<p>Hi.
I’m a parent of a rising HS senior who is applying at UOM-Twin Cities this fall (2008). We attended an IT Dept open House last summer and we were very impressed with the campus and IT dept. Btw, he is planning on majoring in Electrical Engineering. On a second visit, he had an opportunity to sit in on a class. </p>
<p>Oh, I just like to mention, I like the idea of housing for common majors. Is this hard to get in to? I hear its only available to freshmen though.</p>
<p>Anyway, I would like to hear additional experiences or information others would like to share with prospective students and parents?</p>
<p>I don’t know about the common housing you refer to. I do know the electrical engineering department at Minnesota: my best friend from childhood went there. It was good then, and it is good now. </p>
<p>My son is looking forward to taking dual-enrollment classes at Minnesota this coming school year and the next. Maybe we’ll see each other there.</p>
<p>with housing for common majors, I think you’re talking about the honors program. The honors program has completely changed now into a university-wide program instead of w/in each school. But before that, an alumnus told me that to get into IT honors people needed a 34 or higher in the math section of the ACT.</p>
<p>Ok, I did some searching on the U website. There is common housing for the honors program too, but what I was referring to is the IT Explorations House. Its a common residential learning environment for engineering and science majors. Unfortunately, theres only space for 100 students. Sounds like a pretty slim chance of getting in !!</p>
<p>Oh, I hear cable TV is spendy on campus. Not sure why? Anyway, sonny boy doesn’t watch much TV anyway. But what really got my wife’s attention was you have to pay for laundry. We visited Mankato State and it was free there.</p>
<p>jasper, I’m also a parent of a rising senior, and I work at the U of M. I just volunteered to be a “helper” on move-in day at the dorms later this month. (Hey, it’s a free T-shirt, and an afternoon to be away from my desk.) If you have specific questions, I may be able to check things out for you on that day.</p>
<p>Hi ChiSquare. Thanks for the offer.
One thing I just learned is some colleges “triple” students, i.e. assign 3 to a dorm room originally designed for 2 students.
I would like to know their policy on this this? I would hate to find this out too late like some parents and students. I feel its a shame some schools aren’t up front about this, or least tell you it’s a possibility.</p>
<p>I was assigned to a forced triple in my small liberal arts college so it can happen anywhere. It ended up just fine and my parents appreciated the price adjustment on the bill. BTW, although I can’t see how laundry could be a dealbreaker (especially since many kids do very few loads) but it is free in quite a few, but not all of the dorms.</p>
<p>I was looking at one school that does issue a credit, but only if you were tripled for the entire semester. And even then, it was only a couple hundred dollars off the tab. I guess some schools are better at providing accomodations for 3 students, rather than just piling them on top of each other.
I would be really ****ed if my son was crammed into a room, just so they could increase their enrollment though. I hear thats how some colleges accomodate their late applicants.</p>
<p>As a returning undergrad I CHOSE to live in a double room with two others (3 total). Last year I found out that it was impossible for me to do any homework in my room (too many distractions), so the only time I spent in my room was during the weekends and when I was sleeping. For this reason I’m taking advantage of a cheaper rate (almost 1k cheaper), even if it is for just one semester. I don’t think I’m missing out on any accommodations as they put in another desk, dresser, etc. I think it’s also a great way for freshman to meet upperclassmen and get off on the right foot. I think a little guidance would have gone a long way last year and I’m excited to help out my new roomies (one is a freshman) in any way I can.</p>
<p>Jasper, I just finished my volunteer shift on move-in day. I spent some time talking to the RA of the dorm where I was assigned. They said that they do not triple students in a double room. They tend to deal with the problem of more-accepted-students-than-planned-for by letting upper classmen out of their contracts (or even buying some out of their contracts). They will occasionally make a double out of a large single, but they never convert doubles to triples. Or so he told me.</p>
<p>I overheard some of the students who were moving in saying things to one another like “I’m on the IT floor”. So that must be an option.</p>
<p>It was fun seeing all the planned activities for Welcome Week. They are certainly doing a lot more in terms of orienting and taking care of freshmen than they have in the past. Makes me want to go back to school!</p>
<p>My oldest moves into his dorm on Saturday. (Dual-enrollment students like him and returning upperclassmen have a different move-in day from freshmen.) Our whole family is happy for his impending on-campus experience.</p>