There are two types of competitive events that people can visualize, the Hunger Games and GCU Housing Lottery. One event consists of intensity and reaching out for a common goal, even through means of dire force, while the other is the Hunger Games. Looking for housing for the upcoming fall semester of 2017, you either feel protected under a senior group leader or rooming with a Resident Advisor or a Life Leader. Then there is the off chance of running around in circles figuring out where you want to live. For every upperclassman, let this guide for housing options, including pros and cons, help you differentiate your living options in the up and coming semester.
1. First off, let's tackle the Grove and Canyon.
Pros: These are freshmen housing options, where other first year students can make new friends. With freshman dorms, you get to live with people who are not only new to college like you, but you could even find people from your classes living in the same dorm as you.
Cons: Again, it's freshman housing, so the chances of someone setting off a fire alarm because they don't know how to cook ramen are very high.
2. Big and Little Papago
Pros: In the Papago apartments, upperclassmen students are provided their own bedroom, giving as much privacy as you want, and the 90-degree door rule doesn't apply here. Not only that, but the apartments are also nearby the Colter parking lot.
Cons: Unfortunately there is no testing that allows only people who know how to cook to live in the apartments. Beware the constant fire alarms during the most inconvenient times.
3. Roadrunner
Pros: These are the closest apartments to most classroom buildings and also nearest to the GCU arena so you can hear any given event from your room. Located on the first floor is GCBC's second location.
Cons: These apartments are not ideal for people that want quiet study sessions, especially with the music from GCBC or the echoes of thunder from game day.
4. Encanto
Pros: Another apartment that can be considered nearby most of the classroom buildings. Just like Roadrunner, Encanto is one of the newer apartments on campus that have that new building smell.
Cons: Awfully far from most of the food places on campus, so a trip to Chick-Fil-A can be a day long adventure.
5. Agave
Pros: Another brand new apartment, Agave is nearby the new sports facilities on campus. Not only that, but anyone that lives in Agave have a reason to always use the carts.
Cons: Agave is its own location, which means it is far away from literally everything, whether it is classroom buildings or food places, except the Agave Lope's Mart.
6. Saguaro
Pros: Located by both the Chaparral pool and Lope's Mart, Saguaro Hall has the Career Impact Center on the first floor. This is convenient for anyone that looks forward to a preparing for a career while in school.
Cons: It is probably haunted.
7. Chaparral Hall
Pros: Easy access to not only the Chaparral Pool but also the fitness center. First dibs on the weights if you're up early enough!
Cons: The Chaparral location can be considered hidden, and like Saguaro, Chaparral is pretty far from other upperclassman dorms.
8. Sedona Hall
Pros: Close to the Colter parking lot, Sedona is a short walk from most food locations with a simple one stroll.
Cons: Considering it is pretty old, the blue color faded from the Arizona's sun exposure.
9. North Rim Apartments (NRA)
Pros: Each apartment has its own balcony, which is perfect for study space or even jamming on a guitar. The kitchen space in the NRA is also larger than the rest of the apartments. Did I mention most of the cats on campus live here?
Cons: Being the oldest living space at GCU, NRA could run into some maintenance problems such as water. Additionally, with the trees at NRA, birds chirping during the winter season can be a little noisy.
10. Camelback Hall
Pros: Camelback seems to be the center of most of the campus amenities, such as the Papago Pool, fitness center, mail center, and many food places.
Cons: With any dorm underneath a food place, the chances of a fire alarm are likely from an incident in one of the restaurants.
11. Prescott Hall
Pros: This dorm can be the center of most classroom buildings and food places, located next to Lope's Ways and the Union. Not to mention, this hall host dorm events out in the open that are LIT.
Cons: It is an old dorm, so adapt to the older furniture as well as the likeliness of living in a triple occupancy dorm.
Hopefully, this guide of GCU's housing options will be helpful for anyone having a hard time, whether deciding where to live as a returning or incoming student.
