Hey everyone,
I've got a quick question about residence and would like to hear some opinions.
I'm in second year. This year and last year, I've lived at home because my family's house is pretty close to campus. However, I'm at the point where I need to move out of my family's house. I'm coming to really regret not moving into residence first year. I've saved a lot of money, but I feel like I missed out on a ton of stuff. I'd move into a house, but all of my friends either have houses that are set already or don't want to move out of their parents' houses yet.
I'm debating moving into residence next year. I'd like to do the residence thing when I still have a chance to. I'm wondering - Has anyone moved onto residence who didn't live there first year? Are there many third years who live in residence?
Thanks a ton, any advice/experiences/help/etc. would be appreciated!

guaranteed upper year res is a 9.5 gpa. else ur stuck on a waiting which u prob wont get for sure since priorities are first year>highest years>work ur way down to second year. in conclusion, get a 9.5 or dont bother

Originally Posted by Leeoku

guaranteed upper year res is a 9.5 gpa. else ur stuck on a waiting which u prob wont get for sure since priorities are first year>highest years>work ur way down to second year. in conclusion, get a 9.5 or dont bother

That's not true...
Although you need a 9.5 to be guaranteed a spot, even without a 9.5 you will very likely still get a spot. Most upper years end up living off campus, and 20% of the bed spaces are reserved for upper years, so you should be okay.

Not many upper years live in residence, I have for all my four years at Mac, and I've found that the number of upper years will depend on the building you are in. Les Prince, Keyes and Bates will tend to have more upper years, but you can be placed anywhere since it is lottery based.

In all 3 years that I applied as an upper year, I've gotten a single room. Although it's not guaranteed, it's very likely that you will get a single. If you are coming to res to meet people, then remember that the majority of people in res will be first years.

Other than that, despite not knowing very many people in res (upper years), I've found that the convenience is the best part. I'd definitely recommend it!

i wouldn't say don't bother. Last year I had an 8.7 and missed the payment deadline, so was automatically put on the waiting list but i still got a nice sized single room for this year. There are definitly not as many upper years as their are first years, and what i see tends to happen is that upper years seperate themselves i.e. dont particpate in residence activites etc. In that respect the involvement is up to you really. You can end up doing res stuff and making a lot of first year/a few upper year friends or just blend into the shadows like i do haha.

i would say that it's convenient, but it's really hard to find other upper years (unless you're in keyes). I also found it really difficult to make friends with the first years on my floor because of the lack of upper year welcome week (i.e.: it's not as easy to just meet people). Plus depending on where you are, you could run into a lot of noise issues, partying etc.

Just from my experience, im not enjoying my time as an upper year in residence and am therefore switching to off campus... a single room gets super lonely. i'm sure if i had different neighbors things could have gone a lot differently, but just from my experience, i wouldn't recommend it.

Originally Posted by etoilex3

i would say that it's convenient, but it's really hard to find other upper years (unless you're in keyes). I also found it really difficult to make friends with the first years on my floor because of the lack of upper year welcome week (i.e.: it's not as easy to just meet people). Plus depending on where you are, you could run into a lot of noise issues, partying etc.

Just from my experience, im not enjoying my time as an upper year in residence and am therefore switching to off campus... a single room gets super lonely. i'm sure if i had different neighbors things could have gone a lot differently, but just from my experience, i wouldn't recommend it.

I agree about the noise/partying thing, that can totally ruin the residence experience, but if you are not bothered by it then it's not really a big deal. I had a horrid experience in second year with complete idiots living next door to me and it REALLY sucked...

you don't want to move on campus, friends are overrated, you only need a few good ones that have your best interests at heart. everyone's first year marks are low b/c they spent all of first year getting drunk/high and staying up too late with people they didn't even bother keeping in touch with after first year, its just not worth it.

do you have good friends already? make friends with upper year students if you dont, it might be a little harder but just be you and that should be good enough.

Originally Posted by Leeoku

guaranteed upper year res is a 9.5 gpa. else ur stuck on a waiting which u prob wont get for sure since priorities are first year>highest years>work ur way down to second year. in conclusion, get a 9.5 or dont bother

? First years get priority over upper years? Don't upper years get placed before all freshmen?