Temple University
Reviews

ALL Freshman Dorms

If you wanna socialize, live in 1940, Peabody, J&H, or White Hall.

White Hall, 1940, and 1300 are the suites and 1300 is the nicest one thats on Cecil B Moore where all the nice shops are and the subway too, but no one socializes much and its far from the other dorms. 1940 is in the middle of campus. White Hall is near mcdonalds, the subway, and other food places, but its right next to the more dangerous street. its a very social dorm and its nice.

J&H is huge and its easy and great to socialize, the rooms are not too bad, especially the corner room. It has 11 floors so live in the first 6 if you can. washer and dryer every other floor, and a big community feel. its ideal cause the dining hall is right underneath too. youre screwed if the elevators broken/theres a fire alarm and you live far, and the elevator can get full and can make you late to class. Peabody is closer to liacouras walk and is not a suite, but its in a good area. Most art kids live here, but the walls are paper thin. Good community feel too, I here everyones friends with each other, and theres only 4 floors.

They're Fair

Temple is fairly fair when it comes to their policies. Don't do anything wrong, the you won't be fined, or worse, expelled from housing. [BTW: If security,or housing staff sees or smells, drugs or alcohol coming from your room, and they collect evidence, you're fined $250. So don' do it]

In Comparison to Temple Housing....

The off campus housing in the area surrounding temple is fine-to-good. The rent is around $350 (if you look hard and early enough) to $650. There are housing fairs often, so its not hard to find off campus living. However, the range i gave is for OFF-campus housing. There are four other "student" housing complexes that are considered off-campus (no affiliation with temple), but they are just like nicer versions of dorms. They are: University Village, Oxford Village, and Beech, and Kardon. The rents about $700-824 + utilities depending on your choice. The funny thing is, these choices are STILL cheaper than Temple housing (but that's not to say they suck, they're fantastic).

Love It Here

I love Temple University, its its own city within a huge city. The diversity here is great, I am always meeting new people from different ethnicity, genders, sexual orientation, backgrounds and lifestyles. The staff are easily available for office hours and there is always a great communication system via email. The campus is beautiful and when it gets nice out everyone goes out and lays on the beach (not an actual beach a vast amount of grass land that students lay on to read, relax, and enjoy each other). My experience here at Temple is amazing, I wouldn't trade my school for any other.

Student Center

The student center here at Temple University is very convenient and accommodates a lot of student activities on a day to day basis. Also there are a lot of organizations held at the student center and a food court so its a great place to become social and meet new people.

Neuroscience

As a neuroscience major I am taking very challenging courses that are competitive throughout the country. With professors that are highly knowledgeable and experienced.

Campus

Although Temple is in a bad area of the city, the campus is beautiful and set aside from the near "ghetto". With the bike cops and campus safety, the locals do not bother the students. Off-campus housing is mainly students as well, and there are students everywhere. The campus is very college-like and when you're on it, you cannot tell you are in the middle of North Philadelphia. With a small and warming campus, all of my friends from different schools that have visited say that they are shocked and think campus is so nice!

Campus

Although Temple is in a bad area of the city, the campus is beautiful and set aside from the near "ghetto". With the bike cops and campus safety, the locals do not bother the students. Off-campus housing is mainly students as well, and there are students everywhere. The campus is very college-like and when you're on it, you cannot tell you are in the middle of North Philadelphia. With a small and warming campus, all of my friends from different schools that have visited say that they are shocked and think campus is so nice!

Weather..What Weather?

This past year has been crazy when it comes to weather. We didn't receive any snow over winter and I can't remember the last time it really rained. However, the same times that it has rained it turned out to be fun. There would be a few people running to class in the rain, or others jumping in puddles, but my personal favorite was riding my bike through the rain! The weather really doesn't affect your campus experience unless you let it.

Temple's Food

Temple has two dinning halls; The Student Center, and J&H. The Student Center, or SACK, has a wide variety of food to choose from and is set up like a farmers market, so it's easy to get what you want. Johnson and Hardwick, or J&H for short, is the only buffet style dinning hall on campus. The food is mediocre, but they open early and close late, unlike other schools dining halls. All and all, Temple has a good dining program. I suggest keeping a small meal plan every year.

Off Campus Housing and Its Benefits,

Overall, living on campus has gotten much better over the years. If for any reason you are not able to get into dorm housing there are other options. There are now private college communities sprouting up all around the surrounding area which leads to a variety of choices. It is wonderful to wake up in the morning and only have a short walk to class. I currently live in the University Village apartments and they are wonderful with a variety of amenities such as a gym, game room, and monthly community activities.

