Housing – COM Ambassador Blog

Hannah C: Freshman Housing

CONGRATUALTIONS if you’ve been accepted to COM, also known as the most spectacular place to receive a degree in the field of communication. In my book, that’s not an exaggeration. One year I received my own acceptance letter, I know just how pumped you are to be one step closer to joining the next generation of film directors, PR professionals, journalists, and creative directors. You should definitely be proud. You might even be #proudtobu.

If you’re one of the high school seniors who received a thick envelope and are seriously thinking about attending COM, make sure to check us out at our Open Houses April 12^th and April 19^th. If you’re unable to make those dates, you can take a tour of COM any weekday at 11am, 1pm, and 3pm. And, if you can’t to meet us at those times, I’m writing today to answer one of the most common questions I’ve received guiding tours: Where should I choose to live as a freshman?

Once you decide to become a BU student, the next step is filling out a housing interests survey. On it, you’ll rank your top housing choices and choose a meal plan. But which ones should be your top choices? Here’s a current first year’s take on some of your possible freshman residence options.

Warren Towers: Many freshmen in COM live here, since it’s right next-door to the COM building. If you’re the type to roll out of bed and into class, this is probably the dorm for you. There are also major-specific floors where COM students can live and learn together. It’s in the center of campus, amid Comm. Ave. excitement. There’s a Starbucks, a CityCo, and a Jamba Juice at street-level of the dorm.

West Campus: Located adjacent to Nickerson Field, the three dorms on West Campus have less of a city vibe and their own sense of community, although they are somewhat removed. Some students in West enjoy the walk home from classes and proximity to FitRec, our gym, and restaurants such as Canes or BugerFi.

The Towers: Nothing compares to living on Bay State Road, lined with its trees and brownstones, where this residence is located. The Towers dorm is near SMG, SED, and relatively close to CAS. It has single-sex floors, some of which are major-specific.

Kilachand Hall: If you plan to be a freshman in the Kilachand Honors College, this is where you’ll live. You may even have a class or two within the building. Also on Bay State Road, it is directly across the street from my personal favorite dining hall, Marciano Commons. There is a newly renovated study lounge on the first floor, as well as a study lounge on the ninth floor with great views of the Charles River and downtown Boston.

Hope this gives a bit more insight, and I hope to meet you soon!

Alexa: Why You Should Live On Campus

It’s February, meaning it’s wicked cold in Boston and if you live on campus it’s time to pay your housing deposit! I’ve chosen to live on campus all four years and while there are benefits to living off-campus, here are five reasons I’ve chosen to stay on.

1. Easy transition coming back from abroad

It was nice being abroad and not having to worry about subletting an apartment or finding a place to live for the semester that I got back. All I had to do was pay my housing deposit at the end of the semester and I got my first choice when I came back in the Spring, (hello Stuvi 1).

2. Convenient Location

Even though I’ve chosen to live in West, which is about a 15 minute walk to COM, it’s nice living on campus and still having that close proximity to the gym and Agganis Arena.

3. No-Stress

If our sink breaks, Boston University maintenance will come and fix it. It’s nice not having to worry about calling a plumber or having to pay out of pocket for any type of maintenance.

4. Safety

While sometimes living on campus can be more expensive then living off, it gives my parents peace of mind knowing I have security at my doorstep.

5. The View

The view from my window is of the Charles River and the Boston Skyline, it literally could not get any better than that. I actually have to control myself to not Instagram a photo of it everyday, you’re welcome everyone. I don’t know when I’ll be able to live in a high-rise apartment overlooking the Charles river again, so I figure I might as well take advantage of it now.

Abby: Trans-Campus Moving

This weekend I moved into a new dorm. It was a whirlwind week of packing, and unpacking, going from the one Residence Assistant Office to another and calling the BU Housing Office. But all said and done I’m absolutely in love with my new room. I’m now living in a brownstone on Baystate Road. My room is on the backside of the house and my window looks onto the Charles River and the Esplanade. Because of my class and work schedule, living on the east side of campus is much more convenient than living in West Campus. Each student is different- the girl that moved out of this room swapped with me so she could live in West Campus to be closer to the gym and her friends that lived over there.

