Congratulations! You’re now accepted into Rowan University as a freshman and now you need to choose where you want to live on campus. There are 9 residence halls to choose from:
Chestnut Hall
Magnolia Hall
Willow Hall
Mimosa Hall
Laurel Hall
Oak Hall
Evergreen Hall
Mullica Hall
Holly Pointe Commons
So how do you know which one you want to live in? There are pros and cons to every residence hall. I had to opportunity to talk to current Rowan University students on some reasons on why they chose their freshman year residence hall and why they liked living there. Hopefully their experiences can help you choose your home away from home at Rowan.
Briana Vogel, a senior international studies major from Neptune, Monmouth County, lived in Mimosa her freshman year and is currently living in Holly Pointe Commons. “I chose to live in Mimosa because I liked that it was in the middle of everything. The cafeteria was right there and also the gym. I also like living in Holly Pointe this year because it’s air conditioned and the cafe is right here in the building.”
Commenting on Laurel, sophomore sociology major Chelsea Mintiens from Buena, Atlantic County, says, “I loved living in Laurel because it was small and you knew everyone in the building. The people on your floor became your best friends and family. We would all leave our doors open and just walk freely in and out throughout the day. We are together and hung out every day and all night on weekends. We all became so comfortable with each other and I wouldn’t have picked anywhere else to live my freshman year.”
Shanice Figgs, a senior biology major from Rahway, Union County, said she knew right away that she wanted to live in Mullica her freshman year. “I saw the pictures online and they had bigger rooms with more space,” explaining, “It’s all about how you set up your furniture. After you move your furniture around you get a bigger space.” The only thing Shanice didn’t like about living in Mullica was sharing a bathro
om.
Some students decide to just be randomly assigned to any housing option. Jaelle Laurore, a junior biochemistry major from Maplewood, Essex County, was randomly assigned to Laurel her freshman year. She was placed in a triple room but said she liked it because the room was big enough that none of the beds had to be bunked and everyone got their own wardrobe.
Madeleine Spencer, a junior psychology major from Hopewell Boro, Mercer County, got a random assignment into Magnolia but then then chose to be reassigned to Willow. She said, “I liked living in Magnolia because I lived on the third floor and there was a lot of ceiling space. I liked living in Willow because it was cozy and I lived with good people.”
Sean Pierson, a sophomore radio, TV, film major from Bridgeton, Cumberland County, lived in Evergreen his freshman year after being randomly assigned to the residence hall. Even though Sean got a random assignment he liked that his room in Evergreen was air-conditioned, he lived on the first floor and that he had a suite-style bathroom. (With a suite-style bathroom, students’ bathrooms are attached to their bedroom door. They do not have to enter a hallway to visit the bathroom.)
For Marc Dixon, a junior mathematics major from Glassboro, Gloucester County, he volunteered to be placed in a triple his freshman year but he was given the option to live in a quad in Oak, so there were four people total in the room. Marc said, “Overall, I liked Oak. It was homey and really grew on me over time. It’s one of the smallest dorms (housing fewer students than other dorms) and is away from a lot of the other ones like Chestnut, Mimosa, Willow and Magnolia, which is both bad and good. It’s good because you get your own space away from everything that’s crazy on the other side of campus, but bad because you can miss out on a lot of stuff that’s going on. The best thing I think is to just have a steady group of friends so you always know what’s going on. That’s what worked for me.”
Cristin Farney, a professor and staff member at Rowan, lived in Chestnut when she was an undergraduate student. The part she liked best was that the bathroom was a communal style. So while that meant she had to walk outside of her bedroom and into a hallway to access the bathroom, housekeeping cleaned the bathrooms instead of she and her suitemates.
Hopefully this gives you a feeling on what some of the housing options are here on campus. Remember, you do get to choose your roommates, which can make your University housing experience more fun. Talk over different options with your roommate and choose a hall that is a best fit for all of you. When you apply for housing it’s going to ask you for your top 3 places where you want to live. Make sure you are satisfied with all 3 choices because it’s not guaranteed that you’ll get your first choice.
Here is a map of Rowan University’s campus, to help you learn where each residence hall is located.
By: Alonza Cotton,
Senior advertising major from Glassboro, Gloucester County