<p>Bartlett has better food. Although people say BJ and Pierce are bad, in comparison with other college dorm food, they are gourmet. You can't really go wrong with your dining hall.</p>
<p>I personally like BJ food a lot better than Bartlett, even though Bartlett gets better rep. I think the Bartlett food is too rich. Whenever I go there I get sick!</p>
<p>If you want higher quality food, go for Bartlett. If you want pretty good food at an all-you-can-eat dining hall, go with BJ. I've never been to Pierce, so I can't say much about it.</p>
<p>So how long before it's impossible to get first choice of dorms? Ah.. I suppose april is too late.</p>
<p>There aren't really any dorms that nobody wants, so you can still get your first choice as the last person to submit. That said, SH (especially) and BJ go fast.</p>
<p>EA kids get housing preference until a certain date (April 15th, maybe? I think that's what it was last year). So, until then, EA will still have preference over the RD kids who send in their housing forms immediately after being accepted.
That said, some dorms (S-H) tend to be filled predominantly/entirely by EA kids who send in their forms quite early. Snell's class of 2011 is entirely EA kids (we did a poll during O-Week... nerds!!) and I think Hitchcock is similar. BJ is a bit bigger but still popular. Max P is also quite popular, but is also huge, so there is space for most people who have it as their first choice.
Don't, however, discount the Shoreland- it's a really cool place to live, and the distance is not unmanageable. Breckenridge and Maclean are places that people often forget exist, but they are good places to live and decently easy to get singles in. I won't speak for Broadview or Pierce because I don't really have much experience with either of the two.</p>
<p>what are the chances of getting a single room as a first year?</p>
<p>Very good, even for regular decision applicants. If you really want a single, I'd guess that you can probably get one if you apply to the right dorms within a reasonable amount of time.</p>
<p>Yeah, I do want a single. I don't want to be in a house/dorm that isn't social, though. I consider myself an introvert, and my "alone time" is VERY important to me. I think I get my energy from being alone. But I also love people and being around them. I just need to escape sometimes.</p>
<p>since different things are more important to different peope could anyone make seperate lists for each aspect of a dorm and list each dorm comparatively </p>
<p>like </p>
<p>social (from most to least):
1.
2.
3.</p>
<p>spacious (from most to least):
1.
2.
3.</p>
<p>most convenient to get around campus (from most to least):
1.
2.
3.</p>
<p>and other aspects maybe? but what I REALLY wanna know: a list of the dorms that have private bathrooms! It would be much appreciated if somebody took the time to do that. Thanks!</p>
<p>Good call. I'll do my own take:</p>
<p>Most Social: (Where "social" is equivalent to noise and parties)
1. Pierce
2. Shoreland
3. Palevsky/Hitchcock</p>
<p>Hitchcock is a different kind of social.... a little bit less Bar Night, a little bit more philosophical discussions at 3am. Every time I've been in Hitchcock, though, there always seem to be a ton of people mulling about. I don't know if this is a valid impression or not.</p>
<p>Most spacious:
1. Broadview/Shoreland (depends on the living setup)
3. BJ (there is no such thing as a bad BJ room)</p>
<p>Most convenient:
1. Palevsky
2. Snell-Hitchcock
3. Pierce/BJ (Pierce is a little bit north of the quads; BJ a little bit south)</p>
<p>The only true private bathrooms are in Broadview and Shoreland. Palevsky kids have really nice bathrooms that are shared with the suite of 4. BJ kids have hallway bathrooms, but since a hall is only 10 or so, the bathrooms feel private (aaannnnd, unlike in Max P, people come in and clean them every day).</p>
<p>Which houses have music rooms? I think SH and BJ do, but are there other areas? Are instruments provided (besides piano)?</p>
<p>This isn't really a thread for parents, but since no one posting on it seems to know anything about Maclean, and one of my kids was in it and I visited a few times, I'll give some impressions:</p>
<p>Basically, it's a lot like unalove is describing BJ -- all singles, shared single-gender hallway bathrooms (about 6 people per), lots of people hanging out in the hallways and common rooms, nice, laid-back feel. The motto was "We're off the grid", because all the university maps cut off a block south of it, but it's really only a block-and-a-half farther than Pierce from anything, and closer than any dorm other than Pierce to Ratner gym. </p>
<p>The rooms aren't palatial, but certainly decent-sized for singles. There are a bunch of common rooms where more than 4-5 people can hang out at a time. And the special feature of the dorm is a gigantic institutional kitchen that kids can use for a small, once-a-year fee. If your way of dealing with stress is making brownies or baking bread at 2 am, or eating the stuff that your friends made then, it's a great place.</p>
<p>Most dorms have basement music rooms, I think. Max and the Shoreland have a bunch of them. The pianos aren't in good shape. The rooms are usually used for activities other than practicing music, though bands practice in them occasionally, and I've heard a violin or two while down there before. I think there are pretty good pianos in the Shoreland lobby and the Max East lounge. People who want to do serious practicing will want to go to go to the music building and get a real practice room.</p>
<p>Question question question...</p>
<p>How would sending in our deposits now perhaps affect decisions for merit scholarships come April? Because aren't they at least partly to draw prospective students to the University? </p>
<p>Even so, as trivial as it sounds, I'm really anxious about housing. Counting myself a Chicago fanatic, my heart is set on Snell-Hitchcock. :D</p>
<p>If you want SH, send in your deposit soon so you can send in your housing forms. SH goes the fastest (even though BJ is far cooler!!).</p>
<p>The housing forms can be filled out online, no?</p>
<p>how fast is fast for SH? any accepted students already submit housing? i'm waiting for the financial aid packet before anything official...
also: what would be the most "social" without necessarily having alcohol? i can't stand drinking but i like having friends haha</p>
<p>One of my friends was admitted EA and didn't send a housing deposit in until April. He got Hitchcock. Then again, a lot of people I know in BJ had S-H as their first choice and were also EA. (I know, getting into dorms is like applying to colleges all over again!)</p>
<p>I think non-alcohol-related fun potential is high in all of the dorms....probably Hitchcock would be the best for somebody who feels uncomfortable around a lot of alcohol but still likes to hang out with a lot of people. I've been to Hitchcock parties where I haven't had anything to drink and I'm usually not the only one who, when offered something to drink, declines.</p>
<p>I'm torn between BJ and Palevsky :/</p>
<p>Coin toss? lol</p>