<p>Hey everyone,
I was accepted into the Swanson School of Engineering and Honors and though I have not sent in my deposit, I am almost completely set on Pitt.</p>
<p>The housing situation is interesting to me, and i have read up plenty. On my visit in the fall, they took us through the Towers, and something didn't sit quite right with me. I'll be visiting again and i'm sure i'll see the Towers again, but still i'm hesitant. Now though I'm an engineer, i'm still interested in the social scene and going to parties next year and getting the full college experience i've read the Towers offer. Through everything I've seen and read, Sutherland seems awesome. Lighter, more spacious rooms, without the stacked sardines feeling of the towers. I wouldn't mind the walk up the hill that everyone complains about, especially considering the engineering buildings sit part of the way up the hill anyways, but I'm curious if Sutherland is the right place for me if i'm looking to have a good time on the weekends and meet LOTS of people?</p>
<p>Before i get the SPACE and Honors housing recommendations, I am not interested. It's between Sutherland and the Towers.</p>
<p>Just remember, you may request Sutherland, Towers or any other residence hall but you are not guaranteed to be assigned there. Many students end up in places they didn’t ask for including the lounges in Towers (which isn’t that bad since they are bigger than the rooms). What is wrong with SPACE? It is a way to be guaranteed a room in Tower A unless you want a single in Tower C.</p>
<p>MTnest: I know that no housing request is guaranteeed, but I would like to at least try to put in a request and see what happens with it. I’m not interested in SPACE because all through high school i’ve been in classes with kids who are nothing like me, and though it has helped me to do well, I don’t talk to anyone, including my friends, in school. Next year i really want to live with people like me, and from what I’ve heard i’m not sure SPACE and other similar housing assignments at other schools can provide that (a friend at UConn was forced to live honors and he hates the social environment).</p>
<p>My daughter, who as a freshman was majoring in physics and Japanese, lived in Sutherland. She opted to apply to live in the international living/learning community because of her interest in languages and cultures. I would call it a disaster; however, it was extremely social and if that is what you are looking for perhaps it would work for you.</p>
<p>The main complaints my daughter had were that there were not many people around who were studying the hard sciences and she really had to look to find someone to study with. Additionally, it was very noisy in her suite and most of her suitemates were humanities majors and taking classes that started much later in the day, so they were up VERY late socializing. </p>
<p>My daughter is an introvert, a fairly dedicated student, and does need sleep, so Sutherland was not a good fit. She also was what I would consider fairly sheltered socially, so she learned many things that first year–which could have occured in any dorm situation.</p>
<p>Well, you can be on the SPACE floors but that is only 4 or 5 floors in Tower A – I am sure there are PLENTY of highly social students on the other floors of Tower A. From what I recall, there were quite a few “highly social” students on my son’s floor. It was a good fit for my son as he could be as social as he wanted to be and still have people to study/discuss engineering homework/projects with. I hope you get the housing you want :)</p>
<p>Meh… I’d really recommend doing Towers. The size isn’t that big of a deal, and you’ll get used to it. </p>
<p>Towers is much more social, and you’ll meet many more people. The layout of Sutherland is a bit detrimental to meeting people – for the most part, you’ll only get to know people right around you. The rooms are set back into the walls, which makes it even less social. Compare this to Towers, where all of the rooms are situated right along the hallway – you’ll meet more people by default.</p>
<p>I actually moved from Sutherland to Tower A in the second semester of my freshman year. It was a great decision, and i don’t regret it one bit. Sutherland was too isolated and too party-oriented for me. </p>
<p>Let me know if you have any other questions.</p>
This thread dates back to 2011 so you likely won’t hear back from that poster. Sutherland is on upper campus - in 2011 it was flanked by frat row - since then some of those frats have been converted to dorms - so it’s not exactly the same. Really all dorms will be social - Towers maybe more party/social than Sutherland in genl but it isnt like all honors kids are quiet bookish studious angels…at least not 100% of the time.
