the packet: housing, meals, etc

madmax11 · 05-12-2007, 11:15 PM

It's time to fill out the packet. I was wondering about a few things and I'm sure other people are too.

1) same-sex housing. I don't want that, but where is it at Princeton? what colleges/types of rooms? If i get stuck with it, will it actually suck or not matter? or will it not even be noticeable? Is it common?

2) number of roomates. 4 or more sounds cool to me but is that pretty rare? I know Wilson has some big suites but do other colleges have a lot of them? I don't really want to put down 4 or more, but get stuck in a single because there aren't any big suites around. a quad would be good too--so is 2-3 a better idea than 4+ roommates? Can any student/anyone who knows describe what the big suites would be like for freshmen?

3) meal plans.. I assume I'm probably going to be going with the 235 or Unlimited plan. But i'm not really sure what the semester schedule is actually like (I know basically but I don't remember how many weeks or that kind of thing, if anyone has a link that would be good but I can't find it). How much does 235 translate to? Is unlimited going to be worth the extra $? Or should i just do 235 and if I go over it probably won't be by much. To me the idea of having to be careful or even be aware of how much i'm swiping in kind of seems like I pain, since I love my food.

Any other general info about what dorms we really want to draw into is appreciated too. I stayed in Wilson but I haven't seen much of the other colleges on the inside and don't know where the best layout is as far as # of people/bathrooms/that sort of thing. Thanks

yourdirtysockzx · 05-13-2007, 08:55 AM

1) at forbes (annex) and Mathey (a floor is designated for it).

2) 4 or more? don't think it's rare. I would put down 2-3... but a current student might know better.

3) don't know about this one. but a link to the academic calendar can be found on the inside cover of your course selection booklet.

most colleges have hall bathrooms shared by people on a floor...

yourdirtysockzx · 05-13-2007, 09:23 AM

Also, I would suggest everyone read the Instruction booklet.

There's a ton of information that answers your questions in it.

mfoglia · 05-13-2007, 06:13 PM

I'm a current student ('09), so here are my thoughts:

1) Extremely unlikely that you'll get same-sex dorms without asking for it. There aren't that many halls, so it's not terribly common.

2) I love quads. It's great because you get a common room, and four tends to be a good number in terms of group dynamics. Quads are rather common, too. The four or more rooms are relatively rare; they tend to be party dorms, too, if that's your thing. Wilson has by far the most. I don't think Rocky or Mathey have any, and I can't speak for the others.

3) I would be shocked if you go over 235. I do fine on 190, but I don't do breakfast.

Conventional wisdom says that Whitman, Rocky, and Mathey are the top three. Whitman is single-heavy, which I think is a bad thing, but others enjoy. Forbes is great in its own way. Butler is occupying upperclass housing next year due to the razing of the current dorms, so that'll be a step up, actually. Wilson is okay too. Every college has its ups and downs, so don't worry about where you'll get assigned.

grahamezzy · 05-13-2007, 07:35 PM

How does it work with breakfast? If you want it you need to get the 235 plan? Do the doubles rooms have kitchenettes or fridges?

quirkily · 05-13-2007, 08:03 PM

no, the rooms will only have a bed, a dresser, a closet, a shelf, and a desk for each person. if you want a personal fridge, then you'll have to buy one or rent through student agencies/somewhere else. there are kitchenettes sprinkled throughout the colleges, however, so if you reallly don't want to spend the money, you'd probably be able to use those.
you can have breakfast with the 190 plan, but it's primarily meant for students only taking two meals a day. the block plan is pretty simple: you get 190 meals a semester, which works out to a little less than 2 meals a week (i think). therefore, if you want to take breakfast with the 190 plan, you'll have to miss lunch or dinner pretty frequently. 235 and unlimited assume you'll have breakfast occasionally or often, so if you're pretty certain you're going to be waking for food every morning, you should go with one of those two. keep in mind, however, that waking up early becomes twenty times harder in college...

Weasel8488 · 05-13-2007, 09:12 PM

If I want to live in Rocky, Matthey, or Whitman, what should should I put down on my housing preference sheet?

spelld1545 · 05-13-2007, 09:17 PM

It doesn't matter, because they only look at your housing preference sheet after you've been randomly assigned to a residential college.

quantum leap · 05-14-2007, 12:18 AM

Wait, you mean the 190 is about two meals *a day,* not week, right? Because I may forget about breakfast or may not feel like eating dinner, but not that often.

yourdirtysockzx · 05-14-2007, 07:48 PM

i read on the dining site that 300 meals is the total served by the dining staff per college. (this is what you would get with unlimited i guess).

what does unlimited mean anyways?
we can swipe in twice for breakfast if we're that hungry?

justkidding · 05-14-2007, 08:10 PM

i think i am going with the 235...unlimited is a little much but i feel like if i did the 190 i would barely be in the dining hall and people say that freshman year the dining hall is a really great place to meet people and be social. any thoughts?

mysundown · 05-14-2007, 08:26 PM

I'm getting unlimited. Only $200 more, I'm not going to go hungry anytime soon..

Plus, I loved the food there. yeah it just means you can swipe in however many times.

Weasel8488 · 05-15-2007, 11:11 AM

The dining halls serve 19 meals per week, right? So how many of those 19 meals would you be able to eat, on average, under the 235 plan?

quirkily · 05-15-2007, 02:10 PM

http://facilities.princeton.edu/dini...n_balances.htm

With the 235, it looks like 15-16 meals per week, while 190 suggests 12-13 per week.

There's also a 20th breakfast on Saturday in Frist, but I don't know of anyone who actually goes, since you'd have to get up ridiculously early (7:30-9:30 or something like that).

skysongx · 05-16-2007, 05:56 PM

You have a chance to change your meal plan once a semester.. I believe its two weeks or one month after classes start. Just choose which one you think might suit your eating habits and you can always adjust it after the year starts. It also might depend on what your schedule looks like, and you don't know that until later.