My daughter lives in The Commons now. She has enjoyed the onsite cafeteria with all the rain this year. Also the rec room, tutoring area and post office. Just things to think about. I know there are some modulars close by.
Curious about the actual process on the assigned day to pick… will students get any advanced peek at dorm availability before their time slot or is it more like ready, set, go here is what you can pick from?! Also, does anyone know if Univ. Honors fills all of their mods on north side? Just wondering if we should include/exclude them on our lists.
Thanks @Thelma2 for the link above! Just wasn’t sure how much we would see/know before time slot opens for planning purposes.
@agtrio23 I understand the dorm selection process is the most frantic 5 minutes of your life…not even kidding. No, you don’t get advanced notice of what’s available, and you’ll need 4-6 dorm choices, as beds will disappear before your eyes.
We actually toured Lechner last week (it is the model Northside modular). Not sure if it fills up, but just being in there and talking to ppl who lived in U Honors dorm, I wouldn’t list it. It was eerily quiet, and one person said it was like living with the cast of ‘Big Bang Theory’ (not that that is bad, just not the vibe my kid is looking for, and my kid is g/t-those are ‘her’ people).
@52AG82 I don’t like frantic high stress! I always feel like I’m going to make a mistake or regret a decision. Too funny about the honors dorm vibe- I think we toured Lechner, too, but it was last summer when campus was empty. Everything was eerily quiet! Many many years ago I lived in Underwood on the south side and loved the location. The recent Commons main area renovation is really nice, too. But it seems that many prefer the north… is it due to proximity to classes?
Not sure, @agtrio23? I didn’t go to A&M, but my husband did (lived in Moore Hall, which is now where Hullabaloo is). My daughter, of course, fell in love with Hullabaloo (doesn’t everyone?!). She & her roomie really like the vibe/feel of Northside, both have friends who will be living Northgate Area.
We ate lunch in Commons cafeteria in the fall-liked the food fine, but the Commons halls felt claustrophobic to us. That’s the good thing about A&M-plenty of dorms to choose from! Tho I am surprised there aren’t more new/fully updated dorms (besides Hullabaloo & White Creek).
We toured 12 schools-most SEC + Clemson. Except for Auburn, every other school is building or completely overhauling their dorms, making them all modernized, updated.
And yes, the person we spoke to, who lived in Univ Honors a couple years ago, said it was a one-of-a-kind living experience ? a year he won’t soon forget?
Fingers crossed we all survive dorm selection ??
@agtrio23 @52ag82 So you will get an email with your assigned date and time for room selection. You return to the housing portal on that date and time and click back on the housing application for the semester your are doing the room selection for and it will automatically take you to that tab in the application for room selection. The first screen will tell you that you can look at anything without loosing what you may or may not have selected; you have to confirm a change for it to take place. This is important because you can quick select something so you have something and then go back into the room selection and look for something better without risking what you just took. That page will have a long list of the buildings with available rooms. You select a building and it will take you to another page with a list of all the rooms available in that building and by each one it will have the room type and say how many beds are in the room and if there are any free beds among them.
You will not be able to view the room availability screen until your window is available but other people with earlier time slots can tell you. For example, after my son finished his he could go back in and out of it during his window to check current availability. So if you have friends with early time slots they can tell you what is left.
University Honors does not typically fill every spot in their dorms so sometimes there is rooms available.
Thanks @pbleigh! One question-when you get your assigned time, do they tell you if you’re in the 1st round, 4th day or anything like that? I’m always curious how ppl know if they had a good pick time, or what?
Is your pull/selection time 5 minutes? Longer? What do kids do, that have a time during the school day?
@52AG82 No they do not give you any indication how early your time slot is, however you will be able to figure it out just by people posting what their window is. I will copy the email my son got below so you have an idea but keep in mind his was for a returning student not a freshman so may be somewhat different. In his case he had several days however that won’t make much difference since your best availability will be in the first few seconds of your window. Kids will typically ask a family member to log on for them if they can’t.
[EMAIL EXCERPT]
We would like to thank you again for renewing your on-campus housing at Texas A&M. Below is your room selection timeslot (the date/time you will be able to log back in to your myHousing Portal and select your Hall/Apt/Room for Fall 2019 - Spring 2020) Please be advised, your timeslot is represented in Military Time.
Room Selection will become available to you: Tuesday, February 19th at 9:00am.
At that time, you will be able to login to your myHousing Portal, access your 2019-2020 application, and view all available rooms on campus. Once you gain access to Room Selection, you will have the ability to choose a room or room swap if you decide you would like to try to change to a different dorm/apt.
Please be advised, some halls/rooms will not be available for selection due to being designated for Living Learning Communities, Freshmen-Reserved spaces, or otherwise.
Updates from last year:
Neeley hall is now coed by room, no longer coed by floor.
Wells 1st and 2nd floor will be coed by room, no longer coed by floor to accommodate 2 different LLCs. 3rd and 4th floor will still be coed by floor.
Reminders and Tips
If you renewed same room/apartment:
You can view your assignment on your myHousing Portal.
You can Room Swap to another space on campus if you would like to move.
You will not give up your current room/apartment by looking - only if you officially reserve and confirm a new room.
If you have paired with roommates/suitemates in the system and neither of you have chosen a room yet:
The student with the earliest time slot will be able to assign both students if they requested and accepted each other through the roommate finder feature of the application.
You can still select roommates at this time and make any changes to your roommate preference.
If you want to be roommates/suitemates with an incoming student:
You must select an available room at this time to avoid being cancelled out of housing.
When your desired roommate/suitemate is able to access room selection (later in the semester), you will want to communicate with them about selecting an open room/apartment based on availability.
