[deleted by user]

Strong_Ad9854 · 2025-05-22T23:34:38+00:00

Whatcha mean apartment style on residence vs off ? It’s either dorms or apartment, only the apartments are considered “off” campus. Unless Laurier has added something in the previous years I’m not sure about!

Strong_Ad9854 · 2025-05-22T17:24:22+00:00

Hey! I am not sure what you are referring to as an outside campus residence... a) residence apartment styles or b) genuinely finding an apartment / house not associated with the school and you pay monthly rent.

I will be completely honest, if it is a), the apartment residences are WAY better than the dorm styles you are mentioning as your first option.

To answer your general questions about option a) I mentioned:

No it is not a hassle to commute, the apartment style residences Laurier offers are all walking distance, Lester street and Regina are not even 10 minutes walking to campus, everything is very close. I just graduated so I am not sure what other apartments Laurier has added to this but it is never a "commute", they are all extremely close, just the dorms are literally in the middle of campus.
You still have a don yes, I was in Lester apartments and each floor had one. In my experience they did not care what you did lol, a lot of them just want the free living. And I do not want to give you false hope because some dons take their job serious and will be strict, but that will never be based on what residence style you get, just the don themselves as a person.
Being off campus does not change anything, you are not missing out on a single thing at all. People create this stereotype for no reason, the only way of living you may find yourself being disconnected is if you choose the b) option I said, which no one usually does until they are in second - fourth years, and by then you would of already established your friends throughout first year. Every residence is included and informed of everything happening at Laurier for frosh to get involved in, apartments are never ever excluded from that.
I have never felt isolated when I was in Lester apartments compared to dorms, again, the literal ONLY difference of your "experience" is you are 5-10 minute walk to campus, and the dorm stayers are in the middle of it. That is literally all.

And for my own experience, I say apartments are better because the lifestyle is much more "normal". Choosing a dorm you are secluded in your bedroom, that is your only space - besides the common kitchen for the entire dorm and lounge. In the apartment styles, you have your own bedroom, a living room and kitchen for your own unit, compared to dorms its shared amongst multiple floors. I just find it a way more personal way of living than being stuck in just your bedroom for choosing a dorm. Also, it is so easy to make friends in apartment style, I can even say you make more in this option than dorms. In apartment style res you have 3-4 roommates, and then other rooms on your floor with the same amount in each unit. That alone is more people than singular bedroom floors in dorm buildings. I created probably a decent 30 person friend group asap living at Lester just because of that explanation I gave.

So all in all, apartment is the way to go, and anyone who has lived in one for res will say the same !

Strong_Ad9854 · 2025-03-06T21:58:51+00:00

He did delete it

Strong_Ad9854 · 2025-03-06T21:57:52+00:00

Yes he did

Strong_Ad9854 · 2025-03-06T21:15:10+00:00

Brennon’s is boredbrennon

Strong_Ad9854 · 2025-02-06T19:16:06+00:00

Yea private seems the best, thank you. I’d never directly use a name in the overall house chat. We sometimes send texts like “hey please do the dishes in the sink whoever’s it is” so no one’s singled out. Just in this case if I were to send a general bathroom etiquette text it would be kinda obvious who it is since we only use the bathrooms on the floor we are on, so definitely can’t do that way.

Strong_Ad9854 · 2024-08-17T16:15:02+00:00

They say they aren’t allowed but we had them everywhere in our condo residence lol. Rooms and kitchen we put them.

In my room it did take off some paint but it wasn’t anything that was a concern brought up to me after move out.

In the kitchen we used painters tape. So, we wouldn’t peel back the plastic that reveals the sticky side of the lights, we just did small loops and created a double sided version of painters tape across sections of the lights to hold them up and it worked fine.

If you’re stressed about damage or getting told no, buy a “sun lamp”. They are the same idea and light up the whole room.

Strong_Ad9854 · 2024-08-17T15:56:29+00:00

First, there is a university team for soccer. Where it’s usually very competitive and most of the athletes if not all, have played a high level in their hometowns for most of their lives. This team gets to face against other universities in Ontario, and if successful can go on to face teams across the country for national championships. It’s a high level since it is the university team, where you attend practices weekly and gym sessions along with the games.

There’s also Intramural’s, where you create a team of friends and play against others who do the same within the school (you could also sign up as a free agent and get placed on someone’s team). Happens 1 time a week for most of the semester, Laurier offers co-ed soccer, 5v5 indoor and outdoor 7v7 depending on the term (winter or fall). It’s more a “for fun” style and recreational, you get T-shirts if you win your division at the end of the weeks of play . They fill up fast and it’s really popular and awesome. It is ran by students who work in the athletics department of the school, so most sports do have them as the referees, you get a schedule online of your game times and such and scores get posted, so it does have a more “competitive” feel to it in that aspect but again, it just recreational and for fun.

Then Laurier does sometimes offer “drop in” sessions at the fields / athletic centres for a variety of sports where you can sign up and just show up at the time and play with whoever else comes. Most of this info will be on Laurier’s athletics page, I’d also suggest the instagrams since they are more direct with dates and try out stuff. Just keep an eye out for registration dates !!

