Son just got accepted for Fall 2022
- Thread starter stateofmind
- Start date
North parts of Friley (Stange/Niles Foster) or Helser (Louden/Livingston) are where I'd recommend as far as access to campus. I also suspect they have the basic english gen eds still in the computer labs in these halls so it saves having to walk across campus for a filler class.
Honestly avoid Martin Eaton (or any suites) because those were closed off communities (its been a while but based on previous conversations about dorms on here it sounds like the suites remain socially isolating to some degree. )
My father also was a Friley/Helser guy in the 70s and his general description of his experience was very similar to mine when I was there in the early 2000s so would not expect anything to have changed much in the following 20 years either. Propped open doors, constant social activities within the complex.
Honestly avoid Martin Eaton (or any suites) because those were closed off communities (its been a while but based on previous conversations about dorms on here it sounds like the suites remain socially isolating to some degree. )
My father also was a Friley/Helser guy in the 70s and his general description of his experience was very similar to mine when I was there in the early 2000s so would not expect anything to have changed much in the following 20 years either. Propped open doors, constant social activities within the complex.
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Nooooooooooo. That was one of the best parts of BWR. I think it was a lot better in the all male because there wasn't any showmanship to peacock for women or drama because everyone was sleeping with each other. Just dudes being dudes.
My best friends were on my floor freshman year. 33/37 were freshman on that floor and one of those 4 was the CA. Just a bunch of guys just figuring adulthood and college out. Tremendous amount of memories.
Only 9 of the 37 made it to sophomore year and all 9 graduated. All 9 lived a couple houses apart junior and senior year. Doors were always open and we were always at one house or the other. 5 of us were really close and we still have the same group chat going 10 years after starting it and we meet up regularly to hang out or go camping and stuff (in non pandemic times).
Damn I miss college
We didn’t know what it was to be drinking under age. Probably some of those 70s parties way back when is what encouraged raising the age back to 21.
I’m curious. Do you mean the rest dropped out of college or just did not stay on that same floor the next year? That would seem like a ton of people to all drop out of college!
Amen. I lived in Friley all 4 years way back in the dark ages. Our house was 80% freshman the first year. In the sophomore year, only 20% of those folks returned to campus.
There were 8 of us that were engineering/science majors that developed a unique approach to dorm life. We combined our rooms and set one up for sleeping, one for studying and one for socializing. All 8 of us graduated on a 4 year schedule and remain good friends.
Friends in the same majors that chose the live off campus seemed to need more time to get to class, make meals and such. They also needed several extra semesters to finish their degrees.
I'm a more recent grad and agree that the "traditional" dorms are the way to go for freshman year. I lived in Friley as a freshman but moved to the Martin suites with 3 other friends for sophomore and junior year. You can't beat being close to everything when you live on campus.
The "forced socialization" of the traditional dorms like Friley is so important to the college experience--makes it easier to make friends, find people to eat and study with, and keeps you engaged in campus activities whether that's a party in the room next door, a game tournament in the common areas, or the ISU After Dark activities at the MU.
Also, yes Friley is a great location for engineering students--you do go all over campus as a freshman but I still had lots of classes on the west side of campus as an ag engineering student.
The "forced socialization" of the traditional dorms like Friley is so important to the college experience--makes it easier to make friends, find people to eat and study with, and keeps you engaged in campus activities whether that's a party in the room next door, a game tournament in the common areas, or the ISU After Dark activities at the MU.
Also, yes Friley is a great location for engineering students--you do go all over campus as a freshman but I still had lots of classes on the west side of campus as an ag engineering student.
I was in Friley my freshman year in 2015 and couldn't have had a better experience. It was close to food, the gym, all the restaurants, the lake, the bookstore. It's got multiple bus routes that pass it since it's kind of a main hub so it's easy to get anywhere in town from there as well.
I will say your major really doesn't make a difference where you live freshman year. I put Friley as my first option for housing selection because I wanted to be close to the engineering buildings. Well I ended up having one class in the engineering buildings my freshman year so it didn't really matter.
I was a Helser guy in 2008 and 2009. I was a big fan of the location as an engineering student and it was social while not being crazy most of the time.
I lived in Roberts Hall my first 3 years, but spent a good portion of it in Oak-Elm working at food service and spending a lot of time with my girlfriend there, so I did my best to make Oak-Elm a coed floor.
CycloneErik
Well-Known Member
If only 9 made it to their sophomore year, that's a great reason to say that was a terrible approach.
