Freshman year, students are getting adjusted to being on their own, taking challenging courses, and meeting new people. With the new transition to college, students have a lot to wrap their heads around. One of the factors that can potentially make or break freshman year is where a new student chooses to reside.
Here are the things to know about some of the residence halls.
When asked about her lifestyle living at The Hill, Ella Ferebee, freshman in nursing, had a lot to share. Ferebee said that some positive things about living at The Hill are that it is on-campus housing, so the location is good, and parking is available, making it easy to access her car.
Ferebee says that while there are some factors she enjoys, like living with her roommates, her commute to class, and her parking location, she would not choose to live there again. When asked if the price adds up to the space she lives in, she replied that the price did not equal the experience.
“The Hill is the cheapest “on-campus” housing, but the cost is most certainly not worth the small and SHARED space,” Ferebee said.
Finally, her word of advice for anyone considering The Hill as an option for their freshman year living arrangements is to make sure that they like their roommate and not to pick at random.
The choice to live at The Village was an interesting one according to Mallory Nabors, freshman in agriculture. According to Nabors, The Plainsman, a hall within The Village, is a nice location overall but is far from the center of campus. Because it is an all girls, first-year student residency hall, she would choose to live here again, if given the option.
Nabors notes that the drop-off areas around the building are convenient because it makes it easier to load and unload items like groceries and suitcases. She says that in her opinion, the price adds up to the living space because of all of the amenities. At the village, students have their own room, have access to laundry within the same building and a kitchen space with a full-sized refrigerator and a kitchen sink.
Continuing with The Village, Shelby Shavers, freshman in wildlife ecology and management, had quite a lot to say about her current time spent in The Village's Holloway Hall.
According to Shavers, having her own room, living space and bathroom are some upsides to living in a two-person dorm. Among all of the positives, she complains that the parking is an inconvenience for her, as well as being far away from campus, which she says is an annoyance.
For people considering The Village, specifically Holloway hall, she recommends they apply for parking ASAP to avoid getting parking in RO, residential overflow, as it is a far distance from the dorms and classes. She also encourages people to watch their laundry because of how aggressive people are over the machines.
Wrapping things up with The Village, Aliyah Freeman, freshman in business, who lives in a single dorm within The Village says that her time spent residing there has been eventful, to say the least. She says her location is good due to her being a business major because The Village is so close to the business buildings.
She believes she should get more space because of how much she pays, and she doesn’t mind living in an all-girls dorm. Because she is happy with not having to share a space with anyone she says she would choose to stay in the same place, if she had to do it all over again.
Two things she would say to people wanting to live in The Plainsman at The Village are to not rely on your phone to get in and out of the building because it glitches and to be punctual when doing your laundry.
Adeline Nassif, freshman in aerospace engineering, who currently stays in Cambridge, expresses her thoughts about her place of residence. She says that some good things about living include having access to an in-building mailroom, as well as the proximity to downtown hotspots like HeyDay market, Publix and boutiques. She says that this closeness makes for a good stay.
Some bad things, however, include the 15-minute walk to The Edge Dining Hall and The Rec Center. She says it’s a good location if students don’t want to drive, however, the walk to the parking deck, RO, takes 30 minutes. On a positive note, students can leave their cars in the Cambridge front lot over the weekends.
Cambridge is coed by floor, meaning the residence hall alternates all-boy and all-girl floors. Nassif's word of advice is to not pick the 3rd floor, because you will be sandwiched between two male floors, meaning the noise is constant.
“Aim for the 1st or 5th floor,” Nassif said.
Riley Webster, freshman in communications who resides in The Quad, was more than excited to give her thoughts on her hall. She loves the Quad’s location because it’s close to the stadium and the concourse, making it easy to get to class and to downtown.
Some buildings within The Quad are coed while others are all-girls. Webster lives in a coed hall, and says she is enjoying it a lot. When it comes to doing laundry, Webster notes that the situation isn’t too bad, although it does get busy and the facilities are across the street.
She also explains that both she and her roommate have lifted beds which makes extra space in the room. Webster says that the bathroom area is good but it's all about how you take care of it. She also notes that the downstairs main living room and kitchen are nice, although they are not used a lot.
"I don't use the kitchen, but that's only because I don't know how to cook," Webster said.
Living in 160 Ross is a lot of fun, according to Alison Dojonovic, freshman in business, and there are a lot of reasons why. She says that she likes that it’s like an apartment-style building but still gives off a student housing feel. 160 Ross has a pool, which Dojonovic especially favors. One thing she doesn’t like is how scary the hallways are and how far from campus the residency is.
160 Ross is more on the pricier side of the dorms and Alison says that the space doesn’t necessarily make up for those high prices due to its far location from campus. Dojonovic doesn’t mind her building being coed and explains that doing laundry is a breeze. She also claims that although she wouldn't change anything about the living spaces, she wouldn’t choose to live at 160 Ross again.
She leaves one piece of advice for those with 160 Ross at the top of their list, saying “think about what time your classes are to plan the ride on the transit to class.”
South Donahue is the final residency hall, and Charlie Hall, freshman in engineering, is here to share his insight on living there. He says his favorite things include having his own study space and having access to a quiet spot. Hall also states that the Location is great but the price is expensive. He said if he could, he would live there again due to how useful the kitchenette and other small amenities are to his stay at South Donahue.
Now that students have a deeper insight into each of the residence halls, given by those who actually live there, where Auburn's next class choose to live?
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