What It's Like To Live In West Hall [Honors Housing]

The following post is written by UHP freshman, SPA member, and West Hall resident Dan Grover. —-
One of the biggest challenges about the college process isn’t the applications, it isn’t the essays, or even getting in. It’s figuring out where to go. Hopefully, by reading this, you’ve already settled on GW, (but just in case you haven’t, totally come to GW). Once I’d finally made that choice and let some relief settle in, I was confronted by an even tougher decision: do I choose to live in Honors Housing?
I’m sure I had some of the same fears that you prospective students are having now; will all of my friends be only Honors kids, will I make no friends outside of West Hall, will I be sad all the time on the Vern and so on. After much agonizing, I bit the bullet and went through with Honors Housing.
I don’t regret it for a moment.

First off, West Hall itself is a wonderful building. You will be living in your own cozy single connected to the other four in your quad by a large common room, with a spacious bathroom, full refrigerator, cabinets, and counter space. It isn’t a dorm room; it’s a palace. It’s also a building designed with a green mindset, meaning it wastes less heat and water than many of the other buildings on campus (always good to save the planet). And there’s a dining hall and 24/7 gym downstairs, which simply can’t be beat. All-you-can-eat $7 Pelham Brunch is wonderful- seriously.

And even beyond that, there’s something to be said for the community of Honors Housing. Your floor mates will understand you better than you could ever hope, because they’ll (mostly) be in the Honors Program too. When you feel the need to gripe about an Origins paper, or when you panic because you’re trying to register for your sixth class to be on track for your minor with a double concentration in Stressing Yourself Out and you can’t fit it into your schedule, the other Honors students you share the floor with will really understand you. And that sense of community builds friendships like iron (for evidence, my best friends are all Honors students). There’s something wonderful to be said for going through the horrors of registration and knowing that everyone around you is trying to struggle through exactly the same thing.
I’m by no means trying to sell Honors Housing (well, maybe a little). If you don’t think it’s your cup of tea, by all means, don’t feel obliged to live there. You won’t be cut off from the Honors Community if you choose not to live in West Hall. And you won’t be cut out from the rest of the world by living there either. You should choose to live where you’d be happiest, so give it some careful consideration. You might really love Honors housing.