beyondsection17 has been doing a good job answering questions, but if you want a different perspective, I'm happy to help too. I lived in Med-Syd first year and London Hall this past year as a soph. I am returning to London Hall again next year (yay!). So if you have any questions regarding rez life, sophing, O-Week, school, etc, I would be glad to help you out!

Congrats! I was going to say that you sound like you'd make an awesome soph :)

@Freebird - Thanks! :)

Ok so here goes:

To be honest, traditional rezes seem to have more of a party reputation, mostly because as there is only one door separating you from the floor (room --> floor as opposed to room --> hallway --> main area --> floor), which sort of helps foster friendships and a sort of "community" atmosphere. On the other hand, suite style rezes would seem like the best place to party, since there's a common area in each suite that isn't anyone's bedroom haha.

Really, most university parties are the same and they're definitely the same from res to res, there is no one res that doesn't drink, no one res that has only crazy drinking parties, etc. As for whether perth is "known" to party, really the only res that is "known" to party is Saugeen, and that's just a reputation stemming from misrepresentation of the building's history.

As for distance from campus... In first year, it seems like a building's distance from campus is a big deal, but as we all started looking for houses and apartments for second year, we realized that all the residences were super close to campus compared to what we were looking at. Living in Saugeen, I lived super close to everything on campus except the gym, really, and even that was only maybe a 10-15 minute walk away. So yeah, Perth is a lot farther from say, the UCC or the libraries than buildings like Deli or Saugeen, but when it comes down to it, it's pretty darn close.

As for the best locations on campus, I'd have to rank the rezes:

1. Deli
2. Saugeen
3. MedSyd/Elgin
4. Essex
5. Alumni House
5. London/Perth

But really, they're all pretty close to everything.

And as for the best looks, it really depends on what you want in a building. Like MedSyd and Deli have that old-school, castle-ish feel (especially MedSyd), but Elgin, Essex, London and Perth all look like newly-furbished apartment buildings. So really, it depends. But to be honest, it really doesn't matter what a building looks like from the outside. Saugeen is by far the ugliest res, looks-wise, and I actually loved it so much. You'll love whatever building you end up living in.

Freebird - anything you'd add/change?

Saugeen and MedSyd are both incredible residences. You'll have a great time and have no trouble studying at either. :)

I honestly don't know - they both have a lot of incredible qualities that are very different. When I originally applied to Western, MedSyd was my first choice. But now, I can't imagine living anywhere except the 'geen. I don't regret a minute I spent in Saugeen, but I'm sure that if I lived in MedSyd I'd feel exactly the same way.

Even soph-wise, I know a lot of next year's Saugeen and MedSyd sophs, and they're all incredible people. Honestly you can't go wrong.

Again, beyondsection17 has covered everything thoroughly. I want to emphasize again that wherever you end up, you will enjoy it! Just make an effort to get to know your floor, etc. Regardless of the residence, there are always some people on any floor that you will rarely see, and there are always people who hang out together and really make the floor a community. If you like to party, then you will have no trouble finding others, don't worry! And yes, there are always people who drink far too much. Sadly I don't think that will change since a lot of people are just learning their limits.

As far as partying, suite-style vs. traditional doesn't seem to vary much as far as craziness. Things have been known to get out of hand at all of them once in a while. But yeah, the common room in suite-style allows for more people to hang out comfortably but in traditional the party tends to span several rooms anyways, so there's really not much of a difference.

Location. Having experienced both the University Drive side of campus (Med-Syd), and the south end (London Hall), there are of course pros and cons of each. Being in science, most of my classes are in NCB or Natural Science, so it's about 12-15 minutes from London Hall but 5-8 from Med-Syd. I like to walk, but a lot of people bus from London/Perth/Essex. I think overall I like living in the south side more, mainly due to proximity to the gym and the fact that the UCC is on the way to/from my classes if I need to run errands (UCC grocery store=awesome). Whereas in Med-Syd everything on campus was kind of out of the way I guess. But Med-Syd is on the 6 and 13 bus routes, which is really convenient for going downtown and to Masonville. From London you have to walk at least 5 minutes to get to a bus that will take you to most places on Richmond.

beachbuum, where are you from? I had to do the same thing since I had never been to London before going to Western haha

Hey guys,

I'm having some trouble deciding how to rank residence and was wondering if I could get some opinion. I've narrowed my residence preferences to about 4 choices.