You will then ‘Room Swap’ into that assignment with them, or you can choose to remain in your previously chosen space.
If you applied to be a Resident Advisor, Peer Mentor, or part of a Living Learning Community:
Decisions and placements are still being made for these groups, so you will not be able to select an RA, Peer Mentor, or LLC room yet.
You must select an available room at this time to avoid being cancelled out of housing.
Later, you will either be assigned by the housing office, or given the opportunity to self-select your assignment based on the decisions for these groups.
If you are registered with Disability Services:
Please login to determine whether or not you have been preassigned to a space that meets your accommodation.
If you do not have an assignment:
Be sure to self-select an available room of your choice.
If you do have an assignment:
You were preassigned to a room that meets your accommodation, as ADA rooms are not available for students to self-select.
Room Swap
Allows you to change from your selected room to another available room.
As long as you have selected a room, you can room swap as many times as you would like.
A notice will come out via email at a later date when we decide to close your ability to room swap. You will be provided notice.
Cancellation Penalty Timeline as outlined in the on-campus housing contract:
Prior to April 1st - no penalty
April 1st to May 31st - $500.00
June 1st to August 14th - $1000.00
August 15th (or after move in) - 100% of Fall semester rent
Corps of Cadets Students Only:
Prior to July 14th - no penalty
After July 15th, follow the above timeline.
Please remember you have until February 24th to make your housing selection. If you have not chosen a room by February 24th at 11:59pm, we will cancel your housing contract so you’re not billed for the next academic year. Residence Life reserves the right to move you to meet the needs of Living Learning Communities, Students with accommodation needs, and Freshman priority spaces.
Thanks @pbleigh! Ok, so quick select a top choice and then search… question- where does “pulling up” your pre-selected roommate happen in this process? Then we/others can report back to CC with how things are looking as far as availability throughout the process.
@52AG82 it does surprise me that only Hullaballoo & Whitecreek (I think) have been added since my time at TAMU in the 90s. Of course, they are constantly renovating. Underwood and the other mods behind the Commons were new back then and popular at the time. Being near the quad, MSC & Kyle field felt so close to the traditions of A&M. One other thing of note- in some (all?) mods, one side of the hall has larger rooms- but I can’t remember specifics. Does anyone know details regarding that?
Thanks for sharing, @pbleigh ! Woah, that’s a lot of info! Of course, it does apply to returning students, but still!
Fingers crossed my daughter has a high selection time, but we just don’t really know!
Interesting that some dorms are coed by room-that means boys could be next door to girls? Wow, didn’t know that existed, I thought the coed dorms were at least divided by floors. Just took a dorm tour last week, and they definitely didn’t mention anything about coed by room.
@agtrio23 @52AG82 There is plans to build a new dorm complex similar to Hullaballoo next to the new White Creek community center but I am not sure when they are starting on that.
I believe if you selected a roommate via the roommate matcher previous to room selection then they are dragged into your room when you select it if it has enough beds.
Sorry @52AG82 I knew that was a long email but figured too much better than too little 
@agtrio23 you are correct-definitely one side of Modulars is bigger than the other. I need to dig around for that info (a local friend has been doing extensive research on this). The Modulars were built for 4, but now house 2, hence the larger overall size, but the bigger side of the hall rooms would be a huge bonus!
Even the dorms that list they were ‘renovated’ in 2017 are SUPER outdated, compared to all other schools we toured. It’s a shame…because clearly there’s a demand for Hullabaloo-type dorms.
Don’t stress out about picking a dorm. 2 years ago my Daughter logged in and there was nothing but the old dorms available (she was excepted Dec 2 so had a somewhat early time). She freaked out! She went in an accepted a room she didn’t want. But don’t stress out! She just kept going back in a few days later and finally was able to switch to a modular. People change their minds and rooms do open up. One even opened up in Hullabaloo but it was a male room and not a female room, so there is always hope.
@pbleigh the thing about White Creek is, you’re somewhat isolated over there-as a freshman-and not that many upperclassmen live on campus. I know that’s where the land is, but they should really tear down-or drastically renovate-an existing dorm or two. But…they didn’t ask me ?
On our Housing tour, the guide did say A&M asks students to list their preferences, simply so the university could keep track of what style is most popular. Who knows if that is accurate, but it does make sense.
@lalalouie it is good to know some beds/rooms do come available. However, my daughter has a roomie, and I know the chances of 2 beds in Hullabaloo, or a Northside Modular, opening up at the same time are very slim. My daughter has the higher pull time-September acceptance-so hoping something they want is available!
OMG @luckyaggie I just spit out my water when I read your hunger games reference. Too funny.
Last year my son paid housing (let’s be real, I paid housing) deposit on Dec. 15th (the day accepted). One of his roomies was accepted in September and paid his deposit in September. BOTH kids got the exact same time slot… May 25th at like 1:00. So don’t worry LuckyAggie. It’ll work out. As for going in blind… that’s college for ya. It’s sometimes better to not really know your roomie. You don’t have to be besties either or even hang out. It can be a totally benign relationship that just works without all of the drama. As long as you are respectful and kind to each other, it’ll be fantastic!!! My daughter went random every year and it worked out. Some were sooooo different than her, but they just coexisted and never had any issues.
If my son has a roommate through roommate finder and they have each requested/accepted each other, is that the only information needed to select a room?
In other words, if my son has an earlier time slot in which to choose the room, what information should he have in order to claim the room for the both of them?
Thanks for help!
@cannonmom That should be it. Whoever selects a room will “pull” the person attached with him. You actually assign the room such as Room 123A and Room 123B for a 2 person room. As long as they are linked like you said, it’s easy peasy!
awesome, thank you!!