Dorm rooms

Colleges and Universities A-Z Wellesley College
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<p>@‌ LMAlcott</p>

<p>I want to support you in your decision to voice your concern to W about the small, tiny, tiny double. I would have been equally mad, as you are.</p>

<p>I hope they will listen [I guess they have listened to previous complaints because they are doing major renovation to Munger hall, see link below] and not put a double in that tiny room going forwards. It is for the better for everyone going forwards. I do hope that your D gets a better room soon.</p>

<p>I also agree that for the amount of money you pay, you do expect at least reasonable accommodation/living quarters, nothing wrong with that.</p>

<p>I also agree with you that W, is an exceptional educational institution, and this problem with small living quarters should not deter prospective students from missing out on such a great educational experience.</p>

<p>W, is going to close Munger hall and do a complete top to bottom renovation, decreasing triples, increasing the size of rooms, restarting the dinning hall, etc starting June of 2015. They have also planned more renovations in what they call as project 2025, which I am assuming will include all the older dorms [it may not help our kids, but will help future Wellesleyans]. I do hope it will include all the old dorms and in a timely manner.</p>

<p>I have posted links for all to see here [if the links do not work, then copy paste in your browser]…</p>

<p><a href=“College to begin Munger Hall renovations in June 2015 - The Wellesley News”>http://thewellesleynews.com/2014/04/16/college-to-begin-munger-hall-renovations-in-june-2015/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p><a href=“http://www.wellesley.edu/facilities/campusprojects/currentprojects”>http://www.wellesley.edu/facilities/campusprojects/currentprojects&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>Thank you so much, tamtiger. I agree with all you’ve said. The reports from my daughter’s first day of classes are ecstatic - she is amazed by her teachers. </p>

<p>I also like something else she is feeling there, which is that the students feel free to be positive about their experience, that they aren’t trying to show coolness or dispassion (or even negativity) by withholding their enthusiasm and appreciation for the school. That was really important to me – there are a lot of good schools out there, but there are also so many where there are deep divisions among the “types.” So far, my daughter doesn’t feel this – and I hope she doesn’t. There is nothing like a wonderful community. Nothing!</p>

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<p>^^^^this and why the first year dorm room didn’t leave us angry in the end (or even that much in the beginning)</p>

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<p>I am happy to make the sacrifices to pay for the extraordinary qualities of Wellesley, but am still bothered to be making real-life financial adjustments and more for sub-norm housing. I think it’s my midwestern practicality – </p>

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<p>Really, I think these kinds of sub-optimal rooms are very common at most colleges and universities, especially in cases where more students enroll than expected.</p>

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<p>OP, I have twins at Northwestern and Wellesley. If you want to talk postage stamp, my son’s rooms were miniscule compared to his sister’s. I agree with fendrock’s assessment above. </p>

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<p>“There is no housekeeping service, only a summer shakedown and cursory check after last year’s students have moved out. It’s that way at every college.”</p>

<p>Actually that’s not true. After moving my D back to W, I moved my S to NU (he is an RA so this is early). There was a housekeeping service vacuuming and cleaning the carpets on the yet to be occupied rooms on his floor. I also saw housekeeping after my D moved from NYU housing over the summer. </p>

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<p>There must have been some cleaning done at Wellesley, too. I know they have summer programs there, and yet when we moved our D back in, she found that she didn’t need to dust any of her furniture or sweep the floor. And since she’s in the oldest building on campus, dust definitely happens. She had to Swiffer the floors several times a week last year, even though she and her roommate had a no shoes in the room policy.</p>

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<p>There is cleaning but it’s done a month before your student gets there. There is going to be dust, etc. My point is that there is no housekeeping as in a hostel, etc. Students have to vacuum and dust their own rooms if they want them to be clean.</p>

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<p>Glad to hear that Munger is getting an overhaul. When I read the original post, I laughed to myself that the mom HDA TO BE talking about Munger. My daughter and her roommate had a double in one of those “end of the hall” singles only suited for a broom closet. They both survived; it was character building. Glad to hear that her experience has been great otherwise.</p>

