got my acceptance letter from Iowa State yesterday, housing suggestions?

[ornryactor]

I've said it in every other thread like this, and I'll say it again here and be done with it:

I've lived in Friley Hall for five years, because I LOVE it here. I've made quite a few friends that I will probably have for the rest of my life, and gotten involved in things that I never would have picked up if I'd moved off-campus.

No matter where you live, you'll have a good experience if you make the most of it, and a bad experience if you don't. Though nobody wants to admit it, the residence halls and the Greek houses are almost EXACTLY THE SAME THING. The shape of the building is different, and that's about it. Both will give you a great communal living experience, both will require you to deal with a small number of douchebags/whores/messiah complexes, both have group dining, both are highly social and often form tight bonds, both provide entertainment outlets, both provide extensive leadership training and opportunities, both provide access to extensive professional support and networking, and on and on and on and on.

I can tell you from extensive involvement and experience, anything that either community says they can offer you, the other one can, as well. Never believe otherwise.

</rolemodel>

One upside to living in Friley as a super-senior? Welch Ave is literally across the street! I can (and do) get BLASTED with my friends, and not have to worry about getting back home. Plus I have a single, so when people want to come over, it's an easy and fast trip. It's seriously awesome...

 

[Clone5]

I've said it in every other thread like this, and I'll say it again here and be done with it:

I've lived in Friley Hall for five years, because I LOVE it here. I've made quite a few friends that I will probably have for the rest of my life, and gotten involved in things that I never would have picked up if I'd moved off-campus.

No matter where you live, you'll have a good experience if you make the most of it, and a bad experience if you don't. Though nobody wants to admit it, the residence halls and the Greek houses are almost EXACTLY THE SAME THING. The shape of the building is different, and that's about it. Both will give you a great communal living experience, both will require you to deal with a small number of douchebags/whores/messiah complexes, both have group dining, both are highly social and often form tight bonds, both provide entertainment outlets, both provide extensive leadership training and opportunities, both provide access to extensive professional support and networking, and on and on and on and on.

I can tell you from extensive involvement and experience, anything that either community says they can offer you, the other one can, as well. Never believe otherwise.

I think residence halls give you a lot more diversity and different kinds of people to meet. Fraternities seem like a pretty uniform kind of person. This is definitely true for sororities too. Not saying thats a bad thing just that you'll more than likely meet a lot of the same kind of people in a frat.

 

[MoreCowbell]

I think residence halls give you a lot more diversity and different kinds of people to meet. Fraternities seem like a pretty uniform kind of person. This is definitely true for sororities too. Not saying thats a bad thing just that you'll more than likely meet a lot of the same kind of people in a frat.

We totally had diversity in my sorority! We had blondes and brunettes and even a few redheads!

Seriously, though, as with everything in life, your college experience is what you make of it. There are pros and cons to every living situation, be it dorm, apartment, or Greek house. Honestly, for me, the first semester - or even first year - was all about getting used to being on my own and meeting new people. I probably would have similar experiences no matter where I lived. The only real difference are the amenities offered in each different residence hall and your personal preference.

 

[ddisu]

We totally had diversity in my sorority! We had blondes and brunettes and even a few redheads!

Seriously, though, as with everything in life, your college experience is what you make of it. There are pros and cons to every living situation, be it dorm, apartment, or Greek house. Honestly, for me, the first semester - or even first year - was all about getting used to being on my own and meeting new people. I probably would have similar experiences no matter where I lived. The only real difference are the amenities offered in each different residence hall and your personal preference.

Yeah and in my frat we had guys that wore A&F with cargo khakis and with jeans (although that was frowned upon). The only reason I joined is b/c of a couple guys from my high school and it all turned out well. I have life long friends from it, but I am certain I would have those if I didn't join as well.

There are guys I see now every couple months. There were guys in my house, that if they were dying of thirst, I wouldn't stop to **** in their mouths.

All in all, college is great if you take advantage of what is there.

 

[chadly82]

That's not at all true. Granted, you're basically spoon fed nubile sohos, but there are plenty of wild parties and hot girls outside the structure of the Greek System. Trust me, being an independent does not preclude having a ******* blast.

I was a lambda chi and trust me....its much better being spoonfed hot drunk sorrority girls!

 

[TyCy]

there's a test. Ask yourself if you a. need to buy your friends and b. are so insecure you need to live in a place that restricts the guest list of parties so that you can have a undeserved sense of entitlement. If you answer yes to either/both of those questions a frat may be the way to go for you.

when i was greek a few years ago it was actually cheaper to live in a frat vs the dorms....so you are paying MORE for your friends in the dorm.

Joining a fraternity you are able to meet a lot of people in a lot of different houses and see what fits your personality and likes/dislikes best.

Visit as many houses as possible!

