<p>sorry I seemed annoyed about the sinks, OP. it’s unusual for someone here to expect the sinks - usually people are like “wow, Balch has sinks in the rooms?!”
at home I had to walk down the hall from my bedroom to get the bathroom, so I guess I thought that was normal for most people. now I realize I had high school friends with bedroom/bathroom setups like the one you described, so my experience there isn’t universal.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Maybe that was a good thing. Now he can go out and join the clubs and activities and social groups with the types of values he prescribes to and make stronger friendships through those avenues.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>I had a sink in my room at Oxford. It was interesting because there were no sinks in the toilets. So you had to use the toilet then walk back to your room to use the sink in your room. And sometimes the sink in your room served other purposes as well. </p>
<p>The sinks were hidden behind a closet. Oh the British.</p>
<p>The sinks in Balch are also inside the closet. and you can’t have the hall door open at the same time as the closet door to the sink closet because they both pivot of the same corner. Very odd setup, but I know my D was truly happy to have the sink.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Not necessarily true, as each room is set up differently. I can have both doors open at the same time with no problem. But yeah, it’s really nice to have a sink and I’ll be sad when it’s gone next year, haha. And the point of having a door that leads to the sink (aka “closet”) is so that it can be shared between two rooms and still maintain privacy.</p>
<p>True, True countryangel</p>
<p>my D’s sink isn’t actually shared with another room. So even one more point that each room can be a little different in Balch.</p>
<p>Oh, cool! It must be nice to have her own sink :)</p>
<p>…my daughter had her own sink in Balch as well, with no door (just an alcove), so yes, each room can be very different. :)</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>This definitely does not happen to everyone. Some groups of students have little or no interest in Greek life. In my daughter’s circle of friends, only one person joined a Greek house, and he did it as an upperclassman. </p>
<p>My daughter specifically asked for Balch to enhance her chances of getting a single. It worked. So I think that female students, at least, can game the system to some extent. (I will add, though, that the social life in Balch was somewhat lacking, something that my daughter attributed to the lack of lounges in the parts of the building where students actually lived. Fortunately, she had friends in other dorms, so this didn’t matter much. And it was a HUGE single, and she loved it.)</p>
<p>wow, all the time I lived in Balch I didn’t know others had sinks all to themselves! I had the closet sharing with my neighbor situation.</p>
<p>Haha, same here faustarp! The only people I know with their own sinks are the RAs.</p>
<p>I think it is just a matter of where the rooms are and such.</p>
<p>As for gaming the system. You truly can with Balch.</p>
<p>My D requested a double in Balch, knowing she would very likely get a single. But because she requested the double, Financial Aid covered the increased cost of the single.</p>
<p>as for atmosphere. yeah, i am sure she would have liked it to be more social. But she spends lots of time at frat parties and at other friends dorms, so I think she likes the fact that when she wants to sleep or get some work done, she can just go chill in her room.</p>
<p>There are tons of lounges in Balch. But you do have to go down a floor or two usually to get to one. But they are big and comfortable.</p>
<p>Cadmiumred,
What’s the matter? It seems your son is unhappy at Cornell and your daughter is unhappy at American.</p>
<p>Your son had a choice about whether to go through rush or not. He chose not to.</p>
<p>Other students also had the right to make that choice. They chose differently than your son. They did not owe your son any duty to let his choice influence theirs, any more than they had any right to expect that their choices would have any influence on his.</p>
<p>They did not desert him. They just chose differently.</p>