Diverse

The campus is really diverse and offers a lot for students, you just have to look for the opportunities that they offer you.

SPORTS ARE AWESOME

The athletic teams are great. Most notable would be the Temple Basketball Team and the Football Team. The school spirit and [passion behind our sports team are great and that is only because they are great.

Psychology Major

Temple is a research institution so there are plenty of opporunities to get involved. Also since there is a huge grad school program, there is advice you can actually use and you can even take classes with grad students! Even though there is a plethora of psych students the class sizes are relatively small and the teachers generally care.

Severe Punishments, Lenient Officials

While Temple has some very severe punishments for alcohol use on campus- even if you are 21- they also have a policy called Medical Amnesty, which means that if your friend is passed out drunk and needs medical attention, you won't get in trouble for calling the campus police or medical staff. Temple staff encourages students not to drink, but maintains a realistic outlook and more often cautions students to be smart while they drink and stay safe. Rules in the dorms really depend on your RA- mine, for example, lets us get away with just about anything, as long as we aren't too in his face about it.

Not Great

only stayed there freshman year. Don't stay at THE EDGE!

It's Beneficial

There are all different types of greek organizations on our campus, African-American, Asian, Indian, Hispanic, Caucasian. They sometimes work together to put on shows and different programs. It seems that only Caucasian greeks have housing on campus though. They do not seem to create a negative atmosphere on campus. You can gain a great deal of friends by participating and have the chance to volunteer, etc.

Off-Campus Housing Rocks!

From my experience, off-campus housing is really an easy process to find, look at, and rent. Temple has many housing fairs in the SAC throughout the year, where you can find housing opportunities through places such as Kardon, Oxford Village, University Village, and other farther away places. The off-campus housing can be extremely close to campus (Oxford Village, where I currently live, is just as far away from some of my classes as my dorm was last year) and there are plenty of options, especially if you do not want to rent an actual house yet! Houses for rent are available, however, and can be really close or farther away from campus. Oxford Village is a block off campus, but it is still in a well-lit area and mostly college students live on the blocks the apartments are on. The great thing about a place like Oxford Village is your apartment is fully furnished (aside from a television..they do give you a tv stand though!), EXTREMELY secure and safe (you have a front door that requires a swipe, your apartment door requires a key, and they have emergency buttons in each bedroom and speaker systems that go out to the front door if you have a visitor), and your roommates' rent is not on you if they do not pay. It is strictly on the individual to get your rent to the office each month. There are also no utility fees unless you go over, which I have yet to do. Also, we kind of get the dorm room feel because the office always has fun and exciting events and free things available! I would say the downside to living in Oxford would be you do not usually have your own bedroom and noise is sometimes an issue (as in any other dorm or apartment complex I am sure). The best thing about transitioning from a dorm room to an apartment is the kitchen! Believe me, you will get sick of the cafeteria food and your inability to have a home cooked meal.

Communications

The communications program at Temple is great! It's an extremely close-knit group, and is known for being so. There's a student-run advertising agency, various other groups, lots of stuff to do and ways to get involved.

Temple Basketball

Not only are the players amazing but I had the pleasure of staying in the same dorm as them and a lot of them are humble and cool.

Great Police Environment

My school's in Philadelphia, North Philadelphia at that, so it's not in the safest of neighborhoods, but we have one of the largest police community's in the state, so there's never a reason to feel like you're danger. I know that our safety is their top priority and I feel safe knowing that.

Computers Are AWESOME!

The computers at my school are great! There are a mix of Macs and PCs, each of the latest models. I have no models with the computers, it's just that at certain times of the year, the computers labs can be packed and that's why it's always handy to have a laptop on your person.

Just Be You

Guys and girls at Temple do not dress to impress. They just dress the way they want to. It's not about the positive or negative comments from someone else, its all about dressing a way to express who you are.

Pretty Good Atmosphere

Alot of options for activities during the week/weekends. Good sprots teams. Alot of cultural activities and events. The only negative thing is the surrounding community of the campus isn't the safest place to be.

Temple Athletics

The student body loves to get involved in the sports at Temple. The football team plays at the Eagles stadium which is pretty cool so students love to go to the games and cheer them on. Not to mention the Temple football team has gotten better over the years so students are more proud to be a Temple Owl fan. Basketball is huge at our school so many students attend those games. As far as atheltic facilities they are excellent. There are two well-kept gyms with a variety of classes and machines to use.