<p>So I understand that the BIG PACKAGE (take that as you may) will be arriving any day now! I was wondering what the best freshman dorms are. And yes, I realize we can't choose our dorms per se, but there are ways to get your preference across...</p>
<p>Thanks.</p>
<p>I wish there was a place to request whether or not you wanted air conditiong...cause my parents can definitely not afford an air conditioned room...I really hope I don't get one!</p>
<p>I dont know how you plan to get your preference across... its like an online set of yes or no questions.</p>
<p>Leave that to me....does anyone know anything about the dorms.</p>
<p>Well... a lot of it is personal preference... Bell Tower is the nicest newest one... its a little bit isolated though.</p>
<p>Blackwell and Randolph are the other AC dorms...</p>
<p>Alspaugh, Bassett, Brown, Giles, Wilson, Carr, and Pegram are nice classic georgian red brick right on the main quad-- bigger rooms and better location but no AC and older</p>
<p>Jarvis and Aycock are on the main drag just below the main quad... similar to the red bricks just not as pretty I would say</p>
<p>Southgate and Gilbert-Addoms are the Non-AC dorms grouped with Blackwell and Randolph... GA is the biggest (most rooms) dorm on East... Southgate is a little isolated.</p>
<p>Epworth is kind of behind Aycock by its lonesome.</p>
<p>If my experience is still true, you can request AC or not. (Trust me, a "not" request would definitely be honored!)</p>
<p>You can request substance free (non-AC), or not.</p>
<p>You can request single-gender floors instead of co-ed floors. (Even in coed floors, though, the halls are all single-gender, so it doesn't matter.)</p>
<p>You can be in a FOCUS or not, which will trump everything else and place you into a specific dorm.</p>
<p>If you have a doctor's note, they will put AC in your room regardless of your dorm. However, unless you need it, it's really not worth it - you'll use it for 3 weeks of the 9 months that you're there. If the heat is bothering you, then you just go to your common room (which is air-conditioned) or to some other place that is air-conditioned (library, eating place, etc).</p>
<p>well...on the website that lists the questions on the app, whether or not you want AC is not one of them...</p>
<p>I'm biased toward the 6 classic Georgians, which offer great real estate. Go Alspaugh! This was where I was this past year, and it was so great that I will be staying for a second year as an RA. By the way, Alspaugh was hands down the most fun dorm on East this past year (and I've heard that it has been that way for quite a few years for some reason) - GA probably took a close second. However, all the dorms knew about Alspaugh and its amazingness - though all of the other dorms are really fun too - but then again, I'd like to point out that I'm not very biased.</p>
<p>Regardless, this is what I said in a previous post about the dorms:</p>
<p>I think in general that Duke's dorms are pretty nice on East campus. In general, the sizes vary. Randolph and Blackwell have the smallest rooms, but those dorms are air-conditioned. I would take a bigger room over air-conditioning any day because the air conditioning is really only needed the first 2-3 weeks of school. After that, you won't use it again except for perhaps a couple of days right before you go home in the spring. </p>
<p>The six classic Geogian buildings on the main quad (Alspaugh, Pegram, Brown, Basset, Wilson, and Giles) are my personal favorites perhaps because I lived in Alspaugh this year. The real estate of these dorms is what makes them so great - they are right in the center of all of the activity. All of these dorms have very similar living arrangements except for Wilson, which is suite-style living. The downside of Wilson is that you have to clean your own bathrooms instead of them being cleaned everyday. Consequently, it may work out great if you have good roommates who contribute and are clean but it could also work out quite the opposite. </p>
<p>GA, Southgate, Aycock, and Jarvis are all the older dorms. The rooms are generally big. GA and especially Southgate tend to be more isolated than the other dorms. </p>
<p>Last, Bell Tower or "Belle Tower: Resort and Spa" as their bench says - this is the newest dorm on East. It's air-conditioned, good-sized rooms, looks like a hotel, plasma TV's on each floor, and supposedly a 50 seat multimedia room. The one-downside of Bell Tower is that it is like Southgate in that it is further away from the main quad than the other dorms.</p>
<p>In general, you'll end up happy whereever you get placed. Certain dorms obviously develop certain reputations - some apparently have had the same reputation for years. I don't know exactly how this works out - perhaps because some of the RA's who stay create similar environments and FAC's also will sometimes let freshmen know that it's important to keep up a certain reputation. The other way of course is by institutionalizing the repution - i.e. Brown - substance-free.</p>
