Ask me anything

Colleges & Universities Arizona State University
41

<p>WackoWasko, </p>

<p>The Barrett dorms are the newest dorms on campus and, therefore, the most attractive! They’re very clean and offer some awesome features, including nicer bathrooms and a pretty awesome desk space. If you have a single room, it’s pretty cramped but still pretty nice. If you have a double room, they’re very spacious, though I think they’re as big as the double-style rooms on the rest of the campus. The biggest difference is that since they’re newer, they feel more ritzy than other dorms, which I felt made living there a lot nicer.</p>

<p>Tons of people bring TVs! I didn’t because I didn’t want to be distracted, but I know that a couple of my floormates had brought a TV and would host movie nights every week. If you have a roommate, talk to him or her and decide if you guys want to have a TV. If you do, then figure out who will be the one to bring it. If you have a single room, then obviously the decision is entirely yours! </p>

<p>You’re not expected to bring a TV at all. It’s your choice, but every room does come with a cable hookup just in case you do decide to bring one. :)</p>

42

<p>mominaz,</p>

<p>Buying stuff for a dorm was lots of fun, but it was definitely pretty stressful! I’ll tell you now that your college-bound son is probably going to bring too much stuff/stuff he won’t use during the year. The stuff you’ll need for Barrett is similar to the stuff you’ll need for any other dorm, but here’s my recommended list:</p>

<p>-Clothes. Shorts are a NECESSITY. You know what I mean if you’re an Arizona native! Also, gym clothes if he’s planning on making use of the SRC. Bring at least 1 formal outfit for any job interviews or formal engagements he might attend.</p>

<p>-School supplies. Get the basics for now - he’ll get an idea of what he specifically needs as the school year progresses. I suggest having a good supply of pencils, pens, folders to organize miscellaneous papers and syllabi, and spiral notebooks. You don’t <em>absolutely</em> need a laptop or printer because ASU’s library system does a great job of offering student computers and printers, and Barrett has a neat computer lab (plus cheaper printers than the libraries). But if you’re financially able to, then having your own printer and computer is REALLY nice and helpful. Not totally necessary, though. If you need a printer, I recommend the Kodak ESP All-in-One printer because their ink cartridges are the least expensive ([Kodak</a> - ESP 3250 All-in-One Printer - ESP 3250](<a href=“http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Kodak+-+ESP+3250+All-in-One+Printer/9449368.p?id=1218106370574&skuId=9449368&st=kodak%20printer&cp=1&lp=1]Kodak”>http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Kodak+-+ESP+3250+All-in-One+Printer/9449368.p?id=1218106370574&skuId=9449368&st=kodak%20printer&cp=1&lp=1)). Any laptop will do the job. ASU does offer free technical assistance on-campus if his laptop malfunctions or gets a virus at all.</p>

<p>Another thing to keep in mind is that the Walmart in Mesa offers 10% student discounts the first few couple of weeks of school (at least, they did last year - I believe they do it every year), and Target offers a special Target Night for students where they have supplies on-sale. So if he ends up needing more things, he’ll be covered!</p>

<p>-If he has a bike, get a metal U-lock like this one: [Bell</a> HandsOff U-Lock : Target](<a href=“http://www.target.com/Bell-HandsOff-U-Lock/dp/B000ISXSTE/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&searchView=grid5&keywords=bike%20lock&fromGsearch=true&sr=1-4&qid=1308704831&rh=&searchRank=target104545&id=Bell%20HandsOff%20U-Lock&node=1038576|1287991011&searchSize=30&searchPage=1&searchNodeID=1038576|1287991011&searchBinNameList=subjectbin%2Cprice%2Ctarget_com_primary_color-bin%2Ctarget_com_size-bin%2Ctarget_com_brand-bin&frombrowse=0]Bell”>http://www.target.com/Bell-HandsOff-U-Lock/dp/B000ISXSTE/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&searchView=grid5&keywords=bike%20lock&fromGsearch=true&sr=1-4&qid=1308704831&rh=&searchRank=target104545&id=Bell%20HandsOff%20U-Lock&node=1038576|1287991011&searchSize=30&searchPage=1&searchNodeID=1038576|1287991011&searchBinNameList=subjectbin%2Cprice%2Ctarget_com_primary_color-bin%2Ctarget_com_size-bin%2Ctarget_com_brand-bin&frombrowse=0) It’ll reduce the chance his bike will be stolen. </p>

