Considering the many housing options provided on the Charles River campus, reading through Boston University’s housing selection list may stress students.
Factors such as proximity to classes, in-dorm socialization, food variety and building conditions come into play while making the crucial where-to-live decision.
Most freshmen are housed in large dormitories — such as Warren Towers and the West Campus Complex — where more hallways are lined with “open doors” and are conducive to a social environment.
Although large, predominantly freshman dormitories are not as quiet and private as an on-campus apartment, some BU students said it is an important part of the freshman-year experience.
“You meet so many different people from different backgrounds,” said Myles Standish Hall resident Jason Sanders, a College of Arts and Sciences senior. “[Freshmen] should go through the big dorm experience because it’s a good thing to experience.”
While some second-semester freshmen cross their fingers for a good lottery number to move into an upper-classman residence, others are content staying in the large dormitories for their friends, the dining hall or using internal selection to land a single.
“I feel like freshmen and sophomores need a large dorm to really get [a group] of friends,” said Bay State Road resident Laura Signori, a CAS senior who lived in Warren Towers her sophomore year.
More than 1,500 seniors lived on campus in fall 2006, said Housing Office Director Marc Robillard.
“Students live on campus because of the location of the residences in relationship to classes, the library, recreational facilities and other extracurricular activities,” he said in an email. “I think that students generally feel that the campus is safe and that there is a very positive community feel to the residence system.”
Moving from the freshman dorms to brownstones, apartments or even upperclassman dorms can be a big change of pace. Juniors and seniors often sacrifice socialization for quiet, cinderblock walls and immovable furniture, also trading public bathrooms for private ones when making their living choice.
“[My brownstone is] just really nice,” Signori said. “The rooms are much bigger than other places, the location is great and the security [is lighter], so you can be responsible for yourself. Brownstones are probably the cleanest because there are a lot less people using the facilities, so they tend to respect them more.”
Although many upperclassmen are taking advantage of the new Student Village apartments — where students can live on campus and enjoy the comforts of their own bedrooms, private bathrooms and kitchens — some seniors still prefer dormitory-style living.
“Myles has character,” Sanders said. “You get a mix of people in terms of [class] years. StuVi is nice because it’s new, but it’s so sterile.”