<p>Did any other Monroe scholars not get Monroe? That was one of the promised parts of the program that attracted S over the other schools he was admitted to, but he instead was put in Gooch in Botetourt. The email reply from the housing office simply says "we do not know why he was not put in Monroe, but we can not do anything about it."</p>
<p>InHouseCounsel, the only thing I could think of is that maybe your son didn't choose Monroe as his first choice on the housing application... </p>
<p>If I were you, I would contact the housing office again, because they didn't give a satisfactory response.</p>
<p>Thanks. I had son call, but same answer so far, I am going to call them tomorrow. He did put Monroe as first choice. They are saying now it was because of their new automated system, but they still say they can not fix it. Some of his friends who are also Monroe received notices that no housing is available yet for them, so something is clearly wrong with the system.</p>
<p>I think that you really need to force the Administration for a better solution on this Monroe goof up.</p>
<p>My D was in Monroe her freshman year. The Monroe program has been great for her, and the dorm life was definitely a huge plus. They should not be allowed to do this to you. Obviously if your S was accepted into this highly competitive program, he had a lot of other offers on the table. W&M will have a huge black eye for recruiting future Monroe prospects if they cannot treat them right.</p>
<p>Well I think it should be apparent to everyone that there was a mistake. However everyone has their rooming assignment already. There was a good portion of people who didn't even get housing which I would like to think means that the dorms are at full capacity. That means if they were to correct the mistake, they'd have to kick someone out of a room in order to give your kid the room in Monroe. That would be a very difficult thing to do as everyone already knows where they are living and how would the student who gets kicked out be chosen?</p>
<p>Edit: By kicked out I mean swapped to Gooch. Also Gooch really wasn't that bad last year AND that's when it was the all male dorm.</p>
<p>I do think they have a real dilemma, since they already gave out all the rooms. It is not so much about the condition of the dorms- all of the dorms appear to be significantly nicer than the ones my wife and I lived in way back when, and we survived. Any of them are probably in better shape than his room at home! It is more about being part of the program.</p>
<p>He was promised a room in that dorm as part of the program that attracted him the W&M. He chose W&M over several other offers, including some significant scholarships, because he liked the idea of living with the others in the program. He is not the kind of person to ever complain, but he is really bummed out about this after they set his expectations with the promise of a specific dorm with the others in the program.</p>
<p>I do understand that the school had some sort of systems problem, but the response from the housing office to S saying "computer error, tough luck" was not very helpful. I later emailed the Monroe program directly, and the response from that office at least made me feel like the people who run the program care, even if they can not fix the problem. It sounds like the problem is in the housing office and their new system. We will see what happens.</p>
<p>I will be living in Gooch.</p>
<p>Not all Monroe Scholars are housed in Monroe. Likewise, not all students housed in Monroe are Monroe Scholars. If living in Monroe is something they <em>promised</em> to your son, then that's a separate problem you should take up with them, but not all Monroe Scholars are housed in Monroe, and it's not just a computer glitch.</p>
<p>Also, ResLife mentioned to me (likewise, when I was complaining about dorm assignments) that students are matched according to their roommate preferences first, and their dorm preferences second. It could be that your son's roommate did not rank Monroe very highly.</p>
<p>P.S.: It is an unspoken fact of being a William & Mary student that, at some point or another, you will grow to loathe the ResLife establishment for one reason or another. Whether it happens now or during a future lottery, the headaches and frustration of dealing with that office have become almost rites of passage. Only Parking Services is more despised.</p>
<p>Several years ago, my daughter was also closed out of Monroe housing (despite having returned her housing application within a matter of days!). However, all of the overflow Monroe students were housed together on two coed floors of a smaller dorm. She found this to be an excellent alternative - indeed, a preferable one. She visited friends in Monroe often and also used the study lounge, but said she wouldn't have wanted to live there.</p>
<p>Is it possible that W & M has adopted the same strategy this year - might all the overflow Monroe kids be housed together in Gooch?</p>
<p>I would reread the Monroe info carefully. I agree that honors housing is one of the benefits offered to attract these top students, but I don't see how it can be promised or guaranteed. Many more Monroes are accepted than will attend - there isn't enough housing to guarantee a place for every prospective student. FWIW, I've read several instances on the boards about kids in honors programs at other schools being edged out of honors housing because of the demand (Pitt comes to mind, and there are others). It's worth knowing this happens for those whose students will be applying in the future. Once an acceptance is in hand, perhaps a call to admissions will clarify a student's chances to be assigned to honors housing. If it's a major deal-breaker, admissions anywhere would want to know.</p>
<p>I understand the issue and disappointment when the expectations are not delivered. On the other hand, at a school such as William and Mary, you son/daughter will definitely find like-minded students who are very interested in intellectual pursuits and conversations.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the information. It is helpful to hear more about the housing situation in general. I did not want to make it sound all legalistic about guarantees (I have to watch out for my lawyer tendencies!)- it is more about setting expectations. Maybe they need to just work on the marketing materials to set expectations appropriately. Some of the housing offers from other schools very pretty funny. Since he was a national merit finalist, he had some offers other places that said things like "you get to live in honors housing and we provide maid service every week." Seemed a little over the edge!</p>
<p>The concept that the computer matches the roommate first, then the dorm is interesting. Programming it that way would have a major effect on everyone's choice in a way most folks would not expect, even though it makes sense from a logical point of view- the person you live with matters a lot more than the building, yet most kids focus on the building because that is the seemingly known quantity, even if some of the "facts" about the various buildings are stereotypes or misconceptions.</p>
<p>Just an update- the housing office actually contacted my son this morning and said they can take care of it. It might be a triple, but he was happy with that. I have to give them points for being responsive and taking care of things- not what I expected after the first email.</p>
<p>That's great. Glad to hear it, InHouse.</p>
<p>In daughter's situation, perhaps roommate preference is preferred. She was bummed the other day with Botetort. However, after an email from her roommate (international) and ready some of the bios on facebook, she is in the right dorm!</p>
<p>My daughter's in Monroe, third floor...her roommate's local and they met today for lunch...so far, so good. D. thinks they're going to get along fine.</p>
<p>I'm in Botetourt because of Sharpe. You know when you're required to live in a certain dorm for a program, it isn't the best one :) I know people with Monroe who have tried (unsuccessfully) to get out of the Monroe housing. And not everyone in Monroe is a Monroe scholar. Either way (not to make light of anyone's disappointment or anything) it is sort of like with college itself - it may not have been the "first choice school" back in December, but in a few months ask nearly anyone and the vast majority will say, oh yeah this is the perfect school for me. Likewise, everyone seems to end up realizing their housing is mostly no better or worse than it could have been. There are perks (and minuses) to all of them. From what I've heard Monroe isn't the nicest dorm really. Anyway I'm glad they worked it out there. Triples aren't so bad if the room was intended to be a triple. If everyone gets along (i.e. two don't leave one out), the dynamic between three roommates can be preferable, a little less awkward. Probably more so with boys too who may not have as many...social issues.</p>
<p>Princedog, which dorm(s) are Sharpe?</p>
<p>Spotswood is Sharpe, at least it was last year.</p>
<p>I think it is this year too, at least that is the only one I have heard. Not sure if there is another one but I wouldn't think so.</p>