<p>-If he has a roommate, have him talk to him to see if they want to bring things like a microwave, fridge, and/or TV. If so, they should agree upon who will bring what item. Like a printer, these items aren’t super necessary but they’re nice to have! I bought my microwave and fridge at Walmart and each was pretty cheap. You won’t need anything fancy - a mini-fridge worked fine for me throughout the year and didn’t take up much space. Even if he doesn’t want a fridge or microwave, I recommend having a basket or storage bin for miscellaneous snacks because he’ll get hungry when he’s up late studying! I was gifted an ottoman which had a removable top, so I would just dump my dry food in there for storage. When the top was on it, the ottoman functioned as a seat for any friends who came over. Multi-tasking items are great for college!</p>

<p>ASU will advertise things like microwaves and mini-fridges you can rent, but the price ends up being more than what you can get at a place like Walmart during their back-to-school sales. The only thing I do recommend considering is the water cooler they offer for you to rent. I drink a lot of water, and ASU has a deal with Sparklett’s to install a water cooler and deliver water jugs to you every two weeks. It was handy because I could just fill up my reusable water bottle every morning instead of buying packs of water every few weeks, so if he’s a big water drinker, you might want to learn more about it. They’ll give you a flyer when it gets closer to move-in day.</p>

<p>-Laundry items. A hamper and detergent are all that’s really necessary. I bought a regular pop-up hamper with handles and it lasted me the year (but by the end, it looked pretty beat-up after being lugged around to the laundry room and back). </p>

<p>-Alarm clock. Necessary. Unless he wants to use his phone as an alarm clock, I had to have one that I could depend on to wake me up in the mornings for early classes or exams!</p>

<p>-Bedding, but make sure it’s Twin XL. Bring a pillow or two - the dorms don’t supply you with pillows. Also, bring hangers for your clothes!</p>

<p>-Desk lamp. The Barrett dorms are nice, but the lighting is a little dim. Bring a basic desk lamp with a good lightbulb.</p>

<p>-First-aid kit. For miscellaneous cuts and scrapes, having some band-aids and Neosporin was helpful.</p>

<p>-Power strip. I had a printer, computer, alarm clock, desk lamp, microwave, and fridge to plug in, so having a power strip was pretty helpful. There are a few outlets around the room in convenient locations, but a power strip is helpful just in case!</p>

<p>-A basic wrench. Walmart (yes, I went there a lot for supplies!) has cheap tools for 1 dollar in the hardware section (they have red handles and they’re pretty small). Get a basic wrench just in case his bike needs tightening. The beds and doors in Barrett can be squeaky, but tightening the bolts and putting some WD-40 on them ensured that I wouldn’t wake up my roommate when I came back late from the library.</p>

<p>-Mattress pad. The beds are pretty uncomfortable, but a basic mattress pad like the ones offered at Target (their Room Essentials brand is made for dorms and college living) worked well throughout the year. </p>

<p>That’s all I can think of for now. Sorry for the huge list!</p>

43

<p>Hi sean1833,</p>

<p>The dorms are <em>somewhat</em> separated by major, but a lot of the time students are just placed where there’s space. If you’re a student athlete, you’ll probably live in San Pablo, and if you’re a Barrett student, you’ll live in a hall where your roommate will probably have a similar major. But as a PoliSci/undecided major, I’m actually not sure where you would live - I’m not entirely familiar with Manzy, Hassy, or Sonora, unfortunately. </p>

<p>However, you’ll be able to claim your preferred hall when you register for housing. I had a friend who was a PoliSci major in Hassy, but another one of my friends lived in Best Hall, so it’s really based on luck and when you register. But if you were to pick between Manzy, Hassy, and Sonora, I’d recommend Hassy just because it’s more central to where all the action is on-campus and I think you’d have a better chance at getting placed there. Hassy is huge :b Tour around and see which one you like better, though. You can ask a tour guide specifically where they think a PoliSci major would be grouped and they’ll either be able to tell you or give you a general idea of what you can expect.</p>

44

<p>yomee1,</p>

<p>I’m actually not to familiar with the international applicant process, sorry! I recommend talking to someone at 480-965-7788 or <a href=“mailto:asuinternational@asu.edu”>asuinternational@asu.edu</a> with your question to make sure you complete everything you need.</p>

<p>Hope that helps! Where are you from, anyway?</p>

45

<p>hey im from pakistan . lived in dubai for some time.btw i really flunked on my math placement test.since im an economics major do i qualify for classes such as mat 210 caluclus because i really want to study these classes. i know sonce ure a psycho major it will be difficult for u to answer but what happens if u have not achieved the score u wanted to</p>

46

<p>Why are the admissions at ASU slightly above community college level and why do they dole out scholarships like candy on Halloween? Also, how is their Political Science department?</p>

47

<p>It’s a state university whose mission is to offer affordable education to as many as possible. The state requires a certain percentage of Arizona students be offered affordable education, and considering there are only a few major state universities in Arizona, ASU has to play a major role. Just because a university is exclusive does not mean its necessarily higher quality…</p>

