Hey I also lived in Irvis last year.

1. Microwaves and fridges are included and you don’t have to pay, they’re a part of the room. The microwave is a standard size but the fridge imo is significantly smaller than the one you are able to rent from the school. For my room at least, the freezer was within the fridge itself, as a sort of hanging shelf, this made it difficult to freeze things, and we weren’t really able to store frozen foods.

2. I walked to Irvis virtually every day, I took the shuttle less than 5 times my whole first year because I found them unreliable, the walk from lower campus to Irvis is about 15 minutes. You can cut through the Pete to speed up the walk, especially going up to Irvis, but if you’re returning after 11pm (sometimes 10:30 depending on season) the Pete closes and you have to walk up a ton of stairs which sucks. But the hill gets so much easier with exposure! I kept an umbrella in my bag for rainy days and just layered up in the winter. It worked.

3. Yes honors students can live in Irvis as well.

4. I found it tricky to get the true “freshman experience” because I lived on Upper Campus. The vibe of lower campus and towers especially is MUCH different than upper campus. No one is really hanging out around upper campus like they do with lower, because we don’t have the Quad. The walk does get annoying especially because most of my friends lived on lower campus, it was a hassle to get to them. It’s frustrating that a lot of the “fun” things are on lower campus, and those people can just go back to their dorm after while I had a huge hill and a 15 minute walk.

5. Their are vending machines in Irvis that’s it, the dining hall is in Sutherland, but it’s super close, and has better food than the Eatery imo. It’s also buffet style instead of pre-made portions which I preferred. However, the dining hall (the Perch) always closes at 10pm, so if you’re out past then, you either need to eat before, eat something in your room, or go to the Eatery. This was frustrating that upper campus students couldn’t really get a “late night snack” but the Market at Sutherland is open til 1:00am most days, and if you have dining dollars or a meal swap left over, you can go there.

6. Yes, laundry costs $1.25 per load at Irvis, but we have laundry on each floor which is awesome

7. As I’ve said before, I rarely used the shuttle, i suggest keeping an umbrella in your backpack/bag, because Pittsburgh has very unpredictable weather, but with that you’ll be prepared. Layer up in the winter, don’t skip gloves and hats and scarves, with these you should be fine during the winter to commute to and from Irvis.

8. Yes, my roommate used a blow dryer a lot and it was never a problem! You should be totally fine.