My daughter was technically a sophomore when she started last fall, due to AP credit and taking classes at OSU while still in high school. Not sure what role, if any, that may have played in her assignment to housing.
She did not get her first choice of dorm for freshman year. She wanted to be in the Women in Engineering dorm, which is Houck, but did not get in. Houck is a small dorm, just four floors, I believe, compared to Taylor with a dozen floors. I think Taylor was her second choice, and she has been happy with it, except for her roommate. (She was assigned a junior roommate, and the roomie is hardly ever there, which in some ways isn't too bad, since it makes it easier to study.) DD did say that the dorm is very quiet most of the time, not just at exam time.
I have no idea how they weight the various preferences when it comes to processing the applications. I do remember that DD did put a super double at the top of her preferences when it came to room size, and she got it.
I do not have personal experience with dual majors / degrees, but I know someone who has done it. Basically, many of your classes will count towards both, but it definitely depends per major. If a class is SPECIFICALLY required for a major, it generally will NOT count towards both. My friend is dual business / greek or something, and is still graduating on-time. If you can tell me which two majors, I may be able to help more; you may have to take a more rigorous course schedule, but still very do-able
bigboy94--
It depends on which classes / major / professor you end up with. Some courses are obviously much harder than others. I'm in Honors Contract in Business with an Operations Specialization and a minor in Economics...my GPA is 3.825, which after accounting for the GPA scale differences (i.e. an A- = 3.7, high school A- =4), my GPA is nearly identical in college as in high school, if that helps you at all.
Let me know if you have any more specific questions.
NTT0012:
Great question! Community bathrooms are where a whole floor uses the same bathroom, so when I lived in Siebert (co-ed, but same gender by floor), all of us used the same bathoom. In Drackett, there were private bathrooms. This means that each room (double or quad) had it's own bathroom. In the towers (Lincoln / Morrill), there are 4 rooms per suite; each suite shares the same bathroom and there are probably 8 suites (estimated) per floor. These are considered semi-private, because you only share them with your suite.
JohnKS--
I'm not sure if honors is a quad or double floor...when I lived in Siebert (honors housing), we had both quads and doubles. I would call the office of housing to see if they have any insight. You're right that it doesn't really matter much that he lives near the Psych building freshmen year as he will probably be taking many general classes (science, math, english, etc) that will be spread all over campus.
Does the bathroom thing apply to South Campus? I know that some dorms like Mack have it listed that there are some semi private bathrooms. Another question, maybe it's been asked but how long did it take for you to adjust to OSU? The campus size, people, ect.
osulolz thanks. I am also going into business with major in finance. Iam currently debating between fisher and smeal at psu. Would you say that fisher is good in terms of internships and job placement/ recruiting?
Fisher's career center is absolutely wonderful. We use a system called Fisher Connect where, typically after Fisher Job Fairs (Autumn and Winter), companies place job descriptions on the website and you can submit your resume. There are also companies that do this year round, but after the career fairs is the big surge. If a company chooses to accept you for an interview, you will interview right on campus--VERY close and convenient!
You also have to complete some brief quizzes and pass a mock interview, so you will definitely be prepared when going into the interviews. I think I interviewed with ~10 different companies on campus during my Junior/Senior year and got second/third round interviews with some as well. I was able to get a full-time job through Fisher Connect, starting in June!
It may be best to call the housing office, (614) 292-8266, for individual dorms. I have been in Mack Hall a few times, but did not take note of their bathroom situation.
In terms of adjusting, it went fairly quickly. I moved to campus Sunday (classes start Wednesday) and my friend, a guy on my floor, and I walked around campus that night and the next few days until we were familiar with landmarks, buildings, etc. Campus maps definitely help, but now I know campus like the back of my hand--it becomes very easy to navigate and becomes much smaller than it seems.
For people, it's definitely what you make it! My floor freshmen year was a great group of guys and many of us are still friends today!