When were you in Friley? I was on 5th floor "Niles-Foster" in the 2015-2016 school year
I lived on 5th floor Larch freshman year and my random roommate is now one of my best friends. I also still regularly talk/hang out with a few other guys on the floor. I was not at all a partier type despite most of the floor being all about it but it was still a blast and I would absolutely do it all over again
Lyon Hall - Barker House can't be beat. Oldest dorm on campus! Co-ed (split by floors, which helps)! No AC! Every room is unique! Very small - you'll know everyone in the building.
And of course, Harwood must be destroyed. Freakin' nerds, man.
And of course, Harwood must be destroyed. Freakin' nerds, man.
Small aside while enjoying reading this discussion --
It is interesting reading everybody's thoughts on the various merits and problems with different residence halls and communities on campus and in Ames. Same deal with what people think about the social aspects of the college experience, which is something I really never received in Ames.
I lived at home and commuted for 5.5 years. ISU was a commuter school to me.
So I never got most of these experiences because I was (1.) cheap, and boy did that save a lot of money over time and (2.) kind of antisocial. Just a nerd who needed his books and alone time.
That being said, marching band forced a lot of socialization on me, so it was not like I was somehow unconnected to campus or the community. Just came through different means.
It is interesting reading everybody's thoughts on the various merits and problems with different residence halls and communities on campus and in Ames. Same deal with what people think about the social aspects of the college experience, which is something I really never received in Ames.
I lived at home and commuted for 5.5 years. ISU was a commuter school to me.
So I never got most of these experiences because I was (1.) cheap, and boy did that save a lot of money over time and (2.) kind of antisocial. Just a nerd who needed his books and alone time.
That being said, marching band forced a lot of socialization on me, so it was not like I was somehow unconnected to campus or the community. Just came through different means.
Personal choices. They knew academics was part of the deal when they went to ISU. They just chose to not worry about it. People drop out/flunk out it's a fact of life. There is way more support for students now then there were 3-4 decades ago. Pay your money, pay to study. You can lead a horse to water, but can't make them drink.
10 minute walk is a huge waste of time? Man, don't ever move to Europe...
I was an Aero. Son was a EE, daughter was Psych/CJ. I lived in Larch 2 years, son in Friley 2 years, daughter in Maple and then Freddy Court. So we were everywhere.
Freshman year doesn't matter where you live, because classes are all over the place. Later years, yeah heavily west side of campus (Black, Town) and prob more so now with Howe. But by the time he is a jr/sr probably will be off campus anyway.
I lived in Larch 2 years. Rode my bike a lot. Rougher in winter, but you're on break for half of that. Now you can take the bus anywhere too. Plus they have places to eat EVERYWHERE now, so no more going back to your dorm for lunch or anything unless you want to. There's nowhere bad to live. WHO you live with matters 100x more.
Man, if I won the lotto I think I'd move to Ames and sign up. Just go to classes, walk around campus, eat. Great retirement gig.
10 minute walk is a huge waste of time? Man, don't ever move to Europe...
I was an Aero. Son was a EE, daughter was Psych/CJ. I lived in Larch 2 years, son in Friley 2 years, daughter in Maple and then Freddy Court. So we were everywhere.
Freshman year doesn't matter where you live, because classes are all over the place. Later years, yeah heavily west side of campus (Black, Town) and prob more so now with Howe. But by the time he is a jr/sr probably will be off campus anyway.
I lived in Larch 2 years. Rode my bike a lot. Rougher in winter, but you're on break for half of that. Now you can take the bus anywhere too. Plus they have places to eat EVERYWHERE now, so no more going back to your dorm for lunch or anything unless you want to. There's nowhere bad to live. WHO you live with matters 100x more.
Man, if I won the lotto I think I'd move to Ames and sign up. Just go to classes, walk around campus, eat. Great retirement gig.
So continuing this hypothetical what would you study this time or would you just pick random classes that interest you? With out giving it a lot of thought I think the random class idea intrigues me.
Like has been said by many....it's not for everyone. My daughter is off campus this year and probably until she finishes. Not that dorm life was bad....it just wasn't her cup of tea. When we packed her stuff in May she almost broke down and cried looking back at the empty room before closing the door. Seeing that I asked her if she would prefer to be on campus again and without hesitation she said "NO"! She has one year of memories about dorm life......and that's enough. She will be making more from somewhere else.