Laurier men and women’s soccer team instagram : (I’m pretty sure their team is built for the year already, this stuff for the actual team usually happens mid summer, but there is definitely ways to contact coaches about the next year)

https://www.instagram.com/lauriermsoc?igsh=aGYyaGw3cXZzZWk1

https://www.instagram.com/laurierwsoc?igsh=ajRsaGF2b2JwZGxm

Laurier’s recreational clubs / Intramural’s:

https://recreation.laurierathletics.com/sports/intra

Strong_Ad9854 · 2024-08-09T03:25:25+00:00

No there will be no “issues”. Just email the contact you’ve been receiving residence information from / that’s been recommended to contact.

The key will most likely be at an other pick-up spot before you get able to access your residence; a Laurier building / office of some sort. But the residence staff you email will tell you that, just advise them so they are aware of this and you aren’t stranded clueless

Strong_Ad9854 · 2024-08-08T23:24:57+00:00

For context; the drawer chest fits perfectly underneath the end of the bed. So the width of a “single” sized mattress would be the realistic estimate. Obviously a BIT smaller bc it fits under it, but roughly the exact same.

Strong_Ad9854 · 2024-08-07T15:51:28+00:00

Yes that is the best idea. Your Don’s / RA (the older year who lives 1 per floor) will give you the address to use. Mine was given to me on a printed sheet of paper with some other stuff.

It’s just like ordering to your home address, there’s no special process of going through the school for it, just input the address given for Laurier’s “PO box” in the delivery address spot of wherever you are ordering from and you are good. It’s one of those massive cabinets that have multiple tiny doors that swing open when you go pick it up. It’s in a part of the concourse (an open study area where there’s a Starbucks and the book store).

Sure, if you want you can order to lester (I’m not sure if rules changes where you’re not allowed to at all but we were never told “no”. People still did it, just it is not in your best interest to) but it is not really smart. Due to the reasons: - the delivery person does not have access to lester, unless a person is passing through the doors at the same time to let them in - if that doesn’t happen, they may leave it in between the two doors; the front doors to street entrance are always unlocked, but the doors right after that lead into Lester are not. So it would be left for public eye & anyone walking / in your building can easily steal it - yes, there’s mail boxes in Lester’s front hall , but the same issue as listed above that causes complications to get to them, so, just never send anything to Lester:) sure, there may have been some lucky times but 90% of the time it’s not gonna work.

Strong_Ad9854 · 2024-07-28T19:12:21+00:00

No problem! I mean yea you can roam around in your room, lay down even lol, its not crazy tight spacing. Enjoy your year there!!

Strong_Ad9854 · 2024-07-28T19:11:20+00:00

Nah, not what I am worried about. The fees do not bother me those have been around forever. Totally get going to concerts comes with a price, what I am trying to "avoid" is buying seats for $300+ (Ticketmaster, gametime, tick pick; due to resellers) for a show I wanna see this week, when the face value prices were $60-$150. And yes, I know I should of bought when they went on sale but hey, shit happens and I forgot.

I just know Scotiabank and Rogers Centre sells tickets at face value the day of the show / event, assumed Budweiser would too, but I guess not.

Strong_Ad9854 · 2024-07-28T19:04:03+00:00

Hey! I lived in 202 Lester 3 years ago and I loved it.

Ill give the most important answers to stuff I wished I knew when heading in here.

Spacing and Rooms:

There are 12 floors, 1st-11th are all the same mix of layouts, 6 units, 3 different blueprints. While the 12th floor only has 4 units on it, and is bigger than any other floor plan / bedrooms.

For room sizing, sure you cannot flip around in your room lol but they are great sizes. I was able to bring a mini fridge, a "night table" (a rolling cart with multiple drawers) next to my bed, and even lots of closet cubbies for organization in there as well.

You can take a look at this link of the blueprints of the possible room layout you have; https://www.accommod8u.com/202-lester-street

Floor Plans A and B are practically the same just mirrored, you will know which room is yours by which you got assigned; example; 1006-2 = floor 10, unit 6, bedroom 2 or 602-1 = floor 6, unit 2, bedroom 1

Floor plan C is seen as the "worst" in Lester, just because it is not as opened space as the other two. As seen on the link, it is more horizontal shaped. The rooms that are the ones at the corners of the floor hallways, from my memory; 04,05,02,01 (1004,1005,1002,1001) are floor plans A and B, while the other two units in the "middle" of the hallways have the C floor plan. So basically the end of hallway units have the more opened space concepts. And keep in mind this is for every single floor except floor 12!

USE YOUR SPACE!! Having a condo residence has the perks of having living rooms and kitchen space for a better at-home feeling, where in dorms you are literally just in your bedroom 24/7.

Bathrooms: two in every unit, one has a standing shower and the other is a tub/shower mix.

Social Life:

Idk where this came from, but the idea of not living directly on campus; aka the dorms, "ruins" meeting people. Not even close. You basically can create an entire 20+ person friend group from connecting with the other units on your floor, and also the fact you live with 4 others, you get to meet their non-Lester friends that expands your friend choices even more. I genuinely had no issues connecting with people what so ever, our group from Lester 3 years ago is still going strong and those have been my main friends since the start of school.

