A point to clarify by Jessie L. '07

In response to my last entry, Drew asked:

“So, how important is it, then, for us to know what dorm we want to be our temp?”

Omar ’10 answered:

“Drew, it is important for you to know which dorm do you want to be in now because it’s not easy to get into some dorm in the re-adjustment lottery (examples might include EC, Baker among others). If you really know since now which dorm do you want to be in, it’s better and easier for you to be able to stay there.
And well, it’s easier to move your stuff within the same dorm!”

Omar, you have a good point, but you are overstating it. Drew, you should make every effort to get into the optimal place (to the extent that you can figure it out) now, because Omar is correct, some dorms (which ones they are change from time to time) are in high demand and not easy to get into. However, you should NOT go in with the mentality of “This is absolutely the dorm that I want to be in,” certainly not for a flimsy reason of short-term convenience like it being easier to move your stuff within a dorm than between dorms. Thanks to a lot of people’s efforts, you still have the ability to choose your housing after getting to experience to dorms for yourself – use it! Go in with the mentality of “This is the dorm that, based on what I know now, I want to live in, but my information is not even close to adequate, and I should take advantage of Dorm Rush to either confirm my initial impressions or discover that, with more information, somewhere else would be better after all.”

Even if you love your temp dorm, you should participate in Dorm Rush (and if you don’t, the upperclassmen in your temp dorm, especially if it’s a politically aware dorm, may shoo you out into the Rush events anyway). Before you make your finally decision, you should at least know about the places you’re rejecting.