<p>If you apply now and get a regular housing contract now, you will get a room on campus in July. If you are a man, there may be a risk you end up in Simkins, and if you are a woman, there is definitely a risk that you will end up in Littlefield. UT Housing might be able to tell you whether they think you are likely to be okay for Jester. It is huge. </p>
<p>That is the first thing I would do if I were you - call UT Housing and tell them you really want to live in Jester, what do they think your chances are? I bet they won’t want to put it in writing but I bet they can give you a good idea of the odds.</p>
<p>If UT Housing is not reassuring that the room will be in Jester and you absolutely will not live on campus unless the room you get is in Jester, forget the on campus idea and just go for Dobie or the Castilian. Both are fine. FWIW, my daughter heard from friends in Castilian that last year there were still rooms available there almost up until classes started.</p>
<p>Thanks MidwestMom2Kids,
In your opinion, which off campus dorm is better for freshmen, in another word, which one is is more like Jester? Dobie or Castilian.
Is dobie and castilian as sociable as Jester? easy to make friends, etc. Because, honestly iam not that outgoing. </p>
<p>If you were in my spot which dorm would you pick?</p>
<p>RiceUp, i went downstairs today to the leasing office at Castilian and printed out this thread (the last few pages anyways for them). They said that they do often have a few spaces left right up until move-in because from time to time they will have an international student cancel or someone not make payment in accordance to the lease contract. Castilian has long hallways and everyone meets in the middle to take the elevator down to the cafe and class. There is one big study lounge and one big laundry room. Castilian is setup better to be the social dorm – Dobie is not set up as well.</p>
<p>I don’t know much about Dobie but I have heard it is fine. I think Castilian’s location is really quite convenient. I’d go for on campus if at all possible.</p>
<p>Thanks again!
Ya I have nailed down to Jester and Castilian now. Do yall know how long after I payed the $50 housing fee, will I know If I have a spot on Jester. I called them and they told me only after you pay the $300 and pick your top 4 choices, you will then know if you got your first choice dorm. Is that right?</p>
<p>Once I payed the 300 dollars. It cant be refunded if they didnt gave me Jester and choose not choose to live On campus. So right now I really have to make a choice between If I want to take the risk for signing for jesters. B/C I havent even payed the 50… should I just sign up for On campus and hoping i would get Jester not somehting like Simkin.</p>
<p>Generally speaking you won’t get your exact dorm and room until mid July.</p>
<p>I have never heard of someone who wanted Jester getting placed in Simkins - That was just me speculating - you know, Jester is huge and Simkins is small. (I have heard of women who applied late being placed in Littlefield because this is what was left. People generally like Littlefield though.)</p>
<p>Hey RiceUp, Here I think Midwest Mom is right, if you want Jester you’ll probably get it – that’s because the majority of students do not want Jester. The building is Huge – its one of the biggest dorms in the United States – and the one complaint is that you’ll feel like you’re just a number living there – even if you have a good RA. But, if Jester is where you want to be you’ll probably get it if you put that as your preference. Have you visited both – you may want to see the size of both Castilian and Jester before making your decision if you can wait that long.</p>
<p>thanks alot longhorndude and MidwestMom2Kids</p>
<p>Ya I am planning to visit the dorm this Saturday. When I called Castilian, the tone of leasing officer’s voice is telling me castilian is going to be full in any time I dont act now. I asked them about people cancelling or not making payment as you two stated, but they told me you cant be sure. Now after hearing from you two, I think I will have a spot on Jester. I know for sure Castilian got better environment, food, etc than Jester’s, but it is also 1k more expensive.<br>
If I am applying for on campus housing, what do you think should be my first 5 choices.
rulling out san janico and duren as it is full long time ago. (I am going to major in business, in case that would effect your choice )</p>
<p>I found a roomate who’s a business major who want’s to live in prather or brackenridge while I want to live in kinsolving which is close to the communications building. The thing is I don’t know how good my priority is. I know there are quite a few people who are still turning in housing app. but I know kinsolving is on the more competitive side, altho not like san jacinto and duren. If the answer is that I don’t have much of a chance then, could someone tell me how long it takes to walk from prather/brackenridge to the communications building? I saw the campus map already so I know it’s far…</p>
<p>Does anyone think that Jester living is too distracting for a student who needs discipline to study? Son’s other school option is U of AL w/suite-style honors living (4 people in an apt in a quiet dorm). I thought Jester at UT sounded like a great way to meet people (not as isolating as a suite) but then again, maybe it’s not condusive to studying?</p>
<p>RiceUp, I would put Duren first, then san Jac and then just about everything else ahead of Jester – just because of how BIG it is. That’s just my personal opinion but I do have about 20 or so friends that live in Jester and most don’t even see each other on a daily basis. I still think you should check out Castilian as an option and then make your choice. You’ll know what is going to work for you once you’ve seen both places. The study lounge at Castilian is nice, clean and always quiet. You would certainly get studying done there and it has a really awesome view of the UT tower. Pretty impressive.</p>
<p>longhorndude, I would put Duren and San Jac 1st and 2nd too, but I have a problem financially as both Duren and San J are 2k more than Jester. While Castilian is 1k more. But I do plan on visiting Castilian though. Btw, do you know how far is Castilian from the Business building?</p>
<p>Remember, if you live on campus, you have dining dollars and can use them all over campus. If you live in Castilian, your meal plan only works in the Castilian. It would be inconvenient to go back there to eat when you have classes on the other side of campus.</p>
<p>Remember though that the amount of dining dollars you get from the on-campus contract is not enough for meals every single day.
$1300 dining dollars and $300 bevo bucks is not enough. If you do the math - 3.52 for breakfast, 3.90 for lunch and 4.28 for dinner you’ll see that if you wanted to eat on campus for every meal you could only do so for 115 days with $1300. The Castilian unlimited meal plan is just that – unlimited. You can eat there 4 times a day if you want.</p>
<p>MaineLonghorn – don’t fault me because I’m actually happy with the decision I made to live at the Castilian. I did sign up on here as a service (like MidWestMom) to help students see what’s all out there I suppose.</p>