➪ UW Residence 101
Living on residence is a luxury. I would highly recommend choosing to live on campus during 1st year. Finding a place to live off campus is a pain, especially if you're not from the Waterloo region. But since I know the process seems quite confusing for some of us (including me. I still don't believe I successfully managed to secure a place on residence), I'll give a brief explanation of how it works.
You accept your offer by the 1st June deadline, and deposit $500 to secure a place on residence. That's the 1st step. This ensures that you will live on campus during 1st year. The university will then confirm that your space has been reserved. By mid-June, you'll have to indicate your residence choices on the Residence Preference Form. This includes your residence, room type, roommate preference, meal plan, whether you want to live in a Living Learning Community (LLC) etc. This is all you have to do. By July, you'll receive your residence contract, which you'll have to accept by a given deadline. And you're done!
Here are some FAQ's regarding residence:
1. If I start early, would that make a difference?
Not at all. This process is not at all first come, first serve.
2. So how does residence allocation exactly work?
It's a completely random process i.e. a lottery based system. A computer-assisted process takes place, taking into account your indicated preferences and chooses a residence and room type for you accordingly.
3. Am I going to get my 1st choice on my preference sheet?
That is not guaranteed at all. Residence is guaranteed to all 1st years, but there's no guarantee on the type of room you're going to get.
My take on this:
To be very honest, by the time you find out what residence you've been placed in, you won't even remember the choices you put on the preference sheet.
And it doesn't matter.
True story.
Before moving in, I was terrified of sharing a washroom, and what do you know? I ended up sharing a washroom with not 1, not 2, but 15 people on my floor. And guess what? It worked out perfectly. I've lived in residence for over a year now', and not once have I had to wait in a line to take a shower, or pound on bathroom doors for people to let me use it.
4. I don't like my room. Can I change it?
The chances of this are HIGHLY unlikely. In fact, close to zero. If you've moved in and you don't like your room, talk to your don. You'll have to live in your room for a minimum of 1 month before asking for a room change (if that's even possible). Do keep in mind that Waterloo residences are at full occupancy during the fall term, so don't count on getting your way at all.
My take on this:
You're moving to university, starting a new chapter in your life *cliche, I know*. Approach it with an open mind. Try and make compromises, if it means you'll have a chance to grow socially and intellectually, meet new people etc. Say you don't want to have a roommate, but you get assigned one. Instead of marching straight to your don, demanding a room change, try it out for a while. For all you know, you might end up being really good friends with him/her.
5. What's a Living Learning Community (LLC)?
A Living Learning Community is a small cluster of roughly 15-20 people enrolled in the same academic program who share the same living space. Do keep in mind that not every faculty has a Living Learning Community. The most popular ones include the one for the School of Accounting and Finance, Environment, Arts and Business among others.
6. My faculty doesn't have a Living Learning Community. How will I make friends with people in my faculty?
Oh that's easy. Through your classes. You'll have plenty of opportunities to make friends with people in your own faculty. But don't close yourself off from people in other faculties. I lived on a floor with almost 10 people from the School of Accounting, 4-5 people from the Faculties of Science and Engineering, and I was the loner from the Math faculty. Living with people from other faculties not only gives you the opportunity to interact with a larger variety of people, but can also prove to be advantageous in terms of having a wider knowledge of the different courses being offered by the university.
Source:
I was a Residence Ambassador for Village 1.