<p>Congrats to those admitted to ucla! One of the things you're going to have to decide soon is where to request housing, and (for some people) whether you should room with a friend. I want to see if we can get a discussion going on this. I have my ideas, but as college students you're going to find there is a wide range of views on almost anything. So I'm hoping there will be posts expressing different viewpoints.</p>
<p>For frosh housing, I recommend the traditional dorms (residence halls). When you start at ucla its easy to feel lost in a crowd of 20,000 students. You want to make some new friends, see familiar faces around campus. Frosh year is a golden time for just that, since the other frosh are in the same boat as you. And living in a dorm is a good way to meet lots of people fast. The other housing options tend to be less conducive to meeting people, with separate entries and no long common hallways. </p>
<p>As for rooming with a friend from home, my advice is not to do it. HS students aren't used to sharing a room so if they do it with a stranger they are usually respectful of each other which makes it work out ok. You don't need to be friends with your roomate, which is often a concern many people have rooming with a stranger -- eg. "what if we don't get along?" Its just a shared living situation, and all you need is mutual respect and courtesy. Of course many roomates do become good friends.</p>
<p>The problem with HS friends is two-fold. First friends often make assumptions that you wouldn't make with a stranger -- it's ok to borrow without asking, having people over at all hours, etc. This causes friction, and it can be difficult to work this out with your buddy. Second, college is a time many people reinvent themselves. Most HS's are insular and you see the same people who you've known forever. In college you can break out of the mold everyone put you in back in HS, but having a friend in your room who knew you one way and expects you to stay that way can cause issues.</p>
<p>but what about the public shared bathrooms??? Doesn't that get uncomfortable or do you get used to it after awhile? I stayed at Hedrick last summer for a conference and I hated it!! The room was drab, the closets kind of moldy. Maybe this is just a problem at Hedrick.</p>
<p>im a freshman here right now in rieber...i am a weird case because i happen to think i made a big mistake choosing res halls. i was actually supposed to be in de neve and switched last minute, and i wish i hadnt. public shared bathrooms are nothing really though, maybe esp because i live right next to it so it doesnt feel like im going out of my way to use it. rieber's construction noise has been terrible (i love on the north side), i dont like my floor much, hate the infamous stairs lol...im living in de neve next year :) i thought the closets smelled pretty weird at first too but either i dont notice now or it stopped haha.</p>
<p>What about the newer plazas? They combine the featues of the res halls you mention (long hallways, common entry) with the luxury of plazas (larger rooms, newer, nicer, more private bathrooms).</p>
<p>newer plazas (RV/RT/HS) arent as bad as sunset/de neve. but having a social floor in a plaza is more hit and miss. my floor is dead. other floors are a lot more social. its also very dependent on you...if you want to meet people, you will.</p>
<p>you can always live in a plaza and hang out in your friends' residence hall floors. :p</p>
<p>to the OP, if you didnt like hedrick, you wont like any of the other residence halls; theyre pretty much all the same.</p>
<p>I would recommend living in De Neve over the residential halls... the rooms are bigger and newer, you get private bathrooms and private air conditioning, and it's closer to campus. It's a more comfortable and studious environment -- if you're willing to choose academics over partying. Really helped me with my GPA last year. :rolleyes:</p>
<p>i currently live in de neve and chose to live in de neve over the res halls for my freshman year...i dont regret a thing...the private bathrooms are awesome, there is alot of space (not to mention tons of closet space) and my floor was super social....maybe i was lucky though heh</p>
<p>I'm a fresh and live in De Neve. I absolutely LOVE it. Trust me, comfort and convenience MATTER. (especially if you're a girl! having your own bathroom is awesome.) Sociability really depends on the floor and the people in it--it's really what you make of it. However, if you are nervous and worried when it comes to things like meeting new people,then the res halls are better? (but I mean you can meet people by joining clubs, doing all the first week activities, etc...)</p>
<p>can u request a place to live or is just assignment based on the info u put (double room and preferences)? I really want to live in de neve or sunset if i can because both have private bathrooms and de neve is the newest.</p>
<p>can anyone describe a suite compared to a res hall? </p>
<p>also, as long as you apply by may 1, you're in the consideration? meaning, it wouldnt make a difference if you applied today or april 15 for housing.</p>
<p>Yes, could someone clear ^^^^^^ up, please?
Is it REALLY first come first serve on housing, or as long as you apply by May 1st you have the same chances at your first pick as someone who applied April 1st?</p>