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<p>Most of the rooms in the older dorms weren’t meant to be doubles. There are very few real doubles in Tower for example and you can tell because they have 2 closets. All the others are singles posing as doubles. When I lived there back in the 80’s, we could stack our bookcases on top of our dressers to free up a little more space. They must have had a higher yield than they anticipated and are trying to keep everyone on campus. If you are really concerned you could ask the housing office if that particular room meets the fire code. After my first year, two entire halls in Tower were made into singles again after the fire marshall declared them too tiny to be doubles. </p>

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<p>Turning small singles into doubles so cramped that the top-bunk kid can’t sit up in bed. Whose idea was this??? </p>

<p>As for character building, I know you don’t mean it literally, but isn’t the best way to build character through resilience, hard work, appreciation, dedication, forgiveness and compassion. Not by your parents pay Ritz-Carlton prices for a dark shoe box room. My daughter hasn’t grown up with a silver spoon in her mouth, so I’m not sure that the school could make the argument to me that a small room will help her in life. </p>

<p>And yes – in every other way, what a school! My daughter is ecstatic with her teachers and her friends! And as I’ve said before, my disapproval of the housing is completely and totally separate from the other experiences she’s having – and I don’t let one influence the other in my own mind. More importantly, I never ask her about the room because I don’t want to influence her experience. As the bill payer, it does bother me.</p>

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<p>@LMAlcott - As the parent of a prospective applicant, I would like to thank you for sharing your daughter’s dorm experience. In all honesty, I have to admit that this makes me think carefully about Wellesley. I don’t buy into the whole “dorms like palaces” and brand-new apartment living as a necessity for college life, but a normal sized single turned into a double would concern me. </p>

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<p>I think getting your money’s worth should definitely be among the considerations in choosing a college, and I don’t know how to factor the dorms into a Wellesley choice. </p>

<p>Certainly I saw lots of crummy dorms in other colleges – and, I am using very modest, plain standards – but only because I insisted; the regular tour takes you only to the best dorms. Many school are letting this part of their infrastructure crumble. Wellesley just seems to have more students than it can house – I guess more students accepted admissions than they expected.</p>

<p>I still feel good about the Wellesley decision because it’s such a unique school that seems to leave such a long-lasting, positive impression on its students. But that doesn’t mean that as I work hard for even penny that goes into tuition, I am not miffed when I see the enormous disparity in housing at Wellesley. It’s not that I think every student deserves a tower room. But I do believe that two students shouldn’t be stuffed into a narrow single.</p>

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<p>@MamaBear16
“…In all honesty, I have to admit that this makes me think carefully about Wellesley…”</p>

<p>This is my opinion about the whole college application process. I think the college selection and the final decision about which college to attend should be the student’s decision. This is their 4 years in college and not the parent’s. </p>

<p>Yes, we have a voice in their decision making process when it comes to paying for the college but the ultimate decision about selecting and attending the college belongs to the student.</p>

<p>When I was visiting colleges with my D, our State school had just built brand new dorms which looked like a 5 star hotel. It is a great school academically and the dorms/food was amazing. But my D was least interested in the dorm or the food. For her, the college as in the education mattered more than the dorm. </p>

<p>When I visited Wellesley, the dorm that was shown to us was a decent sized dorm and from a parental point of view, I felt the size was better than some of the other colleges we had seen before. So when my D, said this is the college she wants to go to [Wellesley], I did not have a problem. She went to overnight visits twice to Wellesley and stayed in two smaller rooms [only now I know this] and elected to stay in a Dorm that is old and whose rooms were also small. </p>

<p>When we dropped her off at Wellesley, I felt that the rooms were old and smaller but this did not bother my D [It bothered me, because I felt, for the money we were paying, the rooms were small and old]. </p>

<p>I guess, your D should ask herself what is important to her, and if Wellesley seems to fit the bill, then hopefully the room size will not bother her if and when she decides to attend Wellesley.</p>

