which DORMS are better

Colleges and Universities A-Z Carnegie Mellon University
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<p>Mudge has a piano in one of the lounges, I think, and Morewood has two practice rooms, each with a piano. Other dorms may have pianos, but I'm not sure.</p>

<p>Veronica is kind of dark inside, and in the same or worse shape than Cathedral Mansions. From there, it'll probably be a 10 - 15 minute walk to campus - shorter to Wean than the University Center. It's right next to Catman, which might be nice, as Catman has many more students, and has storage in the basement, which is convenient. It's within 5 minutes of Craig Street, which has a bunch of restaurants that are pretty good.</p>

<p>In Veronica or Cathedral Mansions or any apartment building, don't be afraid to submit maintenance requests, because it can take awhile to get things fixed (CMU doesn't actually own the buildings, so doesn't have a huge amount of control over when things get fixed), and the buildings are old, like everything in Pittsburgh.</p>

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<p>thanks KrazyKow</p>

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<p>Also don't forget you can submit a housing form requesting a change to other dorms if the situation is unpleasant - chances per dorm vary considerably but still it's an option. They place the temp housing first and then go to the waiting lists. Obviously it's easier for Housing if everyone stays put but they will honor requests if possible. You have to be prepared to move quickly if something opens up but should be able to get help from RA's, some of whom have cars.</p>

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<p>Hi, I just received my housing 3 days ago and I got Morewood Gardens. I got a prime double... the only downside of this is that I am not in E-Tower, which is all freshman :( Does anyone know how Morewood Gardens is and will freshman still be able to fit in? I'm worried it will be harder to make friends and get along with my floor. Does CMU house freshman together on the same floor or will it probably be mixed? Thanks</p>

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<p>I lived in Morewood Gardens last year, as a sophomore. It's convenient, and you'll still be near E-Tower- you won't even have to go outside to walk over and see your friends there. There probably won't be many other freshmen on your floor, but CMU does try to house freshmen with freshmen if possible, so your roommate might be a freshman. Just go to floor events and spend time in your lounge and you'll be able to meet people on your floor. It will be a bit harder than if you were in E-Tower, but if you just put in a bit of effort you'll be fine. I would suggest hanging out in lounges in E-Tower during your first few weeks (provided that they're not temp housing...), if you're concerned about meeting freshmen.</p>

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<p>Out of curiosity, which fraternity houses are the nicest of all the houses in the CMU quad ... just wonderin'</p>

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<p>Mathson got Shirley Apts. I'm a little disappointed it's only 10% freshmen.</p>

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<p>How did you find out your housing? Did you receive correspondence from CMU or just see it posted on the Student Info Online website?</p>

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<p>website. Nothing in the mail yet.</p>

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<p>I've seen Shirley before. It's a pretty nice place, and I think the community is good there.</p>

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<p>We just found out that our son will be in London Terrace...after reading your post we are, of course, somewhat concerned since he will be a first year student this fall. What is the social atmosphere like at London Terrace? Is there one? Are the floors co-ed or is it co-ed every other room on a given floor? The pictures on-line look decent--do you know if any renovations were done over the summer? They will have Comcast cable modems but no wireless. Will that be a significant disadvantage (not having wireless)? What would be the best meal plan for a resident of London Terrace? How close to the CFA building is it (walking distance)? Do these apartments get cold in the winter? Do we have to provide mini-blinds for the windows (for privacy)? Do the bathrooms have only a tub, or is there a shower in the tub? Do we have to provide the shower curtain or is there a sliding door? Is the plumbing adequate or do the showers turn freezing cold half-way through one's shower? Is the water pressure decent or does it dribble? Thanks for reading all these crazy questions and for any info/help/guidance you can provide!</p>

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<p>I thought the rooms in Shirley looked surprisingly large and they have kitchens! Mathson stayed next door at Webster when he visited so he actually feels comfortable about the extra distance. Since I know the walk is likely to be the only exercise he gets I'm actually more happy than not about the location!</p>

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<p>Does CMU notify freshman before move-in of who their assigned roommate is and what the roommate's email address is? If so, how (andrew email?)</p>

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<p>My d lived in Webster and I do not know all the details but it did have a shower curtain and mini blinds but we bought one dark curtain to hang over the window in her bedroom as the blinds do not block any light at all (they are vinyl).
They get a letter with the roommates name and phone number, don't know about email.</p>

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<p>I have never been in London Terrace, so my responses are in general about CMU housing.</p>

<p>Within an apartment, there is a single gender, but unless there is some odd coincidence, there will be both genders on each floor. (The stats on the housing suggest that two out of three floors of Shirley were all-male last year.)</p>

