With internal and community housing selection quickly approaching, many Boston University students are choosing to research their housing options instead of picking a random dormitory or apartment.
In the past, curious students have attended the Housing Expo to learn about the different housing options around campus. At the expo, there were representatives and floor plans for all of the dorms and apartments.
Director of Housing Marc Robillard said that there is no expo this year because "over the years it seems to have out-used its usefulness." He said the attendance at the expo was low and that many students did not find it very informative.
Robillard noted that many of the floor plans need to be updated to reflect the current status of the dorms and apartments. Along with updating them, he notes that eventually the floor plans will be placed on the Office of Housing website to make the information more easily attainable.
Robillard said placing the floor plans onto the website would be part of a streamlining of the housing process online, much like class selection. This year marked the first time the housing deposit and same room selections were done online and Robillard said he thought it was very effective.
Because of this addition, Robillard said a few hundred additional students did same-room selection than in previous years, which could make community and internal selection harder this year.
Because of the possible shortage of apartment-style or brownstone housing during community and internal selection, Robillard said it is important that students are informed about their housing options.
College of Arts and Sciences freshman Deirdre Willner went to the Office of Housing to look at floor plans of the different dormitories. She said she did this in order to have her top choices ready for her housing appointment.
Willner said instead of waiting and seeing what happens during room selection, she decided to "put a priority list together" in order to be prepared to pick her housing.
Robillard said as it gets closer to the time for students to pick their housing, the Office of Housing will be full of students looking at floor plans.
Another option many students utilize to become informed about their housing option is the BU Backdoor website. The website was put together by the Student Union housing committee and contains pictures and descriptions of each dorm, lists of each building's benefits and detriments and student input about their experiences in each dorm.
According to the website, "the Backdoor is designed to aid new and returning students in making an informed decision in regards to housing."
CAS sophomore Elisa Ventriglia has searched the Backdoor website to learn more about the different housing options available. Her favorite part about the website is the section where it shows student secrets about each dorm.
Ventriglia thinks the Backdoor is very informative and a good source of housing information, but would like it if the website featured the floor plans of each dorm or apartment.
CAS freshman Stephanie Feinerman also looked at the site to prepare for housing selection. Her main reason for searching the site was to see if there was any reason she should not choose to live in a certain dorm.
Feinerman said she thinks the website is informative but could be better if there were more student opinions about their experiences living in a dorm.
When it comes time to pick housing, Robillard recommended students have an open mind about their housing options and develop a list of realistic choices. He also suggested students educate themselves before deciding. Students can visit the Office of Housing to look at floor plans, or talk to Resident Assistants or students who live in each dorm.
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