What’s the best dorm to live in freshman year? I’m going in DUS. I hear East is kinda the place to be, but what do you guys think? I haven’t visited the campus yet
East is all freshmen so people mix and get to know each other etc. It is also far from everything and noisy…but most people love it because its a true “college experience”.
Pollock is more centralized and has the next highest number of freshmen in it.
The rest of the dorm areas are more upperclassmen, quieter and less interaction.
It really depends on what you want. My daughter lived in East her first year and loved it.
West Halls are closest to engineering and IST, predominantly upperclassmen but not exclusively. It can be quite advantageous to have access to upperclassmen, this isn’t high school where your academic standing is terribly relevant on a daily basis. West commons are also beloved for their cookies
South Halls include the newest dorms, are closest to town, which you may like (shortest walk to stores) or not (more street noise) Also home to most of the sorority floors.
Pollock dorms are fairly centralized and very similar to East and South as far as the actual cement-block cube rooms. Their dining hall is also pretty popular, partly food and partly location.
North Halls will have a 5th building soon, and is the smallest set. Smaller scale living means a little quieter atmosphere. Closest to arts& architecture, ag and business. All rooms are quad suites – 2 students/room, 2 rooms/bathroom. Carpeting and a/c. Many of the buildings are SLOs but not all.(my student lived in North for 3 years and lived it there; plenty of freshmen live here)
East Halls is the biggest set of buildings, high rises and one new one going up. Closest to…well, nothing. Jk. Closest to the IM fields, BLue Band building, stadium. Their commons is as crowded as you would expect.
Schreyer students live together in the honors dorms, centrally located. Schreyer scholars are not required to live there, though. Eastview Terrace suites are not allowed for freshmen. Nittany apartments are a choice but few freshmen get in. (they are by the athletic buildings and Pollock)
Ask yourself : how much walking do I want to do? (stairs, freezing weather, waiting for empty Red loop bus…) Do I need to save some money by choosing a less expensive option? Will I be working, and where? How much “freshman experience” can I handle responsibly? What are my noise/quiet tolerances? Do I study in a library, or in my room better? Do I want to meet people outside my cohort or just freshmen? food doesn’t matter too much, you can eat anywhere. The classroom proximity doesn’t matter too much, you will mostly have Gens as a freshman for much of your schedule.