<p>My son - freshman - assigned a room on the ground level of Bostwick. The photos look really tiny. Everyone seems to bunk the beds. He's not all that concerned, but I'd love some advice. Are there any tips on maximizing the space? It looks from the floorplan that they share a closet? How about 23 boys sharing a hall bath? I'd appreciate any comments or suggestions.</p>
<p>I would keep the beds bunked - you <em>may</em> be able to unbunk, but you’d have no floor space. Yes, there is a shared closet and a built-in cabinet with a mirror above it that you’ll share for your clothing. The cabinet comes up to about waist/chest height, if I remember correctly.</p>
<p>I shared a corner room, which I think was maybe slightly bigger. We kept the beds bunked and turned the desks so they were back-to-back. Some kids would put their microfridges up on top of the cabinet, which might save some floor space.</p>
<p>ETA: I lived on the second floor and we had 2 bathrooms, but I never really found it to be an issue sharing a bathroom. I was usually the only one in there taking a shower (but this may have been because I showered at night). I very rarely had to go use the other hall bathroom.</p>
<p>Hey, glad someone posted on Bostwick. My D was just assigned there also. Can anyone comment on the lofting? Do both students get a loft or just one? Pros/cons from those who have lofted would be great. Do people put up curtains? Should she bring a printer for the room? thanks for any tips</p>
<p>Most girls do have curtains in their rooms - my mom made me some which I ended up using all four years. We did not have a loft in our room, but it might work to loft one bed and then put another under it perpendicularly. If I remember correctly, you can still order the lofts on the day of move-in, if you find that it would be useful once you actually get there and see the dimensions of the room.</p>
<p>Those of us in previous classes got a printer with our Thinkpads - I ended up buying a cheap laserjet (found a bargain on a HP for ~$50) because I pretty much print everything in black and white and the all-in-ones we were given really sucked up ink anyway. If she thinks she’ll be printing out her powerpoints to take notes on in class, a printer would probably be worth it. Maybe she can go in on one with her roommate?</p>
<p>I lived in Johnson (which is a mirror image of Bostwick) my freshman year and I second Juba’s comments about sharing a bathroom. I can only remember using the other bathroom on the hall a few times (probably when the other one was being cleaned, I think). As for maximizing the space, bunking the beds is almost certainly your best bet. We actually used the beds to more or less divide the room in half, and then we each had our desk on either side of the bed. It made the room look a little smaller, but it kind of offered each of us our own area, which was nice. </p>
<p>I found the biggest problem to be drawers. There really weren’t any decent-sized drawers in the room. There are a few built into the vanity (two little ones and then two or three larger ones maybe?), and then there’s some shelf-space also underneath the vanity, but the storage space was nowhere near what I had in my other rooms at Wake (when I had an entire dresser). If I had it to do over again, I would’ve bought one of those plastic drawer units that you can get at Target or Walmart or something and kept it…somewhere. Closet maybe? But I’d wait to buy that until you get there so that you can see how much space you have.</p>
<p>I never had curtains in my room. The blinds were fine for me. What I really enjoyed having was actually a rug. Even if it’s just a small one, it really made the room feel more homey. And the floors were freezing otherwise.</p>
<p>As for printers, I also had a printer that the school gave me, and so I always had it in my room (and am still using it, actually). One year, my roommate didn’t bring her printer, and she always managed. I know that we always got some free printing in the library, but I don’t remember how many pages a semester. I often printed out slides and such for class rather than take notes on my computer, but if I hadn’t wanted to do that, I think that I could’ve probably gotten by with the number of pages that I could print from the library. It would’ve been a little inconvenient, though.</p>
<p>Thank you Ginny and Juba, all great info!! Really helps the newbies. This year freshman are not given a printer. Sounds like it would be more convenient to spend the extra money and get one for the room. Too bad they don’t have some in the common areas of the dorms.</p>
<p>A lot of girls do have curtains. I always have. The blinds are the white cheap plastic kind and not very nice to look at. Its not by any means necessary though. Plenty of people don’t have any curtains. Definitely get a rug though. The floors are very cold and can get gross quickly. Even a small rug is better than no rug.</p>
<p>I know a couple girls who lofted or debunked in their rooms in Bostwick, but it really depends on the room and your roommate. Some girls are really against bunk beds, but some people want more space and don’t care if the beds are bunked. I’d see when you get there and before you move stuff in play around with the layout a little bit. Most boys I’ve known, regardless of what dorm they live in just keep the beds bunked. </p>
<p>I’d recommend getting a printer. You get something like 50 pages free a semester in the library, but after that its 8 c a page. It gets old really quickly walking to the library every time you need to print something, not to mention inconvenient. I’ve done it all this year since my printer broke.</p>
<p>Scarletleavy, you can get a new printer at IS since yours broke.</p>
<p>Also, most boys don’t unbunk their beds. I lived there as an RTA my sophomore year and didn’t unbunk my bed. Not to be a downer, but the downside to Bostwick is definitely the shared closet (which is tiny) and the dressers that are fixed to the walls. You don’t really have a lot of options for your room. </p>
<p>Bring a rug. Bring a lamp (the white bright light gets boring and hurts your eyes after a bit). Bring a swiffer. Bring an extension cord because most of the outlets suck. </p>
<p>Do not bring a big chair/couch before you see your room.</p>