hey so unfortunately i am not guaranteed residence for my first year at mcmaster (aka. my average isn't top notch, it's kinda shit) and i will most likely have to live off campus which bums me out... im wondering what is it like to live off-campus first year? am i sharing a house with other first year students or is it random? But to be honest, my biggest concern is what is it like socially if i live off-campus first year?
any help would be greatly appreciated.

also, what is SOCS?

Depends on what you find. You can literally just find a house with a sign for rent and join in and inquire or find people online and group up before you do so. People do this commonly on FB, Macinsiders, Kijiji etc. The people you find can be upper or same year. I know several 2nd year friends who house with 1st years too.

Social life is up to you. You still get the same access to clubs and stuff but it can go both ways. Lots of people do crazy things cause they meet people in their res halls and choose to party in their rooms or common rooms. That doesn't put SOCS differently. Just like residence reps, they have specific reps to encourage social gatherings off campus also. Besides, all the good parties are off campus

that's great to know man, thanks. hopefully i'll have a good time living off campus

You'll be okay. I lived in res first year and hated it... just me, I guess. I made a few friends but didn't like the general atmosphere and first year was my least favourite year because of it. I ended up moving to a random off campus house in second year with strangers (just found a for rent sign and a week later I'd signed a lease) and it was there that I made some of the best friends I've ever had. I lived there for three years, and just moved out with one of those roommates to a new apartment. It was a situation that worked out REALLY well for me.

It's a very different experience than res... there's more responsibility when it comes to things like cooking, shopping, cleaning, paying bills and these are important skills to learn as a young adult. There's also more freedom, no signing in guests or roommate contracts or rules at all. You have more space than you would in a traditional-style res room as well. It's also far cheaper, in my experience. And socially, well, there's no reason you can't find lifelong friends living off campus.

I lived in Bates first year because my average was so good, but it seemed like I was living off campus. In Bates the rooms are 4 person individual rooms with common area (apartment style) and I knew NOBODY else in Bates (pretty much nobody else) compared to my friends who lived in other rez's who knew everybody on their floor, and everybody on the floor above/below.

TL;DR: you'll be fine.

i really like the fact that i get my own room if i live off campus instead of likely having to share a room with someone else if i were to live in residence. its always nice to have some privacy and i feel like its almost impossible to have privacy if you live in residence?

I should have added my experiences. I met abuncha ppl in res but they weren't the type of people I would have liked to hang out with. Although the group that I was with I'm sure they're very close now. I didn't do much since I just stayed in my room and did my thing.

Off campus was an awesome experience for me. I lived off campus on my first year. One thing I would stress is to focus of studies, and dont get carried away. Because you are so free its sometimes easy to get carried away.

Off-campus is pretty awesome. It is always nice to have a single room without worrying about sharing, IMO since I value my privacy. It is also cheaper since you dont need to have a gigantic meal plan. I make my own food at home.

cons:
-possibility of sharing the house with strangers(annoying if they party alot or the party kind), they can also cause quite a mess. This was annoying to me, I am a neat freak.
- walking to mac(depends on how close you are)
-you dont get a chance to meet certain people as oppose to someone in rez who just knock on doors,etc. But that is not a big issue since you can just join clubs to meet people. (most of my friends were from clubs and lectures)

This was my experience. Again, everyone is different with different needs and preference. Hope this helps

The thing that really bothered me about rez was the ridiculous rules. I paid a shit ton to have a tiny little room on campus and the benefits you get from that just arent worth all the bs you have to deal with:
- Get caught with a beer, 75 dollar fine and an alcohol seminar
- You can ONLY sign in one person to stay in your room for the night (The CA's actually told me friend he had to find somewhere else to sleep, ended up sleeping in his car)
- During exams you cant have anyone in your room at all

The list goes on but you get the idea. You are paying a ridiculously high rent to get treated like a child. It sucks, lets be real. There are some definite pros to living on campus though but if you find a nice house off campus with some good people I can tell you that you will have a good time regardless.

yeah i really would like to have my own room if im at McMaster... i really wouldn't like to share a room with someone for the whole school year. Not that i don't like being around people but sometimes you just need some privacy

thanks though for all the help! I guess i should be looking into finding a place to live off campus soon..

Originally Posted by Philipp31

The thing that really bothered me about rez was the ridiculous rules. I paid a shit ton to have a tiny little room on campus and the benefits you get from that just arent worth all the bs you have to deal with:
- Get caught with a beer, 75 dollar fine and an alcohol seminar
- You can ONLY sign in one person to stay in your room for the night (The CA's actually told me friend he had to find somewhere else to sleep, ended up sleeping in his car)
- During exams you cant have anyone in your room at all

The list goes on but you get the idea. You are paying a ridiculously high rent to get treated like a child. It sucks, lets be real. There are some definite pros to living on campus though but if you find a nice house off campus with some good people I can tell you that you will have a good time regardless.

These rules aren't bad. To get caught with alcohol is your fault. It's pathetically easy to hide from CA's. And the sign in rule...I've never seen anyone need to sign in more than 1 person to stay the night, only to party. When this is the case, everyone would just ask others to sign someone in for them. And during exams, it's pathetically easy to bring someone into your room and res. I've never seen that rule enforced. But anyways, res is expensive especially for 8 months and the food is overpriced. I'd rather live off campus.

SOCS: Society of Off Campus Students.

Originally Posted by Baccarani

hey so unfortunately i am not guaranteed residence for my first year at mcmaster (aka. my average isn't top notch, it's kinda shit) and i will most likely have to live off campus which bums me out... im wondering what is it like to live off-campus first year? am i sharing a house with other first year students or is it random? But to be honest, my biggest concern is what is it like socially if i live off-campus first year?
any help would be greatly appreciated.

also, what is SOCS?

Life at University is what you make of it. Off or on campus. I lived at home for my first three years of University, and while the commute placed some limits on my social life, I still turned out alright. Ended up a welcome week rep, involved in the Student Union and Kin society, have a ton of friends etc. The key is just getting out there, trying new stuff and talking to new people.

As for who you'll be living with, it really depends. You'll need to find a house with a room (or rooms) available starting in September (most students sign 1 year leases starting in May, although sometimes a sublet spot opens up for September, and there are sometimes rooms that aren't filled and rooms that aren't finished renovations). When I finally moved out (a month ago) I ended up in a house with an interesting mix of people. A couple of grad students, a guy doing an extra year, a guy leaving for professional school in the fall, and then myself and another guy doing our final years. Other houses are much more homogenous and consist of people in the same year and program. I would suggest looking and seeing what houses have spots open (start with the marketplace on macinsiders) and seeing if you're a fit (financially and lifestyle) with living at that house.

good shit man, thanks. surprised how helpful everyone here is, much appreciated