<p>Other than the rooms [not all are small, unfortunately some are and some of the kids end up in the smaller rooms], Wellesley is an amazing place.</p>

<p>I do not condone Wellesley for providing such old and small living quarters. I do hope some one from the college is reading these threads and are realizing that the dorms may be a turn off for some people [I am sure they know it], and will fix the problem soon.</p>

<p>Again, this is just my opinion, I am not trying to find fault with your reasoning. </p>

<p>Wellesley is a great school and so far my D seems to be enjoying it, despite the small rooms.</p>

<p>Good Luck with your decision.</p>

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<p>I don’t think being concerned that one’s D could end up in a place so cramped that she couldn’t sit up in her bed or where the door can’t be completely opened is the same as choosing a college based on having a 5 star dorm. I also think that most colleges have pros and cons and that they must be considered in this process. </p>

<p>We toured W and the tour guide showed us a very small room, but it was a single and the furniture fit in it. I also noticed that the dorms are older and need some renovations, but that doesn’t bother me or my D.</p>

<p>While it’s not anywhere close to the top considerations when choosing a college, what I’m reading here (and to be honest in a few other places) does make me concerned. Is it a deal breaker for my D? Probably not, but it’s definitely not a plus. If the doors don’t open completely, I’m guessing that there could be fire safety issues as well. If you read my post, I stated that I am thankful to the OP for posting her concerns – this is not something I would like to find out about when it’s too late to take it into consideration. I am not trying to slam Wellesley, since it seems like a great college. But I also won’t ignore this information and will make sure that my D reads this thread carefully and does more research on her own. After all, there are many amazing colleges out there to choose from. And hopefully having some open dialogue will benefit everyone.</p>

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<p>@‌ MamaBear16
…“After all, there are many amazing colleges out there to choose from…”</p>

<p>I agree 100%. There are many AMAZING colleges out there and Wellesley is just one of them. </p>

<p>I guess it is up to the student to decide which one will suit him or her better, after reading or analyzing the pros and the cons.</p>

<p>Sometimes we as parents may not agree with our kid’s decisions [I would have rather my D, had gone to the elite state school with $5500/year tuition, brand new dorms, excellent research facilities, study abroad programs], we will have to let them make the decision [ as long as it is not something terrible] and let them learn to accept the results be it good or bad.</p>

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<p>Well, if this issue really bothers prospective students, I recommend that they just ask to be housed in the “New Dorms” (Freeman, Bates, McAfee). </p>

<p>And keep in mind that Wellesley guarantees singles for juniors and seniors. The vast majority of colleges don’t. Frankly I’d rather see Wellesley invest money in other areas besides student housing. You’re not paying for nice rooms. You’re paying for the fact that a treaty signed by Frederick the Great is in the Clapp Library. You’re paying for the fact that your D will have classes with 7 students that will not be cancelled because of “low enrollment.”</p>

<p>If you think there is a safety issue, I think calling the fire department would be appropriate. Wellesley is a pretty well-run place and I find it hard to believe that they would house students in places that don’t meet code, but if you really don’t think it does, make an issue of it.</p>

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<p>Current student here:
What dorm is your daughter in??
Not being able to sit up in your own bed/open your own door is definitely not the norm. I don’t know of anyone who has had such terrible space issues. I am in one of the older dorms and my room was clearly made to be a single (there’s only one closet), but my roommate and I have plenty of space, even with unbunked beds. The other day we actually had two girls bring their mattress pads into our room for a sleepover, and there was enough floor space for that to happen. My room is the same size as all of the other first year rooms in my dorm building and in the dorm building adjacent to us.</p>

<p>As far as the dust goes, anyone with a health concern can and should mention it to disability services before they are assigned a room. Plus, there’s a vacuum on every floor of every dorm.</p>

<p>Also, I know that Wellesley did not have an overflow of students this year because I know people who were accepted off of the waitlist.</p>

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<p>I was thrilled to be in one of the beautiful older dorms my first year, until I looked