<p>I definitely loved and adored Blackwell, but I don't know that I would go so far as to suggest that you request it coming in. It's actually the biggest dorm in terms of number of people (yes -- bigger than G-A, contrary to popular belief), has A/C, and small rooms. I loved our small little room because we made it very cozy and warm (despite the cinderblock walls), but I'm definitely glad to be moving to a room next year that's 100 sq. feet bigger. If A/C is important to you, I would suggest Blackwell over Randolph only because a) I'm biased and b) it's a little closer to the bus stop (Blackwell is actually closer to the bus stop than Bassett, Pegram, Brown, and Alspaugh, which is cool, but I kind of wished to be in one of those dorms during my trips to the Marketplace or 4:30 am walks home from Lilly Library). </p>
<p>Anyway, that's the scoop on Blackwell for ya. BTW, don't underestimate A/C - I never felt warm in my room, and never even THOUGHT about temperature, but I remember being so surprised when I'd hear people constantly whine about how they couldn't get any work done because their rooms were so sticky and hot. But I do agree with dukestudent2009 when he says that wherever you get placed, you WILL be happy. I honestly don't know a single person who was unhappy in his/her dorm. Everyone develops dorm loyalty, wears the dorm t-shirts, and even when I'm talking to my junior and senior friends and I so much as mention the name of their freshman dorms, they'll get all "BASSETT PRIDE!" or "YEAH SOUTHGATE!" or whatever. I trust that you have "ways to get your preference across" but I actually sort of suggest that you put a little faith in the Duke system -- they do a REALLY good job at somehow making every dorm really have a certain character that people fit into. And they're awesome at pairing roommates, too. Just a heads up.</p>
<p>Do all freshman dorms have cinderblock walls???????????? Alspaugh???</p>
<p>if you say you have allergies, you can get AC.</p>
<p>Oh my dear god, that's a lot of question marks. No, they do not. Only Blackwell and Randolph, I think.</p>
<p>My advice seriously is not to worry so much about the dorms. Even the people who get "stuck" in dorms they don't think they'd want wind up loving them. Don't stress so much about it.</p>
<p>Yea, I agree. Stop stressing about the dorms, they all have their positives and negatives. I lived in one of the farthest from the bus stop and one of the more run-down residences. Still, we had one of the most social, fun dorms on East. </p>
<p>P.S. The above person who thinks she can "make her preferences known" doesn't know what he/she is talking about. It doesn't matter if you're the crown prince of England, you still get randomly placed. A very, very prominent politician's kid lived three doors down from me and he/she got the same amenities as anyone else.</p>
<p>I'm going to give my biased opinion about Jarvis (most of which can go for Aycock as well because they're basically mirror images of each other). They're definitely two of the smallest dorms, besides Epworth, which just gives it the feeling of home. I knew and adored just about everyone in Jarvis this year...we all got along so well. It was such a fun dorm to just hang out in, and ahh, I miss it so much.</p>
<p>The rooms are, for the most part, absolutely massive, as well as the closets. I actually put my entire dresser in my closet for more floor space. Hardwood floors and just regular plaster walls (another reason why it's really home-y). Not much else to say about that really. Oh....location is amazing...you come to realize how awesome it is to live so close to the bus stop when it's a) raining or b) freezing cold and C-2s are only running every 10 minutes. </p>
<p>Ok, so anyway, don't forget Jarvis and Aycock....they're awesome dorms as well. Regardless of where everyone ends up it will be the time of your lives.</p>
<p>Hahaha. People take things so personally. I know individuals who have blatantly put a dorm name on their roommate request forms in bold, and they got those dorms. When I got accepted to Andover (prep school) I did the same thing, and I figure most institutions will try to do the same.</p>
<p>The entire process will be random unless you request performing arts or substance-free. Performing arts will probably be in Pegram again, and substance-free is always Brown. </p>
<p>Also, Alspaugh does not have cinder-block walls. It has wood floors and normal walls in the rooms. The hallways are carpeted, and the inside of the stairwells is brick. The general color of the hallways is green.</p>
<p>I don't agree with anyone who's said that you use your AC for only three weeks... I've never lived without AC at Duke (AC unit in Pegram first year; air-conditioned quad on West sophomore year), but I will tell you that the AC was so wonderful for the first and the last month of school... at least. </p>
<p>If you don't want AC because you can't afford it -- call Residential Life. Put a note on the corner of the form. Do something! They WILL honor that request, unless you do Focus which trumps that. I've heard of people doing what Accionara mentioned, putting a dorm name as a roommate request- it worked in their situations.</p>
<p>I lived in Pegram back when it was ridiculous insanity fun and now they're taming it. Shame..</p>
<p>I def. agree with bluestar. Our AC was on 24/7 the entire year. It just keeps the room less stuffy, especially with a radiator which just puts so much moisture in the air. If you have it take advantage of it.</p>
<p>Yeah...now that I think about it, our A/C was on the entire year too. I was never able to put a finger on why our room felt so different than the non-A/C ones, but I think loveduke is right...it was less stuffy.</p>