It’s that time of year again. It’s time to start collaborating, researching, planning, scheming, and hunting. It’s every womman for herself. Stress levels are beginning to rise. Friendships are being tested. Honesty is the only policy. It’s a dangerous world out there… it is: the housing lottery.
Yes, I admitted it. The housing lottery is easily the most stressful, drama-filled time of year at Boston College. Between the struggles to determine your direct roommate, your group size, which people to include, which groups to block with, where to live, and not to mention the complete lack of certainty and complete reliance on luck and the good will of the housing gods, who can blame us for getting a little crazy?
I know, it sounds bleak. But there is good news: you still have some time! The key to winning the housing lottery is being prepared for anything (and I mean anything), because things can get a little out of hand. So, in order to do that, here are some tidbits of wisdom that I have collected from both my own experience and the experiences of other contributors about how to avoid drama, where to live, and what to do when things don’t work out the way you planned.
To stop drama in its tracks:
1. Start talking to your friends early to determine how you want to go about your housing arrangements. Be completely honest (in a nice way of course) about what you want so that you don’t end up settling and being miserable next year.
2. Don’t leave someone out of the loop. If you are changing roommates, joining another group, etc., tell the people it affects. It’s only fair that you give your friends a chance to arrange something else if you’re doing your own thing. Do this early so everyone has a chance to adjust.
3. Compromise. It’s not worth hurting peoples’ feelings, creating anger, or ruining friendships over something as arbitrary as which dorm building you want to live in. If you and your group are at a disagreement, find a way to satisfy everyone so that everyone wins!
Plan ahead:
1. You should really start thinking about working out all the details for your housing now so that you have everything planned and ready to go on the day of the lottery. Meet with the people you want to live with for dinner and talk it out so everyone is on the same page.
2. Know who is going to enter the names online, know where you’re trying to live, know your group, who you’re blocking with, and what you plan on doing if you don’t get the room of your choice.
3. Don’t take our word for it. Talk to people you know who live in the different buildings to get a feel for what they’re like.
Don’t get your hopes up:
1. It is really, really important to understand that many, probably most people, do not end up living in their first choice dorm. It’s okay! Everything works itself out in the end, and it is never as bad as you expect it to be. As long as you have a backup plan, you’re good to go!
2. Now that you know how to prepare for the lottery, here is some very honest and useful information about many of the different buildings on campus from people who have lived in them. Hopefully, this will give you a little bit more perspective about the good, the bad, and the ugly of each building!
Freshman Housing: for those soon-to-be Eagles who read HC BC, this is for you!
Newton:
You have to take a bus everywhere, which adds on extra time. However, it seems that those who live on Newton end up loving it. For the most part, you can’t go wrong with what dorm you’re placed in. They call Keyes the “Newton of Newton” because it is a tad removed from the rest of the dorms, but it’s not a big deal!
Upper:
Kostka:
“My freshman year, I lived on Kostka 3, the only girls’ floor in the building. The rooms were small and there were no study lounges or common areas, which made socializing a little bit difficult at first. While it’s no paradise, Kostka is on upper and is the closest dorm to Middle Campus, which makes it a convenient, functional place to live on Upper. The people I met in Kostka became some of my closest friends though, and I would definitely recommend it to people in the future (not that Freshmen have much choice…).”— Caitlin
Fitzpatrick:
“Fitz 2 is definitely a prime spot in the Fitzpatrick/Gonzaga building. The second floor has a study lounge, classroom, and smaller study room, so people from other floors were always congregating there to do work, hang out, and come to floor or residence activities. We also had one of the only guest bathrooms (no code needed), which was convenient. The worst part about Fitzpatrick/Gonzaga is that the elevator doesn’t go all the way down to the basement, aka the laundry rooms and vending machine.”— Kathryn
Medeiros (Honors Housing):
“Medeiros at first glance is a really bizarre building. It is very different from all the other freshman dorms with long hallways of rooms. Medeiros is divided in half by bathrooms and also has weird half floors with two doubles on each floor. I liked it because I met a great group of kids there, but you don’t get to know as many people because of the set up.”— Chloe
Sophomore Housing:
Roncalli (CoRo):
“The best part about Roncalli is definitely its proximity to Mac. The basement lounge is also pretty spacious, and the elevator goes all the way down there so doing laundry is fairly painless. Also, I’ve made it to class in Carney and Gasson in less than five minutes, which is a plus for any one who tends to oversleep.”— Kathryn
