Best residential hall?

[simba]

Hey guys!

If I'm able to get into Monash next year I'll most likely be living on campus, due to the fact that I live a couple of hours away and don't fancy travelling every day!

Does anyone have any recommendations/ experience on which residential halls have the best atmosphere/ environment/ facilities? I went on a tour of the halls today but couldn't really make up my mind as to which one I preferred

Any help would be super mega appreciated! Thank you

[Comma]

Hey, I'm living in one of the halls now, so hopefully I can offer some insight!

It really depends on what sort of atmosphere you're after. And remember, that while I can tell you what the halls are like this year, and they do stay relatively the same, the atmosphere really does depend on the people who attend, so it can change. But still, I'll give you a bit of an overview.

Halls with good balance of good social life/hall functions/still some quite residents so that it's not too unusual if you want to spend more time studying: Richardson, Roberts, Howitt and (maybe) Farrer. In my opinion, if you end up in any one of these halls you'll be ok.

Richardson and Roberts halls are interconnected and used to be the same hall. They are both around 5 stories high and grouped into stairways where there are about 4 or so rooms on every level and maybe 7-9 stairways in the hall (depending on which hall, Richardson is slightly bigger). Both of these stairways have kitchenettes and a bathroom on every floor level and a separate communal kitchen and common room which are used by every stairway. This is the best set up, in my opinion, as it allows for more socialisation with the entire hall and not just those who end up in your stairway/level.

Howitt is the tallest hall with around 11 stories. It actually has an elevator (which has a bit of a reputation for breaking down). In Howitt, you are grouped into floor levels and each level has its own fully equipped kitchen/bathrooms/common rooms. Residents from Howitt have a pretty good social life so again, it's one of the better halls.

Farrer used to be known as the party hall, but seems to have quietened down over the last few years. I don't know too much about the set up there unfortunately, so I can't offer too much more information.

The halls which are known for being quite/study centred are Deakin/South East Flats/Jackamos/Briggs. The last two are self contained units and do cost a bit more. As they were only built last year, they have not yet really developed any traditions and don't have a hall society to organise any functions. Deakin apparently has slightly larger rooms than the other halls (other halls over pretty decently sized rooms - you'd easily be able to fit a bar fridge, it comes with a bed/desk/chair/various other things, so you will have plenty of room regardless), but is known for being very, very quite.

Choose wisely.

[pi]

Have mates at Jackamos and Briggs, looks awesome! I hear the social life isn't too amazing there but they have a good atmosphere for meddies I guess.

[simba]

Thank you both for your insight!

I'll take this into account when deciding! (But hey, I guess at the end of the day I may not even get my first preference anyway!)

And I'd never get the ATAR required for med haha (guess it's a good thing I'm not looking at pursuing a career there!)

[IndefatigableLover]

Farrer used to be known as the party hall, but seems to have quietened down over the last few years. I don't know too much about the set up there unfortunately, so I can't offer too much more information.

Not sure how much I can say on this but I had camp at Monash University (yes JMSS has camp at Monash =_=") and we slept at Farrer Hall and oh gosh... not sure what to say LOL
The room you have where you sleep is pretty cosy but just a simple bed and desk. Girls and guys were separated and we had to go through this corridor thing which was locked half the time but there's an alright social area in the hall area where recreational activities include pool, table tennis and Pac-man? (some retro video game thing) and showers are shared. It's pretty small imo (unless I'm missing something big which I might have since JMSS just made us sleep in the halls and that's it) :|

[TommyLie]

I live in Howitt, not too sure about the other Halls social side of things other than what I hear from people (Howitt is pretty great so why venture away ), but in Howitt there is never any lack of social activity. Pretty much every night there is a supper at 9pm organized by society where everyone goes downstairs to the common room and socializes and eats free biscuits and stuff. If you get yourself a good group of friends then there is the opportunity to do something when ever you want to. There is regular sport organized by the Hall society weekly. And of course every Thursday night is Nott Night (The local pub). Everyone pre-drinks then walk in mass from the Halls to the Nott. Below ground floor is the basement, where there is massive projector room with lots of couches, the ability to connect your laptop to watch anything you want (Including Foxtel). You can also plug in any console I believe. There is a music room with an out of tune piano, a drum kit and couches. The last room is a drinking/hangout/study room - mostly the former two, although in exam time it is used a lot for study as no one really drinks at this time.

Howitt is different from the other Halls in that it is a high rise building. Every floor has a kitchen and two bathrooms for each end, and there is about 18 or so people per floor. This makes Howitt very unique and often results in great dinner/lunch/breakfast conversations that I have heard don't really happen at the other Halls because around 50+ people share a kitchen.

Rooms are small here, but there is really not a notable difference unless you go to 'old' Deakin hall which has rooms 3 times bigger than everywhere else (Or the new Briggs or Jackomos - but they are $300 more per month!!). But each floor has 1 slightly bigger room which some lucky person gets, and 1 much larger room which you pay $30 more for per month but get your own bathroom. Then the floor RA gets a larger room as well, but this is reserved for them only. I have a bar fridge and bar freezer in my room and have no trouble at all - plus I am the unfortunate resident who got the slightly smaller room in my floor, but it is still perfectly fine and I love it.

Not that I've really looked around the other halls rooms much, but I'd say they are all much of a muchness since they are all pretty much the same building type - large amounts of people in each floor section. Howitt gives a unique living environment compared to the other Halls and each floor can become quite close - because there is only a few of us on each floor. If you are not the outgoing personality type, Howitt might be a good option because the floor layout sort of forces you to be social with your floor - plus you get a MUCH better view than everyone else on RES if you are above floor 4. Howitt has two lifts and a staircase (Plus a fire escape staircase). The lifts are new as of last year I believe, and so don't break down anymore, but these new ones are not exactly what you would calls fast moving lifts, shall we say.

Jackomos and Briggs are extremely modern and high class. But they are very expensive for what they are and all I ever hear is there is no social life there due to the layout. Plus, because each room is large, modern and has a kitchen and bathroom, a lot of postgrads are there, and of course they don't have time for social life.

[brenden]

Party in simba's hall.