Hey all! Here's a comment from one of my readers, Matthew Cook, and perhaps you have similar questions that he does. Here's Matt's Comment, followed by my response. It's kind of lengthy, so make sure you have the time to read.

Cheers!
MSK

I was wondering, which of the residence halls was the most convenient, from your experience? Convenient in terms of being close to the café (food in general), and being close to my classes would be nice too =D. I will be majoring in Software Engineering so my classes will be mainly computer classes; Is there a specific location for these types of classes that are close to any one of the resident halls? I am not too fond of walking in the cold, and would like everything to be fairly close, at my fingertips. I just got my housing plan in the mail, and wanted some incite on this decision.

P.S.: How does one become an R.A? And what are the perks?

My Response:

I share your sentiments in regards of walking in the cold. So: you are looking for the most convenient residence hall, closest to the dining hall and campus. My best suggestion would be to try for Pearl Hall. It is right next to the dining hall and is in fact approx 50 steps to get there. Pearl Hall has a decent sized lounge and 3 washers and dryers in the basement. The rooms are pretty decently sized and range from doubles to quads. There's a quad that has its own bathroom, located on the first floor. After Pearl, then perhaps Cushing Hall, or Bader Hall (Both are nice, but I Pearl would be my first choice).

My knowledge about software engineering classes and where they are located is limited, but my general understanding is that those classes take place mostly in Skiff annex, which is right next to the admission office if you've ever taken a tour, which is something that I highly recommend ;-) The hall that is closest to Skiff Annex is Whiting Hall, although you probably wouldn't be taking too many software engineering related classes in your first year, but it's something to keep in mind. Now, Whiting is about 3 minutes from the dining hall as opposed to Pearl's 30 seconds (even less if you walk fast).

As for meal plans: you can change your meal plan at ANY point in the year. That being said, I would suggest purchasing the 19 meal a week plan until you get acclimated to college life. 19 will give you your 3 meals a day for Mon-Fri, plus brunch and dinner for Sat and Sun. So all your bases are covered. Some people get the Carte Blanche plan which is unlimited meals. I personally use a 15 meal a week plan. It's a little cheaper, and I don't usually get up in the morning for breakfast, I usually go for lunch and then, of course, dinner.

For RA: Requirements are a GPA of 3.0, and have lived at least one semester in Champlain Housing, I think that's it for requirements... As for the perks: you get your own single for free, and you receive a $2000 stipend throughout the year as compensation. The duties of being an RA are being "on duty" meaning being in your building at 8pm and being awake to 12am and being around for residents. RAs also have to plan programs, 1 educational, 1 social, and 1 bulletin board each month. It's a lot of work, but it's a lot of fun if you like to try new and interesting things. It's kind of like being Senior Patrol Leader, but easier than organizing an Eagle project.