<p>It's unlikely that much was done in the way of renovations for any of the apartment buildings (except Doherty, Maggie Mo, and Woodlawn), because CMU does not actually own these buildings, but instead leases large blocks of apartments and then acts as a landlord to CMU students living in the buildings through them. Webster, Fairfax, and Cathedral Mansions (and possible some other apartments), have 'normal' people living in the buildings, but in general a whole floor will be CMU students.</p>

<p>I think that apartments usually provide a wired router or switch, so that multiple people can use the internet, but for flexibility you'll probably want to buy either really long ethernet cords (newegg.com will have good prices for these) or a wireless router. If you don't have CMU wireless coverage, and instead have Comcast cable, you are allowed to have your own wireless router.</p>

<p>The best meal plan for anyone is probably the cheapest meal plan that you're allowed to get. I think that students in off-campus apartments are allowed to be on the commuter meal plan, at least second semester. That might be a good idea if you can, both because the normal cheapest meal plan usually has more food than a single person can eat (especially if they don't eat regular meals), and because then there isn't the burden of going back to campus to eat dinner. There are quite a few restaurants on Craig street where one can eat for $5-10, and these would be closer than campus. I think that at the rates CMU charges, it's around $7/meal (no guarantees that my math on a meal plan from 2 years ago is correct). However, a commuter meal plan might not be a good idea if you have a child that would decide to eat exclusively ramen to save money.</p>

<p>I think that London Terrace is the farthest building from campus, so it's probably 15-20 minutes walking to CFA. There are shuttles, too, but I think they often take longer than walking.</p>

<p>Every building I've been in has provided some sort of blinds, and every apartment bathroom I've seen has been a tub/shower combination. I think CMU provides the shower curtain. I've only lived in Morewood E Tower/Morewood Gardens, but I've always been happy with availability of hot water and the water pressure.</p>

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<p>Well, I answered all relevant questions in a PM, but I need to address some things that KrazyKow said because they are incorrect. Anything that she said and I don't address below is correct.</p>

<p>"Webster, Fairfax, and Cathedral Mansions (and possible some other apartments), have 'normal' people living in the buildings, but in general a whole floor will be CMU students."</p>

<p>In Webster and Fairfax, CMU students are placed close together but will never occupy an entire floor. I can't speak for other apartments except for: London Terrace, Shirley, Shady Oak, and Veronica are 100% CMU students.</p>

<p>"I think that students in off-campus apartments are allowed to be on the commuter meal plan, at least second semester."</p>

<p>Any student living off campus is entitled to change meal plans to the Commuter plan during the 2-week meal change period both first and second semester. That means you have 2 weeks to change. Meal periods are two weeks long. The general rule is you can always upgrade meal plans but can seldom downgrade meal plans, so I recommend everyone get the cheapest meal plan possible because you can always upgrade. As far as I remember, you can upgrade at any time of the year, but I could be wrong.</p>

<p>"I think that London Terrace is the farthest building from campus"</p>

<p>Shirley is the farthest from Campus. LT is on Craig St. Webster and Shirley are both on Ditherege (*spelling), which is one block beyond Craig.</p>

<p>A few other notes:
Shirley is only 1 block away from LT and has e-suds, which correlates to free laundry. Friendship is golden (you'll need a friend's card).</p>

<p>Constantly file maintenance requests and complain until things get fixed. It is unlikely that everything in your room will work when you get there, so do a thorough inspection (water, doors, lights, furniture, windows, ceilings (look for water damage), floors, and even walls.</p>

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<p>Mathmom - You seem to be quite the active poster here and are apparently quite proud of your son. But you keep referring to him as Mathson, not just Son or "S" as others do. Not to be disrespectful, but why don't you identify him by name, initial, or something other than Mathson? (Maybe the name of his high school.) What happens if while attending CMU he decides to not major in math? Maybe he'll want to do modern dance or art?. Will you call him danceson? I've dealt with similar situations in my practice, and I fear that you may be trying to live thru him and/or are putting him under excessive pressure. If you want to keep calling him mathson, so be it. Just my two ducats! And congratulations on becoming a proud CMU parent!</p>

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<p>He's not going to major in math. :) It's just a nickname.</p>

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<p>How did some people find out where they're dorming already? whats the student info online website?</p>

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<p>pinkpig: i think i already posted this on another thread, but here it is again:</p>

<p>acis.as.cmu.edu/sio/
Go to Aid/Account and choose Academic Year 07-08 and press Submit.</p>

<p>Your dorm info will be along the lines of
29-jun-2007 02-jul-2007 "Dorm Name" XXXX.00 0.00</p>

<p>HappyDaysCMU: I think you're reading a bit too much into the nickname...</p>