<p>I've searched through the web and didn't really find a satisfactory answer. I would love it if a current student or parent of one, that knows how big/small the rooms are could comment on them. As well as the bathroom situation. Shared? How are the showers? Can one get privacy in them? Just any comments about general life would be nice, thank you.</p>
<p>The rooms are actually a really good size in almost every dorm, except for annexes and pits. The East dorms, where I live, are freaking huge, and some of the ones I’ve seen on North are awesome. Showers are great for privacy. They vary by dorm and section: the ones on East are walls with a bathroom-stall door, the ones on North are stalls, and the ones on South are actually entire rooms, separate from the rest of the bathroom. All the ones I’ve seen are like that, at least. I’m not entirely sure how to describe “general life,” but I’d say mine depends on which part of the semester it is, because there’s so much work involved in a lot of classes.</p>
<p>My son’s first year was in Norris, a dorm built in the 60s that some call the worst on campus. He had a great time there in a double. There was enough room for 2 guys. It was a co-ed floor and the bathrooms had lots of privacy, with every stall for showers or whatever having doors. I think they vote on whether or not to have co-ed bathrooms, but it wouldn’t really have mattered because privacy was built in. Second year he lucked out and got a co-op, which was like an apartment with its own kitchen and bathroom. Junior year he went abroad first semester, so he got a single second semester (from someone who was going abroad then). Senior year he has had a single room. The housing has been great and the food is really good too!</p>
<p>do any dorms have ac? which ones?</p>
<p>can a freshman male request a dorm with ac (medical issue)?</p>
<p>Norris has AC. We didn’t make a medical request, though my S does have allergies. He just ended up in Norris because there wasn’t enough substance-free housing. I would definitely try a request if you have a reason. My son brought a little fan and uses that for white noise as well as coolness. Other dorms may have AC too, but not all. It doesn’t stay hot for much of the school year.</p>
<p>I thought my S’s room this year was a nice sized double, each person had a really large closet, room for a number of kids to come over and hang out in, big windows; and he just texted me that next year his room (a double again) is “massive” and at least 1.5 times bigger than what he has this year! There is a variety of dorms, so the rooms are different and even within a dorm the individual space can be different, but there do seem to be plenty of good options!</p>
<p>All of East Campus has AC, and I think there are quiet a few rooms in Kershaw (AC and subfree) that are “reserved” for students with medical needs.</p>
<p>Back to the “general life” part of the question, I think it’s well addressed on other threads here. Each student would probably answer differently, but my son and his friends are having a really, really positive experience at Grinnell, both academically and socially. It is a small campus and a small town, not what everyone would love, but an incredibly diverse and interesting group of students.</p>
<p>Does anyone know how housing works for transfer students? Would I get housed at the same time as everyone else, or would they plunk me in wherever was left over?</p>
<p>jccm666-I don’t know anything about this, but I can’t imagine that Grinnell would value its transfer students less than any other students. I think you could call admissions with any specific questions. All of the housing I’ve seen on campus is nice. There are students who want to live off campus, so I get the impression that there is room in dorms for people who want that.</p>
<p>I’m not sure, but since the transfer students come with the first years, i assumed they’re housed the same way. A set number of rooms in every dorm is set off for new students before room draw, so that all first-years don’t get relegated to the crappiest rooms.</p>
<p>Because transfer students are older than most first-years they are generally (not always, but often) housed with returning students of what will be their class-year who simply didn’t find a roommate.</p>
<p>housing assignments for next year have already been made, so transfers must be fit in with the available space. All the dorms are mixed-years.</p>
<p>When I visited campus, I was told that east probably has the nicest facilities but the least character.</p>