TRADITIONAL: Medsyd, Perth(Hybrid traditional?) - I'd request single room.
SUITE: Essex, Elgin

I have a couple generic questions that have kind of been answered but would like to get some more opinion as well as some specific questions.

1. Starting off, I really don't know if I want the traditional residences or the suite style residences. I think I'm well informed about the main arguments between the two, the way I see it there are really pros/cons of both. I see the suite as more comfortable, and I think that's important to me. Things like fridges and kitchens (Even though I don't cook much), microwaves/toasters etc. are definitely a plus. I like the fact that you can have your own private kind of room - I really don't like going to a public place to study.

I am a little (probably unnecessarily) wary of meeting people though and would like to have the optimal chance - I wouldn't say I'm introverted though. My friend from Medsyd told me he really bonded with everyone in the res, not just his floor and I'm looking for something like that. How is the bonding in the suite style? I'm also debating whether I should request a roommate for suites or not - I know some people going to Western but I don’t think I’d want to be roommates with anyone I knew in high school (Especially because I'm not supertight with them anyways).

Of course there is the washroom issue, this has to do again with the comfort. Overall, I think meeting people is very important and would prefer traditional for that, but I think I'd be a lot more comfortable in a suite.

2. I'll get into arguments specifically about the residences themselves now. I understand Perth and Essex are kind of in one area, and Medsyd and Elgin are in another area.
If I do suite, I’m curious to how people would compare Elgin and Essex. Apparently Elgin is slightly nicer than Essex but Essex has a way better social community. I’ll also know 2 RAs next year at Essex which would potentially make it a lot better experience.

For traditional, I know Medsyd’s social experience is amazing but Perth is pretty nice and comfortable. How would people compare the two?

Apparently the main cafe which will be open 7 days is going to be Essex next year (Was Perth this year) so that makes that area attractive. I also heard there was a Macs and Subway (Both very useful IMO close to the perth and essex area).

3. Random
Do people who get the continuing education scholarship (10 thousand for 95+ percent students) get any preference advantages like athletes top 4 or whatever)?

Any other residence tips?

Sorry for writing so much.

@beachbuum

I'm from Calgary, so London is a smaller city than I'm used to, but with the University it has a nice feel. Overall I quite like the city. There are lots of trees and a fair amount of green space. I like to run, so I do notice that the pathway system is not very good compared to Calgary but then again people from elsewhere are impressed by it... and while the snow clearing on campus is generally good, I have to admit off campus sidewalks are pretty awful in the winter (another reason to live in rez!).

Top 3 rezes. This is an incredibly difficult question because I honestly do believe you will love wherever you are, and chances are you won't get your first choice anyways. By the sounds of it, you won't have trouble making friends, so it comes down to whether you want your own space I think. And also where your classes are if you want to minimize walking. For traditional, I'm biased, but personally I would put 1. Med-Syd, 2. Deli, 3. Saugeen. Perth is a hybrid, so I don't know which category to put it in. Maybe after Deli? For suite style it gets more complicated since London and Alumni have full kitchens but no cafe, so it really depends what you prefer. I definitely love my oven! Alumni's a really small community, whereas London, Elgin, and Essex are all larger (400-500). And also in London you have fewer roommates, which can be good or bad. Again I am biased because I live in London and I love it, so for suite-style I would put 1. London, 2. Essex, 3. Elgin, 4. Alumni.

Sorry, that was kind of a non-answer, but I hope the extra info helped.

@immaculatedx

1. You seem to have a pretty good idea of the pros and cons. I was concerned about the lack of privacy and personal space in traditional but I adjusted pretty quickly. Living in London Hall now it is nice to have my own space, but I do miss my roommate from first year! Bonding in suite-style is pretty similar, but there is less emphasis on eating in the cafe as a floor since some people cook. It just means spending time together in different ways. With the common room in every suite it does make floor hang outs a little easier. The only issue is that some people tend to shut their suite doors so then it's hard to get to know them. This is why going to all the O-Week events with your floor and hanging out at the beginning of the year is so key. It's going to be awkward for most people, but it really makes a difference.

