<p>My son is currently in ridgecrest south-north (honors section). As a mechanical engineer, we were wondering whether it would be more advantageous for him to transfer to an open space in riverside east. Is there a higher concentration of engineering majors who choose to live in riverside e because of its proximity to engineering bldgs? We’re looking at convenience of forming study groups w/ fellow engineering majors. Also, we cannot tell whether his roomates in ridgecrest south are freshmen or sophomores, but I guess it’s safe to assume he will be rooming w/ all freshmen honors in riverside east. Lastly, this bridge in riverside east, where is it and where does it connect? to 7th Ave.? Is it a footbridge?</p>
<p>^
-The bridge is a raised foot/bike bridge. It’s not particularly necessary, as there are plenty of crosswalks leading towards the east and west sides of campus.</p>
<p>-Rather than trying to arrange study groups ahead of time, I’d recommend having your son make friends in each of his classes and forming study groups that way. Also, I’ve heard (I’m a pre-med though, so it’s just hearsay) that the core engineering are great for forming study groups and working together with similar-minded students.</p>
<p>-Honestly, I doubt that Riverside’s location heavily sways engineers to live there- it’s a good bit further from the core campus than the Ridgecrest complex, anyways. Shelby Hall and the SEC are a little bit of a hike from Ridgecrest in the mornings, but it’s not a huge difference.</p>
<p>Isn’t there an engineer community located in Bryant Hall?</p>
<p>^
Yup. It’s (supposed to be, but in reality it’s a bit more open) 1/2 football players, and 1/2 engineers.</p>
<p>I think Bryant also has some basketball players living there.</p>
<p>As far as study groups are concerned, they often take place outside of the dorms. There is a possibility that your son will end up having a study group with people that live in Ridgecrest South or another building. As far as distance is concerned, as long as he gives himself a couple extra minutes to walk to his classes, he will be fine. Should he be running late, he’ll find ways to get to class faster. :)</p>
<p>I do see the appeal of rooming with other freshmen, but it’s not something I would really worry about. With people coming in with all sorts of college credit, he has almost as good a chance of having sophomores in his classes, not to mention the occasional junior or senior. If he gets along well with his future roommates, the fact that they are a year older than him will prove irrelevant.</p>
<p>Just as Sea_tide said, you should not be concerned with the class level of future suitemates. My son will be in Riverside for a third year in a row. He is a Math major and a Varsity runner. He eats at Bryant. He rides his bike to get around campus.</p>
<p>Thanks for everyone’s input. Son decided to transfer into Riverside after learning his Ridgecrest suitemates are seniors!</p>
<p>how is that possible? I thought that only freshman could live in ridgecrest last year and then the only people who could live in ridgecrest this year are freshman and the freshman from last year?</p>
<p>Maybe they are sophomores with “senior standing”??? </p>
<p>Sometimes it’s hard to really know what “year” a person is because of AP/Dual/IB credits.</p>
<p>Or, maybe they didn’t limit only freshmen from last year to sign up with Ridgecrest South.</p>
<p>A lot of my friends transferred from Riverside to Ridgecrest, so that is not the case.</p>
<p>One of the reasons some of the students moved from Lakeside to Ridgecrest for the fall is parking. The parking at Lakeside is … let’s say, lousy.</p>
<p>My son is in Lakeside West.Can you be more specific on that “lousy” parking???</p>
<p>There is a significant lack of</p>
<p>it’s godawful- e.g., there’s not nearly enough of it</p>
<p>The good thing, though, is that Lakeside residents have access to some other parking areas. When he receives his parking information, he will learn what areas are open to him.</p>
<p>I’m pretty sure (like 99%) the bottom floor of the Ridgecrest South parking deck.</p>