East, West, South, Central… There are so many housing locations on our campus, and it can be tricky to find the perfect spot to live, especially if you are a first year student.
I am personally a transfer student in my sophomore year, and when I was researching the many places to live on campus in order to fill out my housing form, I was extremely confused. Only coming to BU’s campus once, I could not remember the locations of the dorms or even what they looked like! BU’s housing website doesn’t include pictures of every dorm, which made it a little challenging to get the visuals I wanted.
As you probably know, the housing lottery at BU is unpredictable. I know people who got assigned to housing that was completely different from the ones they had listed on their form. I got lucky this year- I was actually assigned to a place that I had listed in my top 5 choices, which is an East Campus brownstone.
Although I’ve only been here at BU for about 3 weeks, I feel that I have a pretty good idea of the perks and downfalls to living in each area. And just a warning- I’m sorry, I may be biased to East Campus.
East Campus/Bay State Area
Residences part of this area: East Campus brownstones, Danielsen Hall, Bay State Road brownstones, Myles Standish Hall, Kilachand Hall, The Towers, 575 Commonwealth Ave
Downfalls: A lot of people say that East Campus/Bay State is super far away from everything on campus. It is about a 1.5 mile walk from the gym/Agganis Arena, which can be annoying for the gym rats and sports enthusiasts. It is also further away from CGS, as this building is in West Campus. Simply put- it will take about a half hour to walk from East to West.
Perks: I am in love with living on East Campus. We are the closest to Newbury St, which, if you aren’t familiar with Newbury- it’s the best shopping street in Boston. My brownstone is probably 0.3 miles from Newbury. I love being on campus, yet having more of a city feel than those who live in Central and West. East Campus residents eat at the Marciano Commons located in Student Services, and this is said to be the best dining hall on campus; they offer a lot of vegan choices as well as delicious pizza, sandwiches, and desserts. East Campus is about a 10/15 minute walk to SED, ENG, COM, SMG, and SAR, and a 15/20 minute walk to CAS. We are also a short walk to Fenway and Kenmore Square.
Central Campus
Residences part of this area: Warren Towers
Downfalls: Warren is a definite hot spot for freshmen. That being said, it is most likely one of the noisiest places to live on campus. If you live here and you are not a freshman, it may be a little more difficult to find fellow upperclassmen.
Perks: Warren has Jamba Juice, Subway, City Convenience, self-serve Dunkin Donuts, and Starbucks in its building. If I lived there, I would definitely be out of my convenience points by now! Warren is also conveniently located in the middle of campus, so it is reasonably close to East and West, about 15/20 minutes to everything. It’s nice to be in walking distance to the gym and also the city. Warren is also right across the street from CAS.
West Campus
Residences part of this area: Sleeper Hall, Claflin Hall, Rich Hall, 1019 Commonwealth Ave, StuVi I & II
Downfalls: West Campus is about a 25 minute walk from COM, ENG, SMG, SAR, and SED. It is even further to get to the city/East Campus areas.
Perks: The dorms in West are right next to Agganis Arena and the gym, which is perfect for athletes and sports lovers! West is also closest to Allston, which is where a lot of the frats are (this could be a good or a bad thing; it depends on the person). The dining hall in West is supposedly great, especially for omelettes and burgers. StuVi I & II are claimed to be the best places to live on campus; they consist of suite-style living and apartment-style living in tall buildings that overlook a spectacular view of Boston on campus.
South Campus
Residences part of this area: Beacon St, Buswell St, Park Dr, Carlton St
Downfalls: South Campus is sort of in the outskirts; it is located behind the Fenway area. It is off of the main strip of campus where the majority of the other dorms are located. South Campus does not have its own dining hall.
Perks: South Campus is located behind Central Campus (behind Warren Towers), so it is in the middle of everything. It is super close to Fenway! It’s also a short walk to the dining halls at Warren and Marciano Commons.
There you have it! This is, in my opinion, key info about living on campus here at BU. Although I am a first year student- and its only been about 3 weeks thus far- I feel that I know so much about BU already! However, it’s obvious that I know much more about East Campus than the other spots. I apologize for being extremely biased towards East; I just love it over here so much already! However, you really can’t go wrong living at any of these locations. And don’t worry- the perks of each location completely outnumber the downfalls. I swear!