48

<p>Thanks for all of the useful info on “stuff” for the dorm!</p>

49

<p>Hi,
My daughter is starting at ASU in the fall as a transfer student. I found your blog today and it was very informative! I just wanted to thank you for all of the great info!!
I will be watching for more info in the near future.</p>

<p>The Mom</p>

50

<p>yomee1,</p>

<p>You might be able to retake the exam at a later date, but flunking the placement test might mean that you have to take a lower math than what you wanted to. I really recommend talking to an adviser in the economics department for more info.</p>

<p>The Economics adviser for W.P. Carey is Maria Chomina - you can email her at <a href=“mailto:maria.chomina@asu.edu”>maria.chomina@asu.edu</a> and she’ll probably either be able to give you more information or direct you to someone who can help you better than I can :)</p>

51

<p>naitou01,</p>

<p>christalena2 really said it best. They have very liberal admissions standards but that makes the campus a hubbub of lots of different kinds of students, coming from across the country or even across the globe. When I was there, some members of the academic board were thinking about making ASU a private university but, in my opinion, that would basically go against the school’s mission. Besides, it’s very affordable, and it gives Arizona residents a really high chance of going to a school that won’t break their budgets while still providing a ranked education. It might not be anything “exclusive” but if you’re looking for something you really have to hope to get into, you can opt for Barrett, the Honors College, which has very stringent admissions standards.</p>

<p>They “dole out scholarships like candy on Halloween” for a number of reasons, but I wouldn’t complain. If you have good grades, you have a chance at going to school for close to nothing. Isn’t that better than schools that don’t give out scholarships as liberally? </p>

<p>I don’t know a lot about the political science program but I believe it’s ranked, particularly since the Sandra Day O’Connor School of Law is nationally recognized. There are lots of scholarships for political science majors, which you can see here: [Political</a> Science Scholarships Information | School Of Politics And Global Studies](<a href=“http://pgs.clas.asu.edu/polisci-scholarships]Political”>http://pgs.clas.asu.edu/polisci-scholarships)</p>

<p>And here’s more information about the political science major. [Degrees</a> - Political Science | New College](<a href=“http://newcollege.asu.edu/sbs/degrees/politicalscience]Degrees”>http://newcollege.asu.edu/sbs/degrees/politicalscience)</p>

<p>A link to the school of law:
[Sandra</a> Day O’Connor College of Law](<a href=“http://www.law.asu.edu/]Sandra”>http://www.law.asu.edu/)</p>

52

<p>I am a current Barrett student and I have to say I agree with you a hundred percent on the party scene. I too thought it would be better in the honors college, but that was not the case for me. I am getting a little tired of the immaturity of my peers, but I have to say I love all the opportunities I have attending ASU. I got an AMAZING internship where I work closely with Justice O’Connor, I have a decent GPA, and now I am working for a non-profit which is focused on Africian Health care. ASU definitely has its benefits…</p>

53

<p>There is not too much of an extra workload being in honors. I am a business major too and I didn’t think it was an issue. Ps, take Bruhn for Human Event.</p>

54

<p>Hi straitcouture,</p>

<p>I’m glad someone agrees with me about the party scene! You’re very right - despite its almost excessive party-school mentality, ASU does offer a lot of great opportunities to students that are interested in finding them. I’m glad you’ve found such a promising internship! Best of luck in your future endeavors :)</p>

55

<p>Where did you transfer to?</p>

56

<p>University of California, Riverside :)</p>

57

<p>Do you like it? How do you think it compares to ASU? Was the change difficult? I have to be honest, I was just speaking with my mom about how “done” I am with ASU. I’m planning on sticking it out and going someplace fun for grad school mainly because I am scared to transfer somewhere and be behind.</p>

58

<p>Yeah, I know what you mean. I haven’t started my year at UCR yet - I begin the Fall quarter in late September. But I picked it because most all of my credits will transfer and I won’t be behind compared to other transfer students, plus the campus is very transfer-friendly and closer to home :b I’m from California originally, so the in-state tuition coupled with my transferable credits made it an easy choice.</p>

<p>I was afraid of being behind in credits as well, so I made sure to contact the advising offices of the schools I was seriously considering so that I knew how many of my credits would transfer before I committed to anything. I’m planning on shooting for a big-name Ivy or something similar for grad school, too, but I realized that I wasn’t willing to spend my undergrad years at ASU when I could be enjoying myself at a school where I could have the option of going home or being with high school friends :b</p>

<p>I’d say it wouldn’t hurt to look around and see what your options are, then think about it for a bit before making a big commitment like transferring :)</p>

59

<p>Thanks you are so sweet! I think I want to go to a middle-tier school for grad school, currently I am looking at UNC or William & Mary.</p>

60

<p>Those are great schools! Best of luck to you when the time for grad school comes. Are you originally from AZ?</p>