 

[m1trLG2]

I wouldn't worry, you probably won't get what you want anyway. I wanted Friley and sent my reply in quickly and ended up in one of the shoe boxes that pass as rooms in Larch. All winter it snowed in our room because the window wasn't sealed into the window hole. It sucked.

 

[ornryactor]

I wouldn't worry, you probably won't get what you want anyway. I wanted Friley and sent my reply in quickly and ended up in one of the shoe boxes that pass as rooms in Larch. All winter it snowed in our room because the window wasn't sealed into the window hole. It sucked.

Then you probably should have submitted a maintenance request. They would have fixed that inside of 24 hours, no ifs ands or buts. No excuses there.

If Friley was your first choice, yeah, you probably won't get it. It's everyone's first choice. Friley fills up before any other building, and does so an average of seven weeks sooner than Martin Hall (the typical second-place hall). If you request other buildings or areas, it's fairly likely that you'll get them.

I sent in my housing contract in late February/early March- fairly late in the game- and got my first choice. I'm still not sure how I got into Friley that late, but I'm glad I did.

 

[Al_4_State]

I was a lambda chi and trust me....its much better being spoonfed hot drunk sorrority girls!

I wasn't slamming it. There were days I wished I had that access.

Then I always remembered how I was taught the concept of hunting. A good friend of my dad's who was like a third grandfather to my brother and I was teaching us how to hunt. He told us about these pheasant farms in South Dakota where you paid a bunch of money to go on to these several hundred acre farms. There so many birds that would fly up that the only thing you had to do to kill a bird was point your gun at the sky and pull the trigger. He said this was not the mark of a true hunter. A true hunter could track the bird in their wild environment. You had to figure out where the bird is sleeping, flush it out into the wild, and bring it down via an accurate, calculated shot. THAT'S hunting. And once you got a little practice, you can hunt very effectively in this method, plus it's far more rewarding when you kill a bird.

If Friley was your first choice, yeah, you probably won't get it. It's everyone's first choice. Friley fills up before any other building, and does so an average of seven weeks sooner than Martin Hall (the typical second-place hall). If you request other buildings or areas, it's fairly likely that you'll get them.

Things have changed since I lived in the dorms. As a freshman, I sought out Larch because it was one of the few dorms that didn't have the Fresh Start program, thus it was a lot more of a party dorm. Plus, the proximity to JTS and Hilton was desirable.

 

[ornryactor]

Things have changed since I lived in the dorms. As a freshman, I sought out Larch because it was one of the few dorms that didn't have the Fresh Start program, thus it was a lot more of a party dorm. Plus, the proximity to JTS and Hilton was desirable.

Yeah, they axed Fresh Start about two weeks before classes began in Fall 2005, my freshman semester. It was a terrible program that hadn't turned out the way the Dean of Students intended. Incidentally, that's why we're just now getting out of the absolute glut of CAs in the DoR system- when they cut Fresh Start, they got rid of the ARCs, but offered all of them CA positions. They almost all accepted, and stayed in the system for quite a while.

Love your hunting analogy, by the way. Excellent.

 

[ddisu]

I wasn't slamming it. There were days I wished I had that access.

Then I always remembered how I was taught the concept of hunting. A good friend of my dad's who was like a third grandfather to my brother and I was teaching us how to hunt. He told us about these pheasant farms in South Dakota where you paid a bunch of money to go on to these several hundred acre farms. There so many birds that would fly up that the only thing you had to do to kill a bird was point your gun at the sky and pull the trigger. He said this was not the mark of a true hunter. A true hunter could track the bird in their wild environment. You had to figure out where the bird is sleeping, flush it out into the wild, and bring it down via an accurate, calculated shot. THAT'S hunting. And once you got a little practice, you can hunt very effectively in this method, plus it's far more rewarding when you kill a bird.



Things have changed since I lived in the dorms. As a freshman, I sought out Larch because it was one of the few dorms that didn't have the Fresh Start program, thus it was a lot more of a party dorm. Plus, the proximity to JTS and Hilton was desirable.

You can still do that hunting all you want and it is pretty fun. It is also fun to fish with dynamit once in a while also. I don't really care where anyone lives on campus. It's college, if you can't make friends there and have a blast, you're going to have one dull life after college.

 

[HerkyKiller]

I guess I will be the only one that thinks Helser is the place to live. Probably because I lived there. I mean yeah, it doesnt have all the home comforts such as air conditioning and stuff like that. But the people you meet are great people. Plus its close to the UDCC. If you are hot in your dorm constantly you tend not to want to be there all the time, which causes you to go out and explore the campus of Iowa State.

So I say Helser on earth!:yes:

 

[AlleyAddict]

You realize this thread is from January, right? :wink:

 

[HerkyKiller]

Now I do.

Just wanted to put my two cents in haha.

 

[AlleyAddict]

Now I do.

Just wanted to put my two cents in haha.

:smile: Works for me