Hi everyone

I am going to be a new student at McMaster, and I have a few (maybe stupid) questions regarding residence that I hope you guys could clear up. Any help would be much appreciated.

1) There are many residential buildings at McMaster, such as the Brandon Hall, Matthews Hall, etc. Does the cost of residence vary depending on the building or does it only vary depending on the size of the room? E.g. is a double room at Brandon Hall the same price as a double room at Matthews Hall? NOTE: I won't be living in apartment/suite style residences.

2) I want to have a nice scenic view when I get out of bed in the morning (I am a nature lover lol ). Hence, I came to the conclusion that Brandon Hall would be the residential area of choice for me (based on the virtual tour). However, I researched a little about Brandon Hall and discovered some of its *flaws*, as provided by the "The Pros and Cons to Each of McMaster's 12 Residences" thread by Sabrina Kokosarevic. The major flaw that I have problems with is the communal bathrooms. Is there another residence that is also offers nice views but also have more private bathrooms?

3) How are the life-style themes incorporated into residence buildings? For example, let's say that I want to be a part of the quiet community. Are the residential buildings designed so that each building houses certain types of communities?

If you guys could help provide a more clear picture of the residence experience at McMaster, I would greatly appreciate it.

Thanks again!

- Nash

I believe a double room costs the same regardless of where (although double + washroom obviously costs more than a double without a washroom). The housing website should have all of the costs.

Aomeone correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm not even sure they let you pick/rank buildings anymore. And even if you are allowed to pick, all buildings have rooms facing multiple directions sides, and no building has all of the rooms face a forest or something similarly scenic. For example, Les Prince has half the rooms face the forest and the other half face the road/football field. Brandon has some rooms face other residence buildings. Don't pick a building based on the view because you're not guaranteed that view even if you get the building you want.

1. Cost is only dependent on room type. A Double in Moulton is the same as a double in Whidden.

2. As far as I know, Les Prince is the only building with ensuite bathrooms. When you do your residence application and select your preferences, you can specify a room with a bathroom. As for the view, I stayed there for a couple nights and my room faced the football field. I'm not 100% sure what the other side of the building sees, but I'm guessing it's trees. At least you can watch football games without leaving your bed.

3. I haven't lived in a lifestyle community, but I'm pretty sure they are organized by floor, rather than an entire building (with Wallingford, the all girls rez, being the exception)

There are also some double/single rooms with washrooms in Hedden and others scattered between multiple residences so it's not 100% that you'll end up in Les Prince.

I also just want to say that Hedden is awesome. There's about 2 full washrooms and 1 half washroom for ever 4 rooms. Although they are communal in the sense that they're shared by everyone, they're the one person at a time washrooms that you can lock behind yourself. Also I would just like to add that if you have your own washroom in your room, you're responsible for cleaning it and buying all supplies including toilet paper and cleaning agents. Before coming to Mac, I really wanted a room with a washroom but it's so much easier to just have it cleaned by the custodian every day.

Cleanliness of the washrooms really depend on who lives around your room. However, I'm pretty sure if you fill out the residence questionnaire properly you will get people that live near you that have a similar lifestyle.

Hedden has single washrooms that people share, but they are in the hallways. Other than that LP has washrooms in the room. A few rooms in Brandon have a washroom but its 98% communal. Also, the only building I know of that has a quiet floor is Brandon Hall floors 7 or 8-11.

There are rooms with washrooms inside them (single and double) in Hedden

1) As said earlier, you can choose the room type but not where. I found doubles in Mathews are sometimes verrrry small, while in Mckay I had a double and have a shared, but individual bathroom with a locking door was nice.

2) As for views, since you can't choose which building or where your room is, the view is not guaranteed.

3) Although the application for residence asked pretty general questions about how social you are, etc. I found it did a good job of placing people. I said I liked to keep my room quieter and I was in the quiet half of the building while the area on the other side of the common room (it split the building in 2) was very loud and social. Just fill out the form honestly and it should place you pretty well.

how does the residence waiting list work? does someone have to drop out of residence for someone else to get in?

Yes. Or potentially someone who was guaranteed residence drops below the required average and then they get kicked out so the next person on the waiting list takes their spot

so how many people on the waiting list in into residence first year?

Originally Posted by STAR_Lord

so how many people on the waiting list in into residence first year?

Usually >100 but it varies depending on interest.

are the off campus living places furnished?

It depends on the place. Each place has different conditions and you'll need to speak with each individual landlord. The ads on macoffcampus.mcmaster .ca usually specify.

Originally Posted by STAR_Lord

are the off campus living places furnished?

Many places will specify, but if you ask the landlord then they may be able to furnish it for you, sometimes at no additional cost. If you do need to furnish it yourself, you can check out facebook selling pages as a lot of people sell furniture very cheaply.

Originally Posted by STAR_Lord

are the off campus living places furnished?

Just so you know, off campus houses are in no way affiliated with McMaster, and are not the same as residences, which are on-campus and operated by McMaster.