I was hoping for some advice from the upperclassmen in this forum.
Looking at housing for Fall 2016 (application due Jan 22)
Have a group of 3 (not inc me) close friends. We want to house together but, since we all want singles, we know it may not be possible.
Off-campus would be feasible, but I believe that on-campus is required for 2nd years.
We also want to keep the price at a standard level - so no East Village or West C
Will we have to split up? Or can we make something work by rooming together with another group? Or, if one of us agrees to a double, are there any 3-single 1-double rooms or 3-single 2-double rooms that would be feasible for a 2nd year group?
The division of single and double rooms at different locations is ambiguous on the website, so some more insight would definitely help.
Beware of off-campus housing costs. It may seem cheaper at first but there are many hidden costs: realtor fees, one month’s rent security deposit, sometimes utility costs, furniture, 12 month leases etc. etc.
You will not get 4 singles in an apartment as sophomores - they will be taken by the time you go to choose. Try Willis - you can live 4 together in an apartment with 2 doubles and it is lower priced. It is very popular with sophomores!
You will also need someone in your group of 4 that has a ton of approved AP credits to stand above other sophomores credit-wise when it comes to lottery assignment. Absent that or a randomly lucky number which will still be below others with more credits, you may need to ride this out for a while. It does help that you are 4 and some of the assignments want a complete group.
My son was shocked to discover that even his worst case scenario was long gone before his lottery slot came up. He put things in the hands of housing and didn’t know his assignment until July. Worked out well but different from plan A.
Number of credits doesn’t make a difference in the housing lottery. It’s just done by year. (I came in with 45 credits from AP/IB and sophomore year I had a lottery number so low that I didn’t get to pick my housing, like halplokum’s son. I put down who I wanted to room with and my top choices and was placed. I ended up in honors housing with the rest of my group of 3, so it worked out.)
I agree that you won’t get 4 singles sophomore year (are there even apartments of all singles at the standard price level?) Your best bet for standard level is Willis, if you can get in. It’s doubles, but they’re one of the best in that price category - aka one of the few that has dishwashers. I lived there for a summer and it was quite nice.
^^^Surprises me about credits not mattering. All of my son’s friends that got the best numbers had advanced standing due to credits so the conclusion was that was the reason. Sorry if that was incorrect info and I defer to nano on this one.
And yeah, the credits thing is unfortunate since we have someone in our group who came with a little over 100 credits from community college (which I didn’t know was possible as a freshman but transcripts don’t lie). But I emailed that question to housing a few days ago, who confirmed.
And I’ve been told Willis a few times - which sounds awesome! But, with significant others at different schools who come to visit, doubles can be pretty inconvenient.
Another question then: would it be difficult to get a single room in IV or east village?
Oh- and another option - if we split up into two and each find two other people who want doubles - would it be feasible to be in a 4-person with two singles and a double? I see some options on Huntington and St. Stephens, but don’t know how quickly they will be taken.
credits get you better registration numbers - not housing numbers
Yes, IV singles are pretty easy to get - but they don’t have a kitchen and require a meal plan. Most sophomores want to cook their own food. You guys could probably snatch 4 singles in IV (2 groups of 2 in connecting singles on the same floor). The non-freshman designated IV rooms don’t fill up.
All suites style rooms with any singles in them will be gone by the time you choose.
In general, single rooms will probably be gone. That said, a good lottery number can net you an apartment with 1-2 singles. It’s a very unlikely scenario you get all 4 singles. Despite the lack of privacy, I would suggest looking for apartments with 2 doubles or 2 singles and a double. The former will be easy, the latter will be hard, and may only be offered in West Village as far as I know. Davenport has 5’s with one single if someone MUST have one and you can find a 5th.
While true, good rules can manage this. I’ve been dealing with this for almost every semester I’ve been here and it’s been generally successful.