<p>My S lived in Horton - right next to Ho Jo - not a huge partier,and the noise at all hours can be annoying - but he made lots of good friends, and being in a “freshman” dorm it’s very easy to meet people. He never rode the bus - enjoyed the walk … said it made him get up on time to get to class. I think the dorms are what you make of them … it’s all part of the experience.</p>
<p>I like hearing all of your perspectives. I’ve been reading the FB comments & most seem very excited about their assignments. Some even got north assignments & want to trade to be south. I guess these are looking for the social/party atmosphere. My son is looking forward to meeting new people & forming new friendships but is just not into the noise & drinking. He is happy with his suite location. He has a back room by the bathroom, behind the elevator & near the kitchen. I think this will be especially noisy despite whatever edge of convenience comes with it. I was wondering a out the balconies…looking at the layout for HJ, it shows a weird partition between the walls…I’ve never seen that before & wondered if it was a storage closet or something? Also, do all the exterior rooms have balcony access? The layout drawing doesn’t really show that. Seems unsafe to me…also, does this make theft a problem? Thanks!</p>
<p>HoJo is in an X formation - the center of the X is where the elevators are located, so when you get off the elevator on your floor you are in the area where the kitchen and lounge are, etc. All the suites run along the balconies, and each suite has a door. You enter your suite from the open balcony and there is a little hallway that connects the four rooms. There are rooms to your immediate right and left in the suite and then two rooms flanking the bathroom. All the rooms have a small window - the two exterior rooms have windows that look out onto the balcony and the rooms flanking the bathroom have windows that look out at the other side of the dorm.</p>
<p>My room in HoJo was in the suite immediately off the elevator area, and our window looked directly at the stairwell. This kind of sucked because my roommate and I never felt like we could have our blinds up because it was a heavy traffic area. I know the girls who lived in the rooms flanking the bathroom could really, really hear the shower, etc. What can I say… There are always pros and cons for all the rooms. I think it would have been better if we had lived in a suite farther down the wing because we would have at least had a better view! Theft is not a problem as long as you shut/lock your room when you leave it. We would usually shut our suite door at night too to block out more noise.</p>
<p>My son’s suite is immediately behind the elevators & his room is one that backs to the bathroom :-/ So of I understand correctly, there is no interior hall? You always enter the suite hall from the outside balcony?</p>
<p>Right - no interior hall and you always enter the suite from the outside balcony. It sounds like your son’s suite is in the same location mine was (although I was a few floors up from the 2nd floor).</p>
<p>Thanks jambaby! 2 more questions…are the elevators, kitchen & lounge doors enclosed/under roof, or are they “outside” too? And, from some picks I’ve seen, it appears the toilet area has only a half wall barrier but basically right out there w/no privacy…is that correct?</p>
<p>The elevator/kitchen/lounge area is enclosed on each floor with doors on either side that give you access to the wings/suites of the building and the exposed staircases. Yes, the lovely bathroom design only includes a half-wall barrier next to the toilet - however there will be a classy shower curtain strung up so it is like a private stall, lol. Tell your son to start enjoying the nice bathroom at home while he has the chance! ; -) You CAN lock the bathroom door which is a plus (for you, not for your suitemates, ha ha). I’m pretty sure I always locked the door just to avoid curtain awkwardness.</p>
<p>The bathroom has a urinal and a toilet, which was nice for the girl’s suites!!</p>
<p>Lovely! He’ll explode I guess…so modest!</p>
<p>Hey…on a different note…can anyone tell me what cell phone carrier is best on campus? Time for an upgrade & want to make sure he will have service there???</p>
<p>We have sprint - and he just took his cell phone from home and used it there. Same number.</p>
<p>We only live 25 mins from campus. He has T-Mobile but contract has been up since January. I suggested he wait until a college decision was made before switching. He wants a new phone for graduation & will probably be Verizon or At&t. Have heard mixed reviews about both so hoping to find more current info from actual students. We gave up on Sprint several years ago because of spotty coverage in our neighborhood & his high school.</p>