Dorm Atmosphere

The Shoreland and studying? Hmmm...I guess its possible, but usually not within the Shoreland. The library is for studying! With the large rooms and the option of having as many as three other roommates, studying can be a challenge when you could easily entertain all your friends in your living room. However, if one is study-inclined, the Shoreland has a couple of studying rooms and each lounge has a study room, which has a door that can be closed. Also, since the large rooms usually are more welcoming than the lounge, the study room adjacent to the lounge and the lounge itself are usually vacant for studiers who don't mind a little noise. Another option is arranging a study room in your room; for example, one of my friends lives in a triple [as a first-year will most likely receive a freshman double (one room) or a freshman triple (two rooms)], and what was supposed to be the dining room was transformed into the study room. They are even considering putting up a curtain to separate the rooms, but as you can see, there are ways to study in the Shoreland.

As far as socializing goes, the Shoreland is the place! Again the huge rooms are wonderful for parties of any kind, including dinner parties. And while you'll most likely end up in a freshman double or triple, you can easily befriend people with kitchens! In fact, at least one of your neighbors should have a kitchen. Additionally, most of the freshman doubles are linked to rooms with kitchens through interior doors, but sometimes these are doors are sealed. Oh and if you're door is not sealed and you're neighbors aren't too friendly, you can have the door resealed. The location of the Shoreland is perfect for many types of social events, from the two frats who have houses a few blocks away to the six stop to downtown (you will become very familiar with this CTA bus that comes about every ten minutes) and you can't forget the Point, which teases you every time you look out your window, if you have a lake-view. Lastly, the doors in the Shoreland are easily unlatched from the mechanism that closes them, so it is very common to walk down the hall and see multiple doors open. This makes socializing extremely easy and accessible. If you hear some music you like or hear a line from your favorite movie, more than likely, you can stop by if the door is open.

All in all, the Shoreland is the perfect blend of studying and socializing.

"What are all those empty lounges?"

In the Shoreland, unlike in other dorms, the lounges are not commonly filled with people. The only usual occupation of the lounge occurs during house meetings (every other week) and study breaks (twice a week in my house). Also, the lounge is frequently used for communal studying; some people just need background noise while working and the view of the lake can be somewhat calming! However, the lounge is of fair size and offers a communal kitchen, a study room, and a bathroom. Another popular hangout spot for some is the house table in either Pierce or Burton-Judson. This table is very comforting for there will almost always be a housemate present (unless you go to breakfast, which draws few people other than students in General Chemistry). Again, however, the house table is less important in the Shoreland, because we have kitchens and the dining halls are not connected to the dorm. The reason for the usually vacant lounge/house table is that the rooms in the Shoreland are large and ideal for hanging out. So if you want to hang out, go find a triple or quad, which will have at least one couch, one chair, and one dining table.