If you’ve spoken to a rising sophomore recently, odds are they told you that they and their friends applied for the coveted housing selection of a spot in Suites Hall. The dormitory has two options of suites, six person and four person. However, some groups may choose to overcrowd in order to better their odds of scoring one. As a resident of Suites, here are a few things that you should know before you move in next semester…
Working heat and air conditioning
For those of you who lived in McVinney their freshman year will know where I’m coming from. There was no air conditioning, and the thermostat on the wall was just for show. My room was permanently boiling hot, there was no way for me to turn the heat down. In this respect, Suites has a huge advantage over traditional style dorms. It makes sleeping every night more comfortable. Even move in day was a much different experience because the building wasn’t a million degrees.
The rooms are really big
The ceilings in Suites are really high, giving rooms a more open feel. Which in my opinion, is a really big deal. After having a stressful day of classes, possibly work, and extracurriculars, the last place I want to go to is a small cramped room. The ceilings also make overcrowding a better situation because the person in the top bunk isn’t mere centimeters from the ceiling.
You have a common room
Whether you want to have parties in your room or not, having a common room that you’re not sharing with an entire building is really nice. It makes watching a movie with your friends a lot more enjoyable because there is space to spread out. It also makes late night studying or homework more enjoyable because you don’t have to go to the library, or other public space, to do work late at night
Having a kitchenette is really convenient
The Kitchenette makes life a lot easier that you might think. There is so much room for snacks! In traditional style dorms, you have a mini fridge, possibly a microwave, and a snack drawer. In Suites, you have a full size refrigerator, a microwave, and a ton of cupboards to hold all the snacks your heart desires. You also have room to store things like a blender, and other housing approved kitchen accessories.
Weekends are so much better
You can hit up like three parties and never have to put a coat or cardigan on. Why? Because you don’t have to go outside to have a good time!!! This is probably the biggest plus for me, when I go to Eaton street I have two options, don’t wear a second layer, and freeze my butt off. Or wear a second layer, and put it at risk of having things spilled on it or even losing it at the party. Since living in Suites, in the winter I never really went to Eaton street and I still had really fun weekends. The common areas gives you room to invite a good amount of people over and I have a great time with my friends and I’m not at risk of frostbite. What this also means is that you can wear those cute crop tops all year long.
And nothing is perfect so here are the drawbacks…
It’s far away from most things
Unless you’re a business major who is only taking classes in the Ryan Center, Suite is not near absolutely anything. This means having to leave at least ten minutes before you need to be anywhere. The addition of the Ryan Center has slightly lessened the burden of the distance issue in terms of food and printing. However, having to sprint to Harkins or Ruane in the morning because you misplaced your textbook is never a good thing.
Meeting new people isn’t as easy as it is in Aquinas or other traditional style dorms
In traditional style dorms, people leave their doors open and interact with each other on a daily basis. You don’t get that living in suites because isolating yourself is really easy and even more comfortable than going out of your way to interact with people on your floor. Also, living on a floor that houses close to seventy people makes it really difficult to get to know people in itself. The most embarrassing thing is when you’re in the elevator with someone you don’t know, and you ask what floor they’re going to so you can press the button for them only to find out that they live on your floor.
The bathroom and shower are your responsibility
I don’t think that people living in traditional style dorms truly know how blessed they are to have ABM workers replacing their toilet paper and cleaning their showers. Having to walk to CVS or take the bus to the grocery store to get toilet paper is a hassle that not everyone has time for. Not to mention, figuring out whose turn it is to buy toilet paper can be awkward at times. I don’t think I really need to even go into detail on how gross cleaning a bathroom can be…
Excessively charged for the stupidity of others
Hopefully if you’re living in Suites you’re taking part in the partying that happens there. Why? Because you’re going to get charged for the partying at the end of the year whether you did or not. Broken glass, vomit, you name it and I’ve gotten a community charge for it. Community charges are often not fair, and every dorm has to deal with them. However, I’m really skeptical that any other dorm really gets charged to the extent that Suites does. Being a poor college student, this is the one that hits me the hardest.
Overall, Suites is a great place to live. No matter where you live there is always going to be something to complain about. Suites is great because it offers you a really comfortable living situation with only minor setbacks. Sure, meeting new people isn’t as easy as it is in AQ, but there are other ways of meeting new people, such as in class and through extracurriculars. And sure, Suites is far from nearly everything, but that just means that you can have two cookies at Ray instead of just one, right?