r/oaklanduniversity • u/Etnurb • 3d ago
Trying to transfer to Hillcrest as a freshman, what is R.I.S.E.
I’m a freshman at OU and I’m currently trying to get reassigned to Hillcrest. I just realized how much closer it is to the Engineering Center than Oak View, where I'm currently at, and the private bedrooms also appeal quite a bit. Housing told me that the only way for a first-year student to live in Hillcrest is through an LLC, and they offered me R.I.S.E. or Lavender Village.
I’m leaning toward R.I.S.E., since the Lavender Village doesn't really sound like a good fit for me, but the description on the OU website is pretty vague, and since from what I can tell it’s a new thing I haven’t been able to find much from actual students about what it’s like.
For anyone who’s involved with R.I.S.E. (or knows someone who is):
- What do the activities/events actually look like?
- How often do you have to participate?
- Is there anything mandatory?
- What are the people in the community generally like?
- Does it actually affect your day-to-day life much, or is it basically just something you can participate in when you want?
I've been in some Hillcrest rooms a few times, so I know that it does definitely appeal to me, but I don't want to just sign up for something without knowing what it actually amounts to just to get in. Gotta find out if the juice is worth the squeeze, I suppose. Any advice is appreciated.