locations Map](<a href=“http://media.campusdish.com/highered/alabama/dininglocationmap.html]Bama”>http://media.campusdish.com/highered/alabama/dininglocationmap.html)</p>
<p>Also, as a heads up… it’s not okay to stay in your suite during a tornado warning, even on the first floor! Every bedroom and the living room all have a window, and are close to the exteriors of the buildings.</p>
<p>The safest place to be is the lowest level, close to the interior of the building, with no windows.</p>
<p>Janine Gascoigne</p>
<p>Thanks for that clarification, UA Housing. I did wonder about that advice. How often are there tornado warnings that require evacuation. I know it will vary, but is it on average weekly in the spring?</p>