Dorm decisions

<p>I know that there is a thread about which dorm to choose in last years threads, but since there are several current first years on the site who have now lived in the dorms for almost a year now, which dorm would you recommend? My daughter will be deciding soon.</p>

<p>We'll Old Dorms: are almost homogenous, but a little closer to classes, all hallway style, more aesthetically pleasing. New Dorms: are more diverse, all suite style with the exception of Woody & Cauthen, a little futher, than Old Dorms, from classes, closer to the Aquatic Fitness Center, supposedly slightly bigger rooms (I can't really see the difference). I personally believe that both Old and New Dorms are equally social and you will meet people in both dorms anyway. I live in Old Dorms, but I'm always at New Dorms.</p>

<p>Thanks for the reply. My daughter just can't decide which one to put as her first choice. I think that she is going to put McCormick as first choice Alderman as second and if she doesn't get into McCormick she says that it'll be "it just wasn't meant to be" and she says that Alderman will probably be just fine if thats the way it turns out.</p>

<p>McCormick: more "fratboys" and sorority girls, 75% of old dorm people rush.</p>

<p>Alderman: more diverse racially, much fewer people rush.</p>

<p>Both dorm areas have stereotypes associated with them that may or may not be true. New (alderman) dorms may, in fact, be more "diverse," as many athletes and all echols/rodman scholars are housed there. New dorms have suite, rather than halls, which presents a different set of positives and negatives. </p>

<p>Old dorms tend to have more attractive people and more people who like to go out on weekends. I live in new dorms, and I make a point to cut through old dorms on my way to class just to check out girls. </p>

<p>Whichever dorm area your daughter gets assigned to, she will have a great time. The only area to avoid like the plague is Hereford, but chances are she won't get assigned there, anyway.</p>

<p>Why Hereford?</p>

<p>Because it's in the middle of nowhere and it sucks. You'll find this out for yourself at orientation.</p>

<p>Ha, all right, thanks.</p>

<p>i talked to 2 of my friends (who both coincidentally are sororiety girls haha) and they both said to stay in old dorms because they claim it's more social. they said to stay away from new dorms because, to quote one, "you'll be made fun of." seeing as their both in the greek system, i'd say the stereotype presented above is somewhat true.</p>

<p>and one of them said hereford is "a 30 minute walk from campus." ouch.</p>

<p>yea, if you are into greek life, old dorm fits your comfort zone a little more.</p>

<p>those girls would probably tell you to stay away from brown residential college as much as possible.</p>

<p>i'm not into greek life. i mean, i bet i'll have a ton of friends in there but i don't personally want to be in a frat. would it be wise for me not to go to old dorms because of that? i still plan on being very social and stuff though.</p>

<p>any other opinions?</p>

<p>SoccerGrl, you'll be fine as long as you don't end up in Hereford.</p>

<p>hereford the only air-conditioned one other than brown right? besides UVA is a relatively small campus i dont mind walking an extra 10 min to class instead of burning my ass off for 2 crucial months right?</p>

<p>I wouldn't call grounds "small." Maybe compared to mega-schools like Michigan State, or something like that. The extra 10 minutes get old after about a week, and everyone else is burning their asses off, too. It's not as big a deal as you'd think, really.</p>

<p>im big on ac...i lived without ac in the summer one night couldnt stand in maybe im just spoiled but i do anything for ac</p>

<p>Hmmm.... I think I'm kind of leaning towards Alderman. I will probably try out for the crew team and they always have weird hours. If there are any first years living in Alderman on here, is the lobby area useful for roommates with different waking and sleeping hours for studying/hanging out?</p>

<p>Most of the people I speak with who lived in hereford 1st year HATED it, personally I didn't think the dorms got super hot. It's only about 2 weeks of really hot weather, but I guess if you really need the ac go for hereford.</p>

<p>Yeawho- You only need AC for maybe two weeks, and that's nothing a fan or two can't fix. Even right now we don't need AC. </p>

<p>Jackson- you probably don't want to be too loud in the lobby, but it's really useful if your roommate is sleeping or whatever. It's a good study area, as well as a place for everyone to gather and hang out. We usually use our suite lobby up to 3 AM or even up to 5-6 AM every night (like right now).</p>

<p>does anyone regret choosing/living in alderman? i want a social atmosphere, but then again sometimes i need peace and quiet just to chill out/sleep (in mccormick, i feel as if no one sleeps?) im considering alderman for the space, but do not want to give up social opportunities or get myself into having to walk a lot farther for classes and such.</p>