1. Visit the Dairy Bar for a sweet treat.
2. Visit Horsebarn Hill just in time to catch the sun rise or set.
3. Attend the involvement fair and see what groups on campus you may be interested in. Make an effort to attend some clubs and see what you like!
4. Visit (at least) one of the 5 amazing cultural centers on the fourth floor of the Student Union, even if you don’t identify with the community they serve.
5. Go to late night for free fun activities, karaoke, and wings!
The most important aspect of housing, personally, is how close I will be to my classes. Incoming freshmen do not get to choose where they will be living, so during my freshman year, I was lucky to have gotten into Alumni; I initially wanted to live in the Business Connections Learning Community so I would feel more comfortable around people with similar majors (not caring or knowing where the location actually was), and fortunately, the BCLC just so happened to be a part of Alumni, which was near most of the buildings that I had classes in. Alumni is also close to South, which is one of the better dining halls on campus.
For my sophomore year, I had more options. I was able to live elsewhere, but I decided to stay in the BCLC because I liked the people, the location, and the bathrooms so much. That may sound strange, but you should take into consideration all aspects of housing when you are deciding on where you want to live. You should consider the location (near/far from classes, friends, or dining halls), the lifestyle, the size of the rooms, the size of the bathrooms, the atmosphere (loud/quiet), etc. You should look at the UConn Residential Life page before anything else. Also, as a side note, as a sophomore, you should not expect to get into the housing you want, so have 2nd, 3rd and 4th choices ready; this is because juniors and seniors have more credits, and therefore, places fill up quickly. If you really want to get into the housing you want, I suggest you ask a junior or senior to pull you in since they get to choose first. ~ Vincci Ho
Housing selection can be a stressful time in the Spring semester, as it usually falls around the same time as midterms, but if you sort out your housing plan for the following year in advance then the process can be a great experience! To be eligible to apply for next year’s housing, I would have already filled out the housing application sometime last semester that is due at the beginning of Spring semester. Also, I would check emails and the Residential Life website for updates on when housing selection will occur and when my pick date/time has been assigned.
In preparation for the pick time, I would have already talked with the people I planned on living with for next year to organize who has the earliest time, in which case that person would pull in the other roommates. In terms of picking where to live, residence halls, suites, apartments, etc. a good place to start is looking at the number of credits one has and how early the pick time is. You can have a few options in mind of where to live based on your year standing and how early your pick time is, as certain areas will fill up more quickly than others. For any questions that come up during the housing selection process, you can always talk to your Resident Assistant or email a ResLife staff member. Good luck!
~ Dean Mazzola
I prepare for housing selection by first going online to reslife.uconn.edu/myhousing. On this website, I can view my housing selection time and make sure I have it written down and am ready with my decision on that specific time and day. I may also utilize my time to decide whether or not I want to live with someone I already know or if I am going to choose a random roommate. I also find it important to have more than one option of where I would like to live incase my first choice gets taken before my pick time. In order to decide which buildings are suitable for me I might consider the location of my classes, whether or not I want to live in a learning community, or simply personal preference. This year, housing floor plans were made available to all students so that the exact appearance of each room can be considered. In the past I have also talked to fellow students who live in the building I may potentially pick and find out their opinion or possibly drop by for a visit! ~ Sarah Ollayos
My favorite thing about living on campus at UConn is being part of such a vibrant and friendly college community. Having commuted to the school I attended before transferring to UConn, I can really compare college commuter life to residential life. Living on campus is very convenient for getting to class and other places quickly and on time. In relation to that, I am part of two clubs at UConn that meet in the evenings. At my previous school, clubs also almost always met in the evenings so commuting made it very difficult for me to be a part of any clubs there. I feel much more connected to the campus community and have met more people because of the advantage of being right here and being able to be involved in clubs and other events taking place in the evenings and on weekends.
Another thing I love about living on campus is all of the places there are to go at UConn. An advantage to living at a large school is that there are always events taking place around campus and there are so many places to study, eat or meet up with friends…getting bored is never a concern! I have definitely felt much more connected to the campus and the other students at UConn than I ever achieved as a commuter student at my other school. Fully being a part of such a fantastic community and getting to take advantage of everything happening on such an active campus are my favorite things about living on campus at UConn.
My favorite thing about living on campus at UConn is being close to all of the great friends I’ve met here. It is also convenient having so many things on campus such as the Union, Jorgenson, and Co-Op just a short walk away from my residence hall.
My favorite part of living on campus at UConn is becoming part of a close-knit community. UConn feels very overwhelming with over 12,000 students on campus, but living on campus provides a smaller community within the bigger realm of UConn. Living on campus also provides an environment that allows for very strong relationship building and helps students develop meaningful relationships. Overall, living on campus has provided me with a more productive and meaningful college experience.