Off campus apartments: your suggestions

akhbhaat
Fri, 19 Dec 2008 04:04:28 +0000

Anyway…if you all know anything about Ragans, let me know. I have heard the rooms are tiny, but that it is decent. They don’t need a fancy place! They’ll go ahead and have 2 random roommates…hopefully that will be fine. Personally, I think it will be a great way to meet some new people. Thanks again for the comments!

Ragans is fairly new. In fact, I didn’t even know they had given it a name - I always just knew it as the “new apartment complex.” Originally, space was only allocated for students in their second year or beyond, but that has apparently changed. That should give you an idea of how desirable they are - or were.

Yes, the bedrooms are tiny, and two people share each bathroom. However, that’s a better ratio than any of the other dorms, where 4:1 is the minimum. The Ragans apartments also have kitchens with stoves and refrigerators, as well as a common area. They’re clean and well-maintained. Each unit as a whole is probably half the size of a typical off-campus apartment.

Ragans is basically halfway between a “real” apartment and a dorm. It has a lot of the physical amenities of a typical apartment, less the space, but still offers the convenience of a dorm. On the other hand, you still have an RA, and people tend to stick to their units (rather than hanging out or wandering the hallways) so they aren’t nearly as social as the more traditional dorms. That could be good or bad depending upon the person living there.

I wouldn’t worry so much about randoms in dorms. I’ve heard of a lot of horror stories, of course - but the difference is that the university housing department will actually try to resolve those problems, unlike most apartment complexes.