Questions for anyone with current students at Villanova or anyone with knowledge of the underclassman dorms.
Are the beds raised? Curious if we can buy stuff to use under the beds for storage, or if we’ll need to buy bed risers
Are the bathrooms shared by a suite of rooms?
Are trashcans provided, or do we need one for the room and one for the bathroom?
Are rooms carpeted? Or should we buy a rug?
Are the walls cinderblock? Wondering about hanging things on them.
Anything else you can share about the dorm rooms for when we start shopping?
Thank you!!
Ok. Here goes…
Most beds are raised. There is room to have storage underneath the beds. Only exception is a triple set up. Because of the bunk bed storage is much more limited.i
The bathrooms are community style. Showers, sinks, etc are all shared by floor. Floors are segregated by gender.
You do need to bring your own trash can for your dorm room.
Rooms are not carpeted. I suggest buying a inexpensive carpet that you throw out at the end of the year. I did purchase a carpet through a univ provider who delivered the carpet directly to my son’s room. No packing or lugging. It worked great!
Walls are cinderblock so far in all the dorms he’s live in for Freshman and sophomore years. You can use any of those products on the market by 3m for hanging items.
Bring lights!! LED’s are the only type allowed. There is no lighting provided. Desk lamp and maybe a room light of some type.
Rent the fridge from the campus service. So much easier. They deliver it to the room and if you have the insurance any problems and it gets replaced.
An inexpensive stick vac is a good idea too if your budget allows.
Congrats and good luck to you! Go Cats! \V//
Thanks so much for taking the time to pass on this information! This gives me time to pick up things here and there, rather than doing it all this summer! One important question I forgot to ask is are there any underclassmen dorms with A/C?
Thanks again!
My son was in Stanford freshman year and he is in Sheehan sophomore year. Both have A/C.
And…no problem! Any other questions let me know! I’d be happy to answer if I can.
Maybe checkout the residential life tab on the Villanova website. If you click on each dorm name it shows an example of what a room looks like in that dorm. It gives room dimensions, a/c, etc. The closet furniture may be slightly different then picture. I know Stanford had built in closets but some rooms had wardrobes instead.
Almost all freshman dorm on South campus only.
@goldendoodles - My D is at Nova and @pkchamp89 is absolutely right about bringing lights! My D has a desk lamp and two floor lamps this year…When she was a freshman, I sent her with an iron, a handvac (Dustbuster type) and a drying rack (for clothes, not dishes). Lots of eye rolling on her part initially when I put all of these items in the cart, but she has used everything except the iron. The drying rack is a big hit. It folds up nicely and she stores it under her bed - uses it every time she does laundry.
She lived in St Monica’s freshman year and there was A/C. She also bought a big, round decorative Ottoman that opened up for storage. Initially we bought it because she was placed in a triple freshman year and it was a “pretty” way for her to get into her bed that was raised up. 
We thought it would come home Thanksgiving break simply because the room was filled with stuff and it was rather cumbersome, but the girls all shared it and used it to store their shoes.
Congratulations! Nova is great place. Hoping my S19 can get in next year…
Also, if I remember correctly, I do not think that the closets in St. Monica’s had doors on them. The girls bought coordinating shower curtains and hung them with tension rods over the opening. Don’t know if you have a son or a daughter - I think many of the girls covered the closets with something - not sure if the boys cared!
faster you put in your deposit the more likelihood you will not get a triple! Rooms are tiny. Nice thing in his room was he had a sink. Bring lysol wipes and pray they use them. When it gets closer check and see what type of cable you need for the TV. whether its an HDMI or coax cable. May depend on actual dorm.
When my daughter applied, she applied EA and got her acceptance in mid-December. It was her first choice, so we put down the deposit a few days after that. She wanted to live in St. Monica’s and be part of that LLC. Apparently there is a lot of tripling in St. Mo’s, and she was put in one even though she deposited early. It wasn’t ideal - not horrible either, but we were surprised that she was tripled after we deposited so early. We were told it was because of the LLC she picked.
My son originally chose St. Mo’s because of the LLC too. When he was completing the online res life form it asked if tripled would he prefer to be in a double out of the LLC and he chose yes. He didn’t want to be tripled. He wound up in a double in Stanford. We deposited immediately after his RD acceptance. The earlier the deposit is made the better chances of no triple. But…that goes out the window if you chose a LLC, especially if it’s a popular one that is in high demand. The leadership learning community in St. Mo’s is very popular.
@pkchamp89 Yep. That’s exactly what happened.
As a current freshman at Nova in St. Mos I would like to clear up the whole what to bring debate. I’m in a triple as are almost all freshman outside of Stanford. I wanted a double going into the year but the triple is great and tbh Stanford is not the best building to live. In general you’re gonna want some form of ceiling lighhe as the overhead light is very harsh. I would highly recommend the microfridge and a carpet. Also must say rearranging the way the room is set up so your beds are in an L makes the rooms feel pretty big. Curtains for doors of your in mos. Even with the a.c. a fan can be nice. Bring lots of extension cords and storage containers. Tv is fun we get free cable. Also speakers can be nice ras don’t mind you playing music. Lastly posters if you have any you like if not poster fare like once a month can get some good ones there. Also hanging things command hooks are huge and can be bought about anywhere on campus along with any small things you forget. Printer can be really nice too tho 100% not necessary I have one though and haven’t had to use schools printers yet
Thank you for all your information! Does anyone know what the height is of the bed if you have one raised with the dresser underneath?
IIRC, in the triple, one girl put her dresser and desk under her bed which was raised up to about the same height as the top bunk of the set of bunk beds. (Sorry I can’t explain it better! Did that even make sense?!)
The school provided one ladder for the room. That was interesting.
Check out this pic. It may be able to give you decent visual.
@goldendoodles
I appreciate everyone’s advice here. With all the early admits this year, I’m not sure my son can avoid the dreaded triple. That being said, thank you @CSCisLife for the helpful tips on life with two roomies.