Hi! so I am unsure if I should live in ridgecrest (honors) or presidential next year? I heard ridgecrest is closer, newer, and quieter but I am afraid no one will want to socialize and I don’t want to be seculded but I am unsure of doing Presidential because I heard it can get rowdy, loud, and is far away from a lot on campus. Any pros/cons? Where do you think I should room?
Thanks!
Ridgecrest is NOT newer - Presidential is the newest dorm on campus. Ridgecrest South was the newest before Presidential was built. All of the suite style dorms are nice, and they’re all newer. Ridgecrest is closer to the quad and most of the rest of campus; you’ll walk a few minutes further to Presidential. As for rowdy and loud, that’s going to depend on who is living there in a particular year. It’s possible that the honors dorm would be quieter - a few years back when the north tower of Ridgecrest South was honors and the south tower was non-honors, it was the south tower that tended to be louder, have fire alarms pulled, etc. But there can be loud people and partiers in the honors dorm, too - it might depend on who your immediate neighbors are. You will also find plenty of honors students in the non-honors dorms. I personally would pick one of the “older” suite style dorms, such as Ridgecrest E/W, Lakeside or Riverside, because I like their floor plans better, and I’d probably pick honors over non-honors. I don’t think you can go too wrong with any of the suite style dorms, though.
Honestly, they are very similar and each have minor pros and cons. The big pro of Ridgecrest is the attached parking deck. Presidential, however has a brand new gym practically attached to it.
Noise/Partying and that really depends on the individuals who live around/with you. Dorm parties do happen, but they usually always get shut down and often quickly.
So in order of newness: Pres 2, Pres 1, Ridgecrest east and west, Ridgecrest south. I lived in Ridgecrest west, then had to move to east bc of unforseen roommate problems. So honors dorms are suite style(as is pres), as long as you aren’t a guy, or you never make the effort to talk to your roommates, you will make friends and be social. I did not mesh well with any of the six roommates I had, but what I did instead was talk to the people sitting next to me in my classes, get their names, numbers, ask them where they’re from, talk to them every day, even if it’s small talk. Most of these people you will not be forever friends with. Most will not recognize you next semester. That’s okay. Make lunch plans with people in your classes or your suitemates.
Go to GOBD(get on board day). put your email down on every list, collect coupons, free tshirts, cups, etc. You can always unsubscribe from the emails later. You will get emails about meetings from most organizations. Go to the ones you can go to. Sit next to a stranger (preferably someone not there with a group of friends) and talk to them. Chances are they will be lonely and dying to talk to anyone. You might never see them again, or they might become your new best friend, but at least you are getting good at talking to people and getting to know them. Always ask questions. Don’t be afraid to repeat the phrase “And you?” several times a day if they ask you questions. You will tell everyone your general life’s story for the next month or two and it’s okay to say the exact same thing to everyone. At organization meetings, if you don’t like it, don’t go again. If you didn’t meet anyone you like though, but you liked the organization, keep going, get involved, participate. Participation is how you be fun and social. As an introvert, this lesson took me forever to learn, but now I know how to start conversations with random people and ask for people’s numbers without seeming forward, and then start texting them occasionally (It’s okay to stop texting/talking to someone you don’t like, like the douchebag I sit next to in class–I haven’t talked to him since I found out what a jerk he is). Sign up for almost everything in an organization you like and it’s okay if it never amounts to anything, it’ll just let you get to know other people who might not be in your classes. Don’t spend all your time with your roommates if you do become best buds, because if you have a falling out with them, it will hurt if you don’t have anyone to hang out with and everyone else has already made their best friend.
Since you are considering the honors dorms, you’re in honors, so you will get the honors newsletters in the emails on your crimson account. Try to go to at least one honors event a month.
I was so desperate to make new friends one time, I googled how to make friends, and then how to talk to strangers. It’s really simple stuff, but boy do you realize how well it works when you read it all written down and then try it out. I really liked the wikihow pages, which is also where I went to figure out how to kiss a guy.
The only time that talking to strangers rule doesn’t apply is at tailgates. You should have a group of friends to talk to at tailgates, or say hi to people in your classes that pass by, but don’t make conversation with drunk strangers at tailgates unless you plan on drinking yourself, or partying all night long. Also, friends make you feel safer. There was one game I walked around by myself for a bit and these drunk frat guys kept making fists at me and asking me to stick my finger in the hole.
Now, aside from my little speech about being introverted and making friends, the dorm choice is up to you. pres is about $3000 more expensive. Pres elevators normally have vomit and pizza boxes and puddles of beer on the floor. Ridgecrest parking garage is nice and close. Ridgecrest only gets the Gold 2 bus, but Pres gets Gold 1 and 2. Pres is where people party. Ridgecrest is where people study and party (once the RAs held a party in the lobby and I was leaving for breakfast before my 8am and they and several other strangers were passed out in the lobby with streamers and party hats and beer cans all over the place, but it was actually a relatively quiet party since I lived above the lobby and didn’t hear anything) Ridgecrest is relatively quiet. Pres is relatively loud. Ridgecrest is closer to Lakeside (the only thing open on Sundays for freshmen with no cars, no stocked fridge, and no cooking ability) Dunkin Donuts is also next to Lakeside and there’s the Lakeside market for snacks and microwavable meals and a variety of energy drinks but I think Pres has something like that as well. In Ridgecrest, you can count on people not to steal your laundry, but if you leave it in there for two days, expect people to get mad and put it in the trash chute. I know in Ridgecrest East and West there were enough washers and dryers that I only ever had to wait once to put my laundry in, but I never did laundry on weekends. In Ridgecrest West, everything was always quiet. In Ridgecrest East, the only noise complaint I would’ve made would’ve been when it snowed and there was a girl outside my window screaming “its f-ing snowing” for half an hour. In Ridgecrest South there’s always people coming and going and if you live with a window towards the vb court, people will try to hit your window with the volleyball for extra points. But Ridgecrest South has the help desk for emergencies 24/7. There isn’t one in East or West and after a certain time, you have to use your key card to get into Ridgecrest South (East and West you always have to use your ACT card) and if you get locked out at 2 am from East or West, with no phone, you’re screwed unless you bang on the Ridgecrest South door, and if you look like you’re drunk, they won’t let you in, even if its 20 degrees outside and you’re wearing shorts and you’re not drunk, just really cold and tired bc you were watching a movie at a friends’ place and fell asleep and they didn’t wake you till 1am then you decided to play cards against humanity before you went back. That’s when the blue emergency phones come in handy.
I am so sorry if this is long winded, but I really have no filter for all my thoughts
You get one opportunity to choose to live in honors housing as an entering freshman (if you don’t choose honors for freshman year, you never get to live in honors.) The price is the same for the suite-style housing, so you really just have to decide whether you want to try out living in designated honors housing your first year. You will be no more secluded in the honors housing than in Presidential. Don’t count on socializing a lot in the housing - these are not tight communities, and you may find it surprising to hear that it is very common that students living on the same floor, in the same hall, never get to know each other’s names. You will make your friends outside of the dorms.
Focus first on finding great roommates. If you end up with awful roommates, even the best room on campus won’t resolve that issue.
Just to correct one erroneous statement in Post #3 - Ridgecrest South is newer than Ridgecrest East/West. East/West has the “older” style floorplan (which IMO is more desirable).
Also the older style floorplan (RCE, RCW, all Lakesides and Riversides) are more spacious both in terms of common area and bedroom space.