<p>I'm a transfer student hopefully (still waiting for that financial aid package) entering in the fall, and I'm about to apply for housing. I have NO qualms with living in West, but I'm beginning to really like everything about Risley.</p>
<p>Pros: I'm very into music and play a few different instruments.</p>
<p>It's very close to MVR (The Human Ecology building) Where, I will, undoubtedly, be spending the majority of my time.</p>
<p>I hear it's dining hall is awesome.</p>
<p>Are all of these things true? And, as a transfer could I even get into Risley? Is it hard to get in? I'm completely ignorant on all this.</p>
<p>Risley is awesome. I never lived there, but people who think people are weird are weird. The food was decent, but obviously a limited selection.</p>
<p>You can also look into JAM if you like music.</p>
<p>all the people I’ve met from Risley have been really pleasant, certainly people I’d be glad live near. plus, there are all sorts all over campus. I don’t know anything about how you’d be able to get in, though.
the dining hall is pretty awesome, although I didn’t really care for the food much when I ate there. the selection felt so limited compared to the big dining halls on north (and all the ones on West.)</p>
<p>wrong wrong wrong! i lived there my freshman year and i LOVED it. yeah, there are some weird kids in there, but there are a lot of really awesome kids too. the stigma attached to risley is really annoying. i know a lot of people who have said that, if they knew what risley was REALLY like, they would have lived in there instead of freshman housing. </p>
<p>it’s a LOT different than regular dorms, the RAs/rules are a lot laxer, it’s pretty awesome. there’s a studio and a jam room downstairs, which if you’re into music, is great. a couple of my best friends who lived with me in risley used those rooms a lot, and they’re really good if you take a music class and need to do a project. </p>
<p>the dining hall was pretty good when i lived there. idk how it is now, but my favorite memories of ris-dining is stealing a pie that just came out of the oven, walking out of the back entrance (which only risley kids really know about), and then eating it in a friend’s room when you get the munchies. </p>
<p>as a transfer, you can definitely get into risley. there’s an application process, and it’s not really hard. pm me if you want to know more about the process, i know a couple of people who are on the application committee.</p>
<p>not always true. while the amount of artistic and eclectic people are numerous at risley, there are plenty of people who lack any artistic talent and simply enjoy art/music from time to time. </p>
<p>on a slightly related note. there’s a lot of stereotypes about risley here at cornell. i remember during orientation, when i would tell people that i lived in risley, they’d say, “oh, the WEIRD dorm.” that is really just too much, sometimes. you judge a person by a false belief of where they live? but hey, at least it’s a quick measure of what people are like - if you’re hanging out with someone who believes that risley is just for weirdos without actually knowing anyone FROM risley or knowing what riskids are like, then that says something about that person, doesn’t it? (that’s slightly hypocritical, but hey. i’m not the one judging a whole mass of people based on a preconceived and uneducated notion.)</p>
<p>The worst part about Risley dining is that when you return your plates, you have to sort the cutlery into a separate pile, scrape off your plate and place your plate into an opening that requires a long arm extension. </p>
<p>This gets your hand dirty, gets food underneath your nails and risk getting your clothes dirty when reaching to return the plates. </p>
<p>All the other dining halls have automatic conveyor belts which require little to no effort.</p>
<p>The guy’s 6’10" , I think he has a long enough arm extension.</p>
<p>I hesitate to comment about Risley, since my perspective was formed during the last ice age. So somebody please correct me if this is no longer true.</p>
<p>But in my day anyway, the thing with Risley is it was adjacent to the architecture building. Consequently a bunch of architecture & fine arts majors lived there, and these “creative types” definitely established the flavor/ reputation of the dorm. This core constituency attracted other creative types, probably largely from CAS.</p>
<p>They used to have really good parties.</p>
<p>I would live there, if I had the chance, over other dorms with less personality (& possibly personalities), but that’s me.</p>
<p>I also remember Risley from the last ice age. I saw a couple of Shakespeare comedies there that were extremely well done (directed and peformed by the residents)! </p>
<p>My impression was that it was a friendly place, for students with an artistic bent. No-one seemed especially weird (though they did have a Ren Faire-type event on the lawn every year). The few times I went there, everyone was very pleasant and welcoming.</p>
<p>My D picked Risley as a possible housing option for her Freshman year (I guess we won’t hear until June if she gets in) because of alot of cool features, like the art and music studios, and the theatre. I believe I read that Christopher Reeve (Superman) was a resident there at one time.</p>