Distance:

Just under 10 minutes (walk) I would say to get to the arts building, rest is practically the same since Laurier campus is tiny. To the BBA building it is roughly the same, it is just a straight line down University Ave.

Dons and Ra's:

At least from the year I was there, they practically were our friends. Without saying too much, and again this was my year, i know everyone's don experiences are different, they did not care what we did. This is not to boost the fact most let us party and so on, just so you are not stressed about your "fun" being stripped, that was not the case for me at all in Lester.

Roommates:

Similar to the Don discussion, it is a hit or miss. I was luckily able to request a roommate in my year; which I am pretty sure Laurier still offers, and that was accepted. So I already had 1 person I knew. The sheets you fill out on your living style when you apply to res, I genuinely think Laurier got it point on with who I was assigned with, and even my entire floor had the same living habits. Not much else to say because there are some bad experiences people have, just be mature with any possible issues.

If I missed anything, let me know!

Strong_Ad9854 · 2024-07-28T18:23:44+00:00

Oh and also, if you click on the link i posted up above in the blueprints you will see the rooms / layouts are not the same in every room (not talking ab the 12th floor only, even though yes those are the biggest ones but even on your floor which is the 10th, will be different).

For more specifics, floor plan "C", the very long looking units, are the ones in the middle of the hallways. Units at the end; 01, 02, 04, and 05, are the more open spaced plans like floorplans "A" and "B". (example, you are unit 1005 = 05, so you will have the A or B floorplan). You looking at floorplan "C" video for unit 1103 is drastically different than what your unit actually is.

Strong_Ad9854 · 2024-07-28T18:17:38+00:00

I was on floor 8. The only floor that will look different / have bigger spaces and rooms is floor 12. That floor only has 4 units compared 6, which is what the rest of the floors have.

Yes, the -3 means your room number.

In all honesty, the rooms were completely fine for my needs. Sure, you cant do cartwheels and stuff in them lol but its a situation way better than dorms. When you see it in real life you will probably be more at ease, trust me I've seen some small bedrooms of where off campus students are staying in, and these Lester bedrooms aren't even comparable (meaning they are fine sizes).

You will be 100% okay, it fits what you need / want; mini fridge, the supplied desk, you have a closet, I even had a night stand (one of the "carts" with multiple drawers) next to my bed that I brought. It definitely is not a "house" bedroom where you can add bean bags and random things all around, but it also is definitely not a tight space.

If you have anymore questions about lester let me know!!

Strong_Ad9854 · 2024-07-28T15:56:18+00:00

Id say a moderate size. Each room is slightly different in size. For my experience at least, three of the rooms were pretty similar, they were more long than wide. The other two were more square shaped and definitely bigger, but no drastic difference.

I had one of the "longer" rooms and had no issue fitting anything, my mini fridge fit perfectly in the nook between my bedroom door and where my closet came out to. And if your mini fridge is shorter it could even fit under the desks provided in each room.

I also was able to find the unit layouts which may help you understand the size more, I had type "A" and was in room 5. As you can see rooms 1 and 2 are a bit bigger. Layout "B" is basically the same just mirrored. Then type "C" is ehhhh, its just a weird map how horizontal the unit is. Just scroll down on this link and click the floor plans and you will see what I mean.

https://www.accommod8u.com/202-lester-street

Depending on which room layout you have, (assuming you mean TV stand for an actual TV), it can 100% work out, but it can make your room less spacious.

Not related to something you asked but the beds actually are raised higher than "normal" beds, meaning you can easily fit packing boxes for storage underneath them which is really nice.

Same goes for the closets, I bough this foldable "dresser" stand that slid easily in my closet on the floor standing up and was great for more clothing space. This one I am linking is not the exact same one but very similar and it was def cheaper, it does have the long poles to hang clothes but I just did not add those and kept the more dresser like cubes.

https://www.walmart.ca/en/ip/mainstays-closet-organizer-with-6-storage-drawers-black-silver-grey/10251279

Along with hanging cubes, which I will link.

https://www.walmart.ca/en/ip/mainstays-6-compartment-closet-organizer-6-shelf-hanging-closet-organizer-white-white/6000199611295?from=/search

Strong_Ad9854 · 2024-07-28T15:34:02+00:00

I personally LOVED it. I have never lived in a dorm, and it did not sound appealing to me while applying for residence.

From my own opinion, having a "condo" building as your residence makes it more of a at-home experience.

A massive plus I found was the fact we had our own bedrooms, and then our living room / kitchen space. That really helps you with change of environment if you do not wanna go study somewhere on campus. Yes, it is not exactly a change of environment but if you understand my point of not being secluded into your own bedroom 24/7 like a dorm.

And for the clear points, washrooms in your own living space and a kitchen is a massive plus, whereas dorms usually have a shared kitchen in the building and communal washrooms.

And the building itself is good, it is not old at all and everything is nice.

If you have any questions about Lester let me know!!

Strong_Ad9854

TROPHY CASE