<p>Hey guys, can any current GW students give us a basic overview of the different residence halls?</p>
<p>Like:
<em>_= party hall
_</em>= really quiet
etc
etc
But with a little more detail.</p>
<p>Something of that nature would be great for us prospective students to get a feel of what life in the different residence halls is like.</p>
<p>Thurston=party dorm. It is the most social underclassmen dorm given that half the freshmen class resides in there. A lot of ppl who live there become friends with each other, and it’s pretty cool to have your friends nearby. I’ve heard some people can sleep with all the ruckus that goes on there 24/7. and some can’t. Some also say it’s a great freshman experience. Really depends on what type of person you are. Now for the non social part: the dorm itself is gritty. Sometimes there would be cockroaches and rats. The wooden floors are old and the bathrooms (noncommunal) don’t have ventilation if i remember correctly. You’ll get a chance to live in thurston during orientation. Also, doubles (i think) and 6 ppl rooms are the best option. Down side with 6ppl rooms is you have to share a br with 5 other ppl. Stay away from quads and triples because they’re relatively tiny.
Potomac=best of both worlds? I’ve heard this dorm is really nice. And it’s pretty new. The people who wants to party but also be able to sleep usually pick this dorm. It’s near thurston. So ppl can just walk over there to party and go back to potomac to sleep later. EDers typically fill this hall. Though i do know some lucky RDers who got in too lol.
Madison= also pretty nice. though it’s mostly for jocks cuz it’s near the gym. i’ve never been inside, but the outside looks old. inside i know is pretty good. not so sure about the social scene here sorry. there’s also construction going on next to this hall. idk when they’ll finish, but it doesn’t look like they’ll be finished by the end of summer. so if you don’t want an 8am wakeup call, avoid this.
Lafayette=new i believe. i think they were working on this dorm the spring/summer before i went to gw. sorry i don’t know much about it. it’s next to marvin center, which is where the bookstore and dining hall and pretty much club stuff is. it’s pretty much near the center of campus.
Crawford: pretty social dorm too. just not THE party dorm. it’s next to marvin center too and across from starbucks and the library. not only that, it’s in front of where all the delicious food trucks are lol.
By the way these are on Foggy Bottom.
The other campus is Mount Vernon. It’s a 20-30min ride away from Foggy Bottom. Mt Vernon lacks a social scene. But if you like the traditional type of campus, quietness, and don’t mind the shuttle ride, then it’s a good fit for you. A lot of sports practices are held here such as soccer, lacrosse, baseball/softball, tennis, field hockey. So some athletes live here. A lot of people dislike this campus because of the location, but i embrace what it offers. Also note that all honors kids will have classes here beginning in Fall 2012 i believe. Here are the dorms:
Merriweather:i live here currently. it’s an all girls dorm. honestly, i didn’t like this dorm cuz it’s an all girls dorm. but the good thing is that it’s quiet and i can actually sleep/study. if you’re looking for a lot of social interactions though, this dorm is not for you. this dorm is like dead. the rooms are pretty nice and spacious. they’re suite style and are way better than thurston’s. 2 doubles share a br. also, all rooms are doubles except for 2. One is single for the handicap and one is for the house proctor (aka RA). Houses about 44 ppl. It’s also full of international and transfer students.
Hensley/Cole: they’re both pretty much the same as merriweather. The only differences are that it’s coed and probs more social.
Somers: really new, modern, and nice dorm. the women’s leadership program girls live here. some guys live here too. though i think it’s still primarily girls. the rooms are also doubles suites sharing a br with another room. it houses a bit more ppl than merriweather/hensley/cole. it’s also next to eckles library.
West: newest dorm. opened in 2010. the basement holds the dining hall. the studio and study rooms there are also really nice cuz they’re new. i take advantage of this cuz hardly anyone uses these rooms. there’s also an art studio, black box theatre, and mini gym. The rooms are singles but they’re in like a suite. i think it’s like 3-4 single rooms per suite. Even though it’s the biggest dorm on the Vern, it’s still really quiet there. no one really parties there.</p>
<p>Sorry it’s so long, but hope it helped! Feel free to ask for anymore questions! :)</p>
<p>I just want to say thanks for taking the time to write all this out. If I get in it will be very useful!</p>
<p>Yeah really, esthetique, that was great, thank you so much.</p>
<p>Wait, is room/board the same no matter what dorm you’re in? And do you get placed in a dorm, or do you have any say in which one you get?</p>
<p>haha no probs. no, room/board are not the same for each dorm. the mount vernon dorms are pretty much the cheapest, that’s why i chose them. here are the room/board rates for this year [Living</a> @ GW - The George Washington University](<a href=“http://living.gwu.edu/forms/rates/]Living”>http://living.gwu.edu/forms/rates/)
when you apply for housing, you rank 7 dorms that you’d like to be in.</p>
<p>Thanks! Looks like my top choice would be a double in Potomac, thankfully it’s the same price as most of the other options!</p>
<p>As a current Thurston resident, I just wanted to say don’t let its reputation scare you! I wasn’t too excited to live here at first, but I actually really like it! Not the best amenities, but a lot of my friends live here and it’s definitely a really fun experience! My dorm also happens to be one of the nicer, more recently renovated rooms in the building (so I guess that plays into it). </p>
<p>Potomac is also nice, a lot of my friends live there as well so I would recommend that as well, plus you have this small sandwich place called Carvings right there so that’s nice. </p>
<p>The rest of the dorms are pretty nice as well, but they’re a lot smaller so there’s not huge party scenes at the other Foggy dorms, but it’s not a big deal after the first weekend once you make friends in your classes. I’ve been in West and it’s nice, but I wouldn’t recommend living on the Vern just because it’s a hassle to deal with the shuttle all the time (in my opinion).</p>
<p>Hmm, I definitely want the party scene, but I don’t want it to be the focal point of my college career. Would you say that my best option if I don’t get into Potomac would be to go with Thurston? </p>
<p>As someone who really wants to save partying for the weekends (but party like crazy when I do), would Thurston be tolerable?</p>
<p>Thurston sounds like the next best option or you. Again, some ppl can sleep through the noise, some ppl can’t. Really depends on you. If you value sleep, then pick the other foggy bottom dorms. The other dorms aren’t even that far away from the party scene (Thurston); it takes less than 15min to walk there. Thurston’s also cheap though, so if finances are an issue, then pick thurston.</p>
<p>What I’m scared of with Thurston is getting assigned to a quad. I know they ask you to rank the dorms according to your preference, but is there any way to indicate that you would like a double?</p>
<p>Yeah, I’m pretty sure that the list of options bar shows doubles, singles, quads, etc for many dorms. Unless the dorm is 100% doubles or whatever. They have to do that cuz not all thurston dorms are the same price.</p>
<p>Perfect. Thanks guys, especially you, esthetique. This has been really helpful.</p>
<p>At Lafayette Hall, do you share a bathroom with your double mate or also with the people in the room next to you? I don’t mind either way, I’m just curious.</p>
<p>@avidreader According to the GWU floor plans you share a bathroom with your suite mates.</p>
<p>@saman42 Unfortunately, last year they didn’t ask what type of room you wanted to be in on your preference list. They just ask if you would prefer upper or lower Thurston (top or bottom floors). They didn’t ask if you would prefer a double, triple, quad, five, or six though. And the size of the rooms don’t differ on different floors either so that’s not an option. It’s not really fair because there are different housing rates, but last year they didn’t give the option, sorry.</p>