Roommate requests - this generally works out well as long as you don't stick together too much, because if you want to be open to meeting as many people as possible. But if you aren't absolutely sure if you can live with them, I wouldn't bother requesting them. Most people come into rez not knowing anyone, so you'll be in good company.

Bathrooms - yes, traditional rezes have public washrooms, which means less privacy. But in suite-style you have to consider cleanliness, since your suite is only cleaned every few weeks. Bathroom and kitchen cleaning can be a major source of roommate issues if you don't discuss it.

2. I haven't been in Elgin for a long time, so I'm not the best person to comment, but I think they're pretty comparable. Like Matt said, unless you're lucky you won't be placed in either anyways. Med-Syd vs. Perth. They are completely different, since Med-Syd is super old and full of tradition, whereas Perth is new and physically very nice. Any specific questions regarding that? Unfortunately I have very little experience with Perth.

3. Sorry, I can't help on that one. My guess is no? Athletes get priority so they can be close to training facilities, so I don't think that carries over to grades.

I hope that was somewhat useful...

I 100% agree with Freebird's explanation, on all accounts actually. Just a couple of comments:

As for the amount of greenery in London, I recommend google mapping London Ontario. It's also nicknamed "The Forest City" if that gives you an idea of the landscape.

I especially agree with your analysis of MedSyd vs Perth - I've never lived at MedSyd, (though I've crashed there), but that building just bleeds spirit and tradition. There are constantly choruses of "FIRE IT UP!" and everyone jumps in. It's an amount of building spirit that most other rezes like to bash and call "cult-like", but when it comes down to it, we're all jealous of MedSyd's atmosphere. Like I would say that Saugeen has the 2nd most spirit of any res, just because our res is legendary - like everyone's heard of it, and there are so many of us. There are also lots of songs about Saugeen (one, the most well-known, by Brad Harries, but Rick McGhie also does a special SMH cover of Country Roads), written because of the crazy amount of love people have for this building.
So we're probably second when it comes to building pride. But we can't touch MedSyd's spirit and tradition, and we know it. But Perth has much newer facilities. Your call.

As for suite vs traditional, I gave the basic answer earlier, but I just want to stress that if you want to make friends on your floor and party and study and all in all have a wonderful residence experience, you will, no matter what res you're in. It may be easier to get that experience in a traditional res, but it's certainly not impossible in a suite.

Still it remains, red yellow green in my veins!

Roommate requests: A lot of people are under the impression that someone they know from high school will be a better roommate than someone they meet at school. Just keep in mind that being friends with someone, (even really good friends) and being able to live with someone are two very different things. I know a lot of high school roommates who worked out wonderfully and are still amazing friends, but I know just as many who don't speak to each other anymore. Personally I had a random roommate, and we weren't best friends, but we could live together. Also, the vast vast vast majority of roommates aren't anything like the horror stories I'm sure you've heard!

As for bathrooms, I lived in what you all probably consider the worst cast scenario, Saugeen, and the bathrooms were never an issue for me. I never had to wait in line for a shower, I never had to wait to use a stall, in fact usually when I was in the bathroom I was the only one there. The bathrooms in traditional res are also cleaned for you every day, while in suite style they're mainly the residents' responsibility.

EDIT: Here's a link to 'Saugeen One Time' if anyone's curious :) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1Z6gxNh5kI

Hey Guys,

Thanks a lot for the advice so far - I think I speak for anyone who has been asking questions when I say that I really appreciate it!

So I took a virtual tour of all the residences on the website. Really to me all the suites look pretty much the same and all the traditional residences pretty much look the same (With the exception of Perth).

So basically, for my ranking would be based on which 1. style (style vs. traditional) I'd want and also which 2. area I want (Perth/London/Essex area vs. Medsyd/Elgin area). Are there are further comments on the different area locations? pros/cons of both?

A few of my other questions:

Is it true that London only recently became available for first years? Would that impact the bonding experience with other first years?

I'm intrigued by Perth but also wary of it at the same time. It seems you're paying a lot for a traditional where the style of living is more or less like a suite? How is the social scene (relative) to other residences?

Overall, I think I'm going to go with suite style living because it looks a lot more comfortable. And I think I'm leaning towards the perth/london/essex area (Hopefully I can get that area!)