Walsh (Lower):
“I live in Walsh currently. I love it because it’s nice having a common room and it feels a lot homier than the double I had last year in Fitz. However, from the time my roommates and I moved in we’ve had nothing but problems with our room. Everything from the shower door falling on my roommate, the heat and hot water stopping to work randomly, and at the beginning of the year, our outlets being so old they would push in whenever someone would plug something in, which would give a little shock. Despite all of the flaws, however, I love living here especially because when it’s snowing and cold outside I don’t have to go outside to get to a party because there seems like there’s always at least one option of something to do in Walsh.” – Lauren
Vanderslice/90 St. Thomas More (Lower):
“I would group them together, because they are basically the same! Living Vandy/90 as a sophomore is obviously pretty ideal. With air conditioning, huge common rooms, bathrooms, bedrooms, and storage closet, there is plenty of space for your group of eight. Both located right in the heart of Lower, you can’t beat their location, either! Just short hops from everywhere you need to be. As a junior, many think living in Vandy/90 is insane! But my roommates and I chose to live in 90 (after living in Vandy sophomore year) our junior year, and we couldn’t be happier. Without cars, we knew it would be a challenge to get groceries, and with busy schedules we doubted we’d have the time to cook proper meals, so meal plans seemed to be rather ideal. And let me say, with 90 being all of 10 yards away from Lower, we couldn’t be happier. In my opinion, our rooms are way nicer than those in Edmonds, and I’d even say the gate, due to our bigger size. Not to mention that as juniors, you get to hand pick which room you get, so bay windows or the beautiful 6th floor windows over looking Lower are feasible options. Window nook? We got one! Draw-backs of living in 90 rather than Edmonds or the Gate is that the policies are different in terms of alcohol and party registration.” – Julie
66 Commonwealth (Lower):
“Living in 66 was great. I was very happy to be one of the lucky sophomores on Lower. It was however, a really small double. It was nice and new, but the walls are very thin. You can hear EVERYTHING (including drunken conversations at 3 a.m.).”— Chloe
Junior/Senior Housing:
Edmonds:
“I love everything about living in Edmonds (or should I say edMOnDS—mods, get it?). The apartment-style rooms with full kitchen, bathroom, common room, and bedrooms are phenomenal, and I cannot get over how much closet and storage space we have!! There are a few downsides to Edmonds life though. We have had mice, some rooms had to be cleaned for mold, and the 70’s color scheme they chose is horrible (green countertops, anyone?). It is so nice having the laundry room, mailroom, and study lounge right downstairs, and the elevators are top-notch. As part of the senior housing area, it has different party and alcohol policies than other buildings on Lower too. I highly recommend Edmonds to juniors and even seniors who want to have fun in a relaxed atmosphere.”— Caitlin
Gabelli:
“Gabelli is great! It is the first time I have had a common room, so I really enjoy that. I like having a full kitchen and more space. For a college dorm room it seems huge. I have plenty of closet and storage space, for once!”— Chloe
The Gate:
“The Gate has spacious rooms, big closets, and 3 big study lounges. There are nice little 3-4 person mini study lounges on each floor and they’re great. A lot of clubs met in the big lounges, which can get annoying. It is a convenient spot, close to City-Co. and Che-Chi’s. There’s not much bad to say about it. It’s a bit of a hike to get to Middle Campus, and of course, no proper kitchen, but that’s just a part of having an 8-man.”—Jon
The Mods:
“If you enter the Mod lottery, please, for the sake of us all, plan to use your Mod correctly! Meaning: throw parties with creative themes, host killer tailgates, and ALWAYS make dank snowforts in the winter. If you only like going out sometimes, don’t like to be bothered with noise, or are reliant on having your own desk (there is only one per bedroom) then be real with yourself, you’re not a Moddie. Keep in mind if you have a crazy schedule and need to get to sleep early, especially on the weekends, because if so, the Mods aren’t for you!” — Julie
Worst Case Scenerio:
Greycliff Hall:
“I lived in Greycliff my sophomore year due to an extremely unlucky lottery time (aka 2nd to last). I hated Greycliff because it was in the middle of nowhere, but it was quiet and kind of cozy. The worst part about living in Greycliff is the fact that it is off campus and you have to have a meal plan… which means trekking all the way to Lower for every meal. I would recommend it to anyone who likes a quiet, calm, laid back atmosphere, but not to anyone who likes human interaction.”— Caitlin
So, there you have it! I sincerely hope that this helps you in this slightly insane time of year and that the housing gods bestow good will upon your fate!
Photo Sources:
http://www.bc.edu/alumni/maroonandgold/freestuff/freestuffwallpapers.html
http://scottlivingston.wordpress.com/2007/11/05/boston-blues/
http://www.bc.edu/schools/cas/romlang/undergradprog/languagehouse.html
http://www.bc.edu/schools/advstudies/about/maps.html