<p>Can you compare some of the freshman dorm options in terms of which building, and also advantages to single/double, etc. Any other insider dorm tips I haven't been insightful enough to ask about would also be appreciated! Thanks</p>
<p>Each of the different dorm buildings has its own character.</p>
<p>Donlon is famous for being the "party dorm", and this does indeed seem to be a label which holds true. With 80 or so people per floor, there is lots of social interaction and hence the partying arises. The actual building is 6 floors, mid-1900's construction, in decent condition, pretty good room size. </p>
<p>Dickson is an older building, nice traditional-style architecture. I actually havent spent too much time in Dickson so I dont know too many details of the layout. </p>
<p>Court and Mews are brand new essentially, having opened in 2002 or 2003 (i forget). Their layouts are sometimes compared (with good reason) to that of moderately nice hotels. The rooms are laid out along long, colorful, brightly lit hallways. There are no rooms on the first floors, but there are nice lounges, laundry rooms, etc. The lounges are especially nice, with big-screen tv's and good furniture. I've heard that the rooms are a little smaller compared with other places.</p>
<p>The high-rises and low-rises are basically the same style setup, having been built at pretty much the same time. Not too much to say about them really, pretty run-of-the-mill design. Getting to rooms in the high rises can be a hassle since you have to take the elevator. The low-rises (i live in low rise 6) are nice in the sense that its easy to get to your room and the feel is kinda like that of living at home (since you are with fewer people), but the small number of people is also a downside. You get to know everyone you live with very well, but that isnt a whole lot of people.</p>
<p>I know this isnt very descriptive but i didnt feel like taking forever to type out descriptions of each of the buildings. Oh and its not like it matters anyway since you dont get to choose what building you will be in (unless its a program house)!!!</p>
<p>Single or double (or triple) just really depends on what kind of person you are. I like having a double because I like always having someone around. I think that a single would make be feel claustrophobic and antisocial. However, if you are a person with a character issue of some kind (i.e. you never stop studying, like to wake up at 5 AM, abhor drinking, etc) then a single might be better just to ensure that you dont have a roommate with whom you do not fit well.</p>
<p>thanks thats plenty good info! if you find more out about dickson thats awesome if not cool too, court and mews sound good to me. How much of a premium is space. Like, for your average guy, will a few extra square feet make a difference?</p>
<p>I've got plenty of space. My room is actually really huge; It was a triple for the first 30 years of its life and now its a double. People come in and are like "damn". But obviously I got lucky. However, I have yet to see a room that is unlivably small. The variance is usually just that, as you said, a few square feet. For an average guy it wont matter too much. Oh, and speaking of guys, or places that lack guys (nice transition huh?), if you a girl and you end up in Balch, you will be happy with the room size, for those rooms are huge. But overall, I've never really heard anyone whine about their rooms so it shouldnt be a huge deal.</p>
<p>Do they ever put girls in Balch who requested a co-ed dorm? Like if they ran out of room in other dorms..</p>
<p>yea I hear it happens all the time but most of the girls that ends up happening to end up liking Balch</p>
<p>Yeah most of them hate it at first and then either continue to hate it or learn to like it. I hear the latter is more common.</p>
<p>nocalguy - question for you..</p>
<p>Im a freshman bio.econ dbl major. What intro bio did you take? Im thikning of taking 106 next semester, (switching from lecture/lab to auto). Do you know anything about autotutorial??</p>
<p>I took auto tutorial freshmen year..its definitely a ton of work..you have to be the kind of person that is very disciplined and can get their stuff done without following a syllabus..don't take it because you think it will be easier..it becomes very intense and requires a ton of work</p>
<p>I took the normal Bio courses both semesters. My bio grades for 101/103 were A-,A- first semester and for 102/104 A, A+ second semester so for me second semester intro bio was easier. I do not expect autotutorial bio to be easier and frankly, I'd try to avoid autotutorial classes. I'm taking autotutorial physics and it takes a lot of discipline and independent study to get through the class. Luckily, we had wildcards that allowed us to extend deadlines because I missed each of the last four deadlines...</p>
<p>Edit: Just saw your intro bio grades in your other post. You did just fine. No reason to change classes.</p>
<p>whats autotutorial classes?</p>
<p>in particular what are the pros and cons of donlon, mews, and court with relation to each other. Also, is there anything that makes mews and court different?</p>
<p>Read the related thread. It's been beat to death there.</p>
<p>How cold is very cold? </p>
<p>I'm from northern MA, so I'm used to NE weather. However, I do know that Cornell is a lot colder, partly because it's farther from the temperature-regulating ocean. My optimum temperature is 70 and I start to break down at around 40. How long until I cease to function--and what necessities should I bring?</p>
<p>lol you're going to freeze :)</p>
<p>I gathered that much. And I'm ignoring it. :D</p>
<p>I've got my two down comforters, flannel blanket, space heaters, thick socks, wool coat, down coat, three scarves, leather gloves, fleece-lined boots, electric tea kettle...</p>
<p>will I be okay?</p>
<p>You will live. There are people at Cornell who come from much warmer places then Northern MA and do just fine. You can't bring the space heater but everything else will keep you warm.</p>
<p>Yeah I'm from FL and i love it. Right now its 12 degrees and 8 inches of snow...wooo!!!</p>
<p>Hey, I'm applying from florida. How hard was the adjustment?</p>
<p>The temperature was Cornell's biggest selling point to me. I can't imagine how people wouldn't like it.</p>