Thanks for all your posts--they are very helpful. Asking for my son:
--how's the food on campus, what are the typical eating options...my son hasn't eaten in his high school cafeteria in a year because of wilted veggies, bland deli meat, & overcooked burgers. What are typical dining options & how is the food? Will he gain the freshman 15; or be the envy of all the girls & lose 15?
--dorms & dorm bathrooms....Ohio State dorms were rated fairly low on another site I was searching & therefore we are a little concerned. The bathroom situation is of great importance to him; at least in terms of the gross-out factor! How clean are the bathrooms kept; particularly the common bathrooms that freshmen will most likely see? Will he shower next year, or will we be hosing him off outside when he comes home to visit?
--also...any idea how easy/difficult it is to get an on-campus job if you don't have work-study?
Food on campus is variable, which I think makes it good. Here are some options
"Commons" Dinning: All you can eat; food isn't the greatest, but again, all you can eat!
Fresh Express: sandwiches, salads, chicken, breakfast foods, etc. A decent option
Burritos: Definitely not chipotle, but it's open until 2am
Marketplace: My personal favorite: pizza, wraps, chinese food. My favorite on campus!
Union Market: Sort of life Fresh Express, different options
I love the food freshmen year, but after living on campus for 3 years it definitely got old. I didn't mind though because it was made for you, and I'm lazy when it comes to food. You can get sides almost anywhere, bound to be something you like! For the freshmen 15, I think it depends on your activity level. In high school I wasn't very active, and I wasn't very active here either (meaning sports, working out), so I didn't gain or lose weight.
Bathrooms:
In community bathroom, which it seems you are worried about, I never found it to be a big deal. The bathrooms are cleaned daily monday-friday, so the only time they get dirty is on the weekends. You quickly get used to it, and as weird as it sounds, a lot of socialization happens in community bathrooms while you're brushing your teeth! A lot of guys wore sandals in the shower too for sanitary reasons.
I had an on-campus job for 3 years without work study. Here's a repeat of my earlier post:
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"In terms of on-campus jobs, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND becoming an office assistant (OA). This is a job where you work at a dorm (often your own dorm) and give student replacement keys, packages, etc. It's extremely easy and flexible since they know you're a student. It's honestly the easiest job you'll find on campus and helps you to get to know students in the dorm, staff, etc.
I would apply at a few buildings just to increase chances of getting hired, but once you're hired, you can basically work there until you move off campus. It's also great for night owls because they are open 24-7 so you can find a schedule that works for you. I worked at NSA Complex and there were around 50 of us, so it was really easy to get someone to cover your shift.
Lastly this job was awesome because you could do your homework during it, bring a laptop, eat food, etc. So even if you have a busy schedule, you can do homework DURING work. Make sure to apply RIGHT AWAY when school starts otherwise you may miss out.
An alternative would be working as a computer lab proctor in the fisher college of business (one of my other jobs). Also very easy, but a little less flexible.
Thank you for answering all of these questions, this has been the most useful thread on CC for me. I have yet another thing to ask though. Since you worked at orientation in 2010 could you tell me how much parent involvement there was? Mine are scheduled on a Monday & Tuesday making it difficult for my mom to attend the whole event. She might be able to make it the morning of the first day but that's about it. Are there a ton of student/parent events or do they mostly split everyone up?
What sorts of fun things are there to do off- campus ? Asking here as a parent ,my son decided today on OSU for a PhD program in Nuclear Engineering . A bunch of his friends from CWR have decided to come to OSU . What sort of unique restaurants are nearby ? Is there a Whole Foods or Trader Joes ? Thank you for your help .
Do you use your Buckid card in the laundry rooms in the dorms or quarters? I was looking at a page I found today regarding all of the charges they work in to your tuition, room and board, and they had $216 in for laundry (8 loads a month @ $1.25 for the washer and $1 for the dryer). They mentioned quarters. They also mention detergent and such. I assumed the students bring their own?
When you look at the Buckid website they mention the laundry rooms in the various dorms.
What are typical dining options & how is the food? Will he gain the freshman 15; or be the envy of all the girls & lose 15?
