You're right about the virtual tours - all the suite style residences are basically the same on the inside, and all the traditional residences are basically the same too. There are small differences, like Deli rooms are bigger than Saugeen rooms and MedSyd rooms have two closets, but they're all basically identical.

1. Basically, yes, you're mostly picking based on style and area. I'll give you a quick breakdown about the pros and cons of each traditional res' area:

Saugeen: Being at the north end of campus, Saugeen is walking distance (trust me, it is) from Masonville Mall, and is also just across the street from the Social Science Centre and the University Community Centre. The average walking time to either of the major libraries on campus (Weldon or Taylor) is probably around five minutes (maybe 7, but all in all, super short) and it's very close to the Nat Sci bus stop (where pretty much all buses stop, and the Toronto-bound Greyhound on Fridays.) The farthest thing from Saugeen is the gym or the engineering buildings, which are probably a 15 minute walk away. For the record, I was on the Varsity Skating Team this year, and trekked from Saugeen to the gym at 5:30 in the morning, three times a week. It's not so bad, I promise. :) Extra perk with Saugeen's location? You rarely have to walk up UC Hill.

Deli: Located right at the centre of campus, just at the bottom of UC Hill. Pretty close, but not thaaaat close, to everything. Walking up UC Hill is required to get to either of the libraries, or the other Sci buildings. Less than a 5-minute walk to Talbot College (Music), Middlesex (random classes) or the North Campus Building (majority of first year science and MIT classes). Richmond Street is just across the bridge, and there is a bus stop right in front of Deli. Known for its good location.

MedSyd: On the eastern side of campus, on University Ave across the bridge over the Thames. Basically the same location as Deli, except much closer to Richmond St (if you want to catch the 6 and go downtown) and you have to walk around the corner and over the bridge to get to the main part of campus. MedSyd is a lot closer to King's (which has a gorgeous library) than other residences, other than Elgin and Alumni of course.

Sorry the Saugeen description was so much more detailed, but I lived there so I have more to say about it, haha.

2. Yes, this year Essex Hall and London Hall were a sort of "combined" res, with Essex being 100% first years, and also accommodating the first years who were placed in London Hall, which was a mostly upper-year residence. This coming year, London Hall is going to be 100% first years as well, and will be autonomous from Essex (haha). No, it won't affect your bonding experience with other first years, because you will all be in the same boat! (If you get London.)

3. Perth can be seen as having the "best of both worlds" - you would get the "social experience" of a traditional res, but the bathroom of a suite style. On the other hand, it has the disadvantages of both styles as well - you have two doors separating your suite from the floor, and you don't have a kitchen. On the other hand, people who live in Perth seem to love it. You'll love whatever res you're in.

If you think you want suite, awesome! I hope your lottery number gets picked early enough. But don't be bummed if you get traditional, especially if you get Saugeen. It'll be great no matter what.

1. Walking to class is usually along paths or not-so-major roads, but there are always options. You could walk down Western Rd (the main "major" road running north-south along the west side of campus) to a point, but once you're "on" campus, it's all paths and smaller roads.

2. Res rooms are small. They are. If you're worried about being claustrophobic, I'm preeeetty sure that Deli double rooms are the biggest, but they're all pretty much the same size - small. None of them really feel claustrophobic though, it's hard to get a feel for the depth of a room from a panoramic camera.

3. The University Ave area is the prettiest part of campus - the "money shot", if you will. The view going over the bridge, facing UC Hill is the photo on all of Western's brochures. But really, it's not like you have that view from your res room. There are many opportunities to see beautiful parts of campus without living near them haha.

4. All residences are pretty much the same distance from downtown. You can catch the 6 from stops close to Medsyd and Saugeen, and the bus ride to downtown is maaaaaybe two or three minutes longer from Saugeen. Maybe.

5. Absolutely! All Western Students (main campus as well as HBK) are welcome to use all Western Libraries (main campus as well as HBK). A quick list of libraries accessible to you as a UWO student are : Weldon, Taylor, King's, Huron, Brescia, Law, Ivey, Pride. :)

No problem, I like answering questions :) Practicing being a soph for september ;)

You can request specialty floors on your residence application - some specialty floors I can think of are the quiet floor, healthy lifestyles floor, creative arts floor, volunteer and service learning floor, leadership floor, cultural diversity floor, and then faculty-specific floors. There could be others, and different buildings have different specialty floors. You can find out which specialty floors are offered in which buildings on the residence at western website. Other than that, they don't cluster students in the same faculty. It's legitimately a lottery system.

Is london hall hard to get into, and are people generally not as outgoing?

People are put in res on a lottery-based system. Other than Saugeen, they're all hard to get into.

I would probably recommend Saugeen, to be honest. It looks like you're more of a traditional style person (the only one of your criteria that is stereotypically associated with suite style residence is the bathroom), and Saugeen is literally right across the street from Social Science.

Socializing will happen in any res, but is generally associated with traditional style residences because of the door-to-floor thing (see earlier posts). Especially if you don't want to cook, having a caf that's open weekends and nights is great.

Joining clubs and being involved is much larger than res, and won't be affected by where you live. :)

EDIT: I forgot to recommend residences. For traditional, I would recommend Saugeen, just because of how close it is to Social Sci. If you're anti-saugeen, my next recommendation would be Delaware for location. Suite style-wise, I would recommend Elgin since it's closest to Social Sci of the suite buildings.

Hi! Can you please describe the state of the washrooms in traditional-style residences in detail? How many washroom stalls, showers, sinks, etc. on each floor per gender.

And is it difficult to sleep at night with so many people living so close to you? Such as issues with loud music, talking, the sound of showers and hair dryers, etc.

Thanks! Also, I've heard that it's mandatory that students leave the residence during winter vacation. What happens to students who don't live in London and don't plan on returning back to their families for the break?

Ermm... I do not know. But Western and RezLife are pretty accomodating. You won't be on the street.

I hope you're kidding, but if you actually want to party 4-5 times a week, perhaps reconsider university. Unless you are a genius, it will be incredibly difficult to stay in any program with that lifestyle...