The process I went through to move part way through a semester is called a Pull-In and works like this- If there is a vacancy in a room anywhere on campus then whoever is currently living in that room can “pull-in” someone to fill the vacancy. In my case my friend was the one moving and introduced me to her former roommate. We got along really well and she agreed to pull me into the room. (You can find more information about this and other room change processes at http://www.bu.edu/housing/.)

I had a ton of help from my new housemates to move my things from one end of campus to the other. Of course I picked the coldest day of the semester so far to move, but they were troopers and I’m so grateful for them. To move everything I rented a big yellow moving bin from the Residence Assistant office at my new dorm. They are available all year for moving and especially at the beginning and end of the year for move-ins and move-outs. Then we took it to west campus to load it up and pushed it all the way back up Commonwealth Ave to Baystate. I’m sure we looked like a traveling circus act. After that all I had to do was unpack and decorate my new room. I can’t wait to finish out the semester on Baystate. It already feels like home.

Tom: Reasons Why You Should Live in StuVi

Hey all! Hope you are all off to a wonderful start to the fall semester – I know my junior year went off with a bang of new activities, new faces and new responsibilities. Just in the past three weeks, I cast my BU On Broadway production of All Shook Up (more to come on this in future blog posts!), we held the first annual #COMGames for freshmen, I started classes, and I applied to go abroad to London next semester. Lots of exciting things to begin – I’m slightly overwhelmed but overall ecstatic and thrilled with an exciting semester.

But easily the best part of moving in this semester was that I got to live at 33 Harry Agganis Way in Student Village (StuVi2, as we call it). I’m living in a double with my friend Shane in an eight person suite on the 7^th floor (overlooking the Charles River). While the thought of an eight person suite may seem daunting, StuVi2 is definitely the best living situation I’ve been in yet.

Here are my top reasons you should live in StuVi if you get the chance:

1) Appearance

You always hear “Don’t judge a book by its cover.” You 100% should judge StuVi by what it looks like because it is beautiful. My parents were awestruck by the lobby that makes you feel like you walked into a Marriott Hotel. When you get into the rooms, the good looks don’t stop there. And like I mentioned earlier, the glorious view of the Charles through the large windows is certainly an amazing sight to wake up to in the morning.

2) The Air-Conditioning

While campus never gets too hot in the fall, there is absolutely nothing like retreating under a blanket after a long day of classes and activities. And with the air conditioning, your room will always be cool to do so.

3) Space

The space in the rooms in StuVi is not to be believed. I’m in a double room in StuVi but the amount of space we have makes us feel like we have two separate rooms and are just missing the wall that divides them. As they say in Step Brothers, “So much room for activities!”

4) The BU Bus Stop

This is probably the greatest of the reasons. Picture Me: First day of class, dressed all nice, new shoes. And I walk outside, and it’s raining. Obviously I was immediately distressed, but then when the BU Bus pulled up RIGHT IN FRONT of StuVi I was instantly relieved. I made it all the way to class without even getting a drop of rain on me. Talk about a wonderful place for a BU Bus Stop.

I can go on and on with reasons, but I think you get the point. If you want to see more, definitely check out what BU Housing put together on StuVi and check it out yourself! http://www.bu.edu/housing/residences/stuv/

Alexa: Looking for a Place to Live?

So you’re going to Boston University? Congratulations! After I submitted my enrollment deposit I know the next thing on my mind was, where am I going to live and whom am I going to live with? Housing selection can be somewhat of a stressful process so it’s helpful to know a little bit about the perks of living in each housing offered.

West:

Cough. West is best. Cough. This year I lived in Rich Hall located in West Campus. Even though I knew COM would be on the other side of campus, I still had West as my first choice. I wanted to be able to go to class and then get away from the chaos, which is exactly what West lets me do. West is great because it’s located right next to Fit-Rec, Agannis Area, Nickerson Field and Case Gym. The dining hall is arguably the best at BU. The only downfall is it’s about a 15 minute walk to most classes, but there’s a free BU shuttle and two T stops at West so when the cold comes you don’t have to walk. Plus, exercise is great anyway!

Warren:

Warren is a great choice if you want to wake up ten minutes before class starts and make it on time. It’s mainly freshmen and each floor has a common room so it’s easy to bond with your floor. The dining hall is located on the fourth floor so there are some days where you will never have to leave the building if you don’t want to!

The Towers, Danielson, 575 Commonwealth Avenue

These are also places where freshmen typically stay and are a lot like West and Warren except for a little bit smaller. 575 Commonwealth Ave tends to have more triples and Danielson has bigger rooms. The great thing if you live here is that there will be a new student center in East Campus with a huge, amazing dining hall. Even though I’ll be living in West again I will definitely be coming to eat there when I can!

You’re probably thinking, ok I chose where to live, how do I choose whom to live with?

BU lets you request a roommate or you can also choose random. Personally, coming from California I didn’t know anyone coming to BU and didn’t want to rely on Facebook or Roomsurf to pair me up with a roommate (Although I know a lot of people who did and it’s great option!) I chose to have a random roommate and don’t regret it at all. I know on one end of the spectrum it could have been the worst or the best, but luckily it has worked out and we are rooming again together next year!

Overall, if housing comes around and you don’t get your first or second choice I promise you it’s not the end of the world (that’s December 21, 2012 ;)). You will make friends and have a great experience as long as you want to. BU is what you make it and housing is just one aspect of the BU experience.

Taylor: How I Met My Roommate

In conversing with others I have noticed that the most popular collegiate related question that family members, neighbors and peers will homogenously parrot other than “How is school going” is, “Do you like your roommate?” Although responses to the question vary, I am certain that a respectable, trusting, and fun living space will produce a healthy roomie relationship.

The First Date. After tension from awaiting news of acceptance has eased down the next perplexing moment that all students endure is waiting for BU’s housing release email. A notice that announces that freshmen can now check student link to unleash the veil that not only states where you will be housed over the next year but more importantly WITH WHOM. The student link section typically discloses the persons name and BU email address. Ideally, once names have been released Facebook friend requests are mutually sent. Yet, what happens next? What if you can’t find your roomie on any social networking site?

If at first you don’t succeed TRY AGAIN. Facebook as well as other social networking sites are largely populated. Don’t undermine your search abilities if you can’t immediately find your assigned roommate. Remember, the university also graciously posts email addresses. Don’t be afraid shooting a welcoming email including a bit about who you are, your major, and fun personality traits. Check out BU’s COM 2016 page https://www.facebook.com/BUCOMClassof2016 as well as other university class pages.

Consult. Regardless of whether or not you have siblings, or if your roommate happens to be your best friend, living in the same quarters is a huge adjustment. Best bit of advice- discuss your ticks. Mind readers are often hard to find, and there’s really no other way for someone else to know what annoys you than voicing it aloud.

Roomance. In an effort to offset cost, most find it helpful to divide up common room appliances prior to moving in. Creating an open atmosphere where there is a mutual dependence on one another aids in ways unimaginable. During the school year you may become ill, may need to vent about a pressing issue, or just yearn for a good laugh. Even when you feel as though no one is by your side, your roommate has no choice.

Taylor: Living on a COM Floor

The Stalker Phase. After most freshmen receive their acceptance letters, the nerve-breaking energy drifts from waiting near the mailbox everyday to scavenging as much information about BU as humanly possible. Students find scouring the university website and Facebook pages a good prep for answering typical questions that family members, teachers, and random individuals commonly expect them to answer. However, there’s one question that invariably enters young freshies’ minds, “Where should I live?” Unfortunately, a majority of U.S. universities are not designed like Hogwarts; there’s no sorting hat involved in dorm selection. Instead, there are great options for resident placement including specialty floors; the best in my possibly biased opinion would be the COM floors.

COMmonalities and Interest. College is truly an adjustment, however it’s easier to adapt to a new environment when people with common interest surround you. Living on a COM floor aids in course discussion with other students. When taking COM101, a required course for incoming freshmen, living on a COM floor gave me ample opportunities to continue class discussion and verify concepts.

COM Together. Anticipate social gatherings in cozy dorm rooms to watch the Oscars, Emmy’s, New Girl, Betty White specials, SNL, NBC Thursdays, and football games. There are a plethora of personalities housed on COM floors. Being a current resident of 11C, the only coed COM floor, I take pride in considering my floor mates as family. Discussions from room to room are very different. Some involve criticizing political oratories, others may be screaming matches analyzing the recent play by plays of a sports tournament, or group editing of a BUTV10 or WTBU radio story.

If you are curious about the format of dorms at BU or have questions about residence life check out http://www.bu.edu/housing. I’m so “Rhetty” for you guys to be housed within this TerrierNation!

11Cer,

Taylor W.