I’m going to Bates College and I have the choice of choosing either living with all freshmen or living with freshmen and upperclassmen. I’ve been thinking about it and I’m leaning towards the mixed class so that I can get advice and tips. At the same time the all freshmen option sounds good too because I feel that it would be easier for me to meet new people and make friends (I’m shy) - kinda like we’re all in this together vibe. Any opinions? Pros and cons for both options? Thanks!
Unless you are on a sports team and wondering if the team should live together (I recommend a little variety and not living with the team), you should ask this question on a Bates forum or college life forum.
If you are shy, I would definitely recommend living with the freshmen. You will meet more of your class members and the RA will probably have more activities geared toward your needs. The upper class students will have their own routines, friends and classes, etc.
How big are the dorms you are considering? If they are small (less than 75-100), and they are mixed between classes, that could mean you would only be living with a handful of freshman. Dorm living is an important way for freshman to meet and for the class to build community. It’s nice to have friends in your dorm as a freshman, it does help with the transition, so I would say go for the freshman only dorm, or if it is mixed, one that has an ample amount of freshman. You will meet upperclassmen in classes, on your sports team and also as your ra’s and orientation leaders, so you will have them to ask for tips.
Back in the day, my college did mixed class dorms. You could get help from the older dorm mates on classes.
But now they have gone to freshman dorms…i think it might be better to meet more people in your own class. You will have a better chance of meeting “your tribe”.
I am a parent of an D3 athlete whose school only has first year student dorms and then sophomore/junior/senior dorms. Originally, I was skeptical since I had a “blended” dorm experience and appreciated meeting upper class students in the dorm. After my kid’s first year, I appreciate the benefits of all-freshman dorm life – the first year students do bond together as they adapt to college life, and for an athlete, my kid became very close with his fellow freshman teammates because they were walking together to and from same dorms for practice, to dining hall after practice etc. On the academic side, living only among freshman meant there were no upper class students encouraging them to drink midweek, or suggesting they should kick back, it wasn’t really that hard etc. It does mean there was some stupid choices and mistakes, with no opportunity for moderation from more experienced students,but there were RAs and I think my kid liked being among “his own.” No “best” solution, just pros and cons of each.
Unless your team is exceptionally large (sometimes this happens for football and lax), you are pretty much guaranteed to end up with good friends who are NOT in your year from your sport, and they’ll be a good source of info for you on all kinds of things. The benefit of a freshman dorm is that everyone is new together and making friends and exploring at the same time. It’s a really easy way to meet people because that’s everyone’s goal. This isn’t to say that the students in the other years won’t be friendly and can’t turn out to be friends, but they have already done a fair bit of finding their way and will be more focused on the friends they have. In some cases, in a mixed dorm, most of the rooms not reserved for freshmen could turn out to be occupied by a bunch of teammates or friends who are all living together. That could be great. OR not. (People in room draws choose not just the room but the dorm to be with friends).
When I was in school, and from what I have heard at other schools, there is a lot of “energy” in the freshmen dorms that can be quite fun. Since you’re already in the enviable position of getting "instant friends’ from other years from your sport, that’d be my choice. But as @Midwestmomofboys points out, there really isn’t a right answer on this, and the pros and cons will depend on things you can’t control, like who else is on your hall. It could be a bunch of super-friendly senior soul mates, or it could be a bunch of freshmen with whom you have nothing in common. .
I lived in a dorm with freshmen and sophomores my first year. I loved it as it ensured that I could meet students with more knowledge of the school, better integrate myself into different social circles, etc. IDK if I would have felt the same way had I lived with college seniors, but I would absolutely choose a mixed age residence hall over a freshmen only one.
I recall my DD being told by a Bates coach that they don’t allow teammates to live together Freshmen year; she ultimately decided on another NESCAC school that has the same policy - the thought is that teammates will already be together enough during 1st year immersion period.
My D did her first year at Bates in a mixed dorm. She probably would have preferred being with all freshman, but it was all fine. She is shy and managed to make friends. Most of her freinds lived in the same freshman dorm, but Bates’ campus is compact enough that nowhere is that far from anywhere else.
I was in a mixed house with 10 freshmen and the rest upperclassmen. I would definitely have preferred to be in a place with a lot more freshmen, so it would have been easier to make connections. Now if your option is a mixed dorm, as long as there are a significant number of freshmen I think it will be easy to make connections there or in an all freshmen dorm.
My S chose an all first-year residence (a no-chem one) and really enjoyed it–it was known for its mix of “introverts, geeks, and international students,” he told me. He, too, was on the quiet side–still is.