<p>To all current UD students, which is the most favorable Freshman dorm and why? Generally speaking, I have been told that Rodney and Dickinson are the party dorms whereas Russell and Harrington are a little more laid back. Can anyone confirm/deny these stereotypes?</p>
<p>UD is opening up a brand new freshman dorm this Fall for 750+ freshman. About 450 Honors students will be housed there along with 300+ other freshman. Except for Honors Program students (all housed together in the new dorm) freshman can request a specific dorm but there is no guarantee where you will be assigned. Harrington will be closed this Fall for renovation so it will not be available. With the Honors program students moving to the new dorm it does appear that the Russell Complex will be available for non-honors freshman. A small number of freshman (I think about 400) in past years have been housed in the North (Laird) campus in suite type rooms with 2 rooms sharing a bathroom. I understand that both Rodney and Dickinson will both still be used this Fall even with the opening up of the new dorm. In the past at least Rodney has been stereotyped as more of a party dorm but whether such a stereotype is accurate depends a lot on the students assigned to one’s floor and building. My D lived in Rodney her freshman year and didn’t feel the “partying” was any greater than her friends in other dorms. Obviously this was just her experience. Unfortunately if you are not in the Honors Program you will basically have to deal with wherever you are assigned when the housing assignments come out in early August. Actually most students generally do well wherever they are assigned as long as they get active and make friends. Most students with initial “concerns” about being assigned to Rodney or Dickinson find that things most commonly work out well. Good luck wherever you get assigned. Maybe you will get lucky and get the brand new dorm.</p>
<p>Mwallenmd, thank you for your response. My main concern with Rodney or Dickinson is being farther away from the Central Campus. I visited UD a few weeks ago, and the new freshman dorms looked quite desirable. No matter where I am assigned, I am sure that I will make the best of the situation.</p>
<p>Actually Rodney is located closer to some classrooms (especially if you are a Business, Music, or Nursing major) than the freshman dorms on East/North campuses.The main student center, Trabant, is also closer. Rodney has its own dining hall, a convenience store, and a small work-out gym area. It is a little further however to the Main Street shops/restaurants. I think it is about, or close to it, the same distance to the library from the East campus freshman dorms. So really its location is not that bad. Dickinson dorms are a little further out past the Rodney dorms so there is a little more of a walk to campus areas. Dickinson students eat in the Rodney dining hall. IMHO there really is no “bad” dorm location on campus. Good luck.</p>
<p>I am a Finance major, so maybe I should hope to be assigned to Rodney or Dickinson. In any case, relative to other colleges I have visited, most of UD’s academic buildings are within walking distance of one another, so I should be fine.</p>
<p>bkott03, My daughter is currently in Dickinson, this was one of her LAST choices. All in all it worked out quite nicely as she is a business major and has a far shorter walk to her morning classes, literally the closest to West Campus complex. I took my son on the campus tour last week and the new dorms look so nice. My d was able to do a walk through two weeks ago and says they look amazing. I think this would be just about anyone’s first pick but if you are a business student it will be a little walk to your classes. I would def consider west campus as a business student. My daughter was soooo sad when she got Dickinson but now is very happy about it. good luck to you!</p>
<p>My son is a Sophomore Business Major. He was placed in Smyth Hall as a Freshman & had an absolutely fantastic year. It sits between 2 dining halls, Kent and Russell, and adjacent to a student center, Perkins, and close to Main street. Distance to his classes was irrelevant even though he had an a class both semesters in Old College with the art department which is pretty far afield. He loved walking the campus on a daily basis (and still does!) Best of luck.</p>
<p>From experience, east campus is the way to go. I would avoid west campus as much as possible, since it’s a real pain to get anywhere within a decent amount of time without a bike or skateboard/longboard. Also, the general area looks trashed about 80% of the time that you’re there. The dining hall isn’t bad; the people are way more welcoming/nice there than they are anywhere else imo). </p>
<p>Uh, I’m not sure why someone said there was a little gym area near Rodney since there wasn’t when I was there 
I might have just missed it while I was living down there, though. There is a tennis court if you like to play tennis.</p>
<p>I checked and it looks like they removed the Rodney Fitness Center sometime in 2010, Sorry.</p>
<p>Mwallenmd, I sent ya private message, let me know if ya got it. haven’t been on here in awhile so im not sure I sent it properly…thanks, hopefully u remember me, you gave me some great advice and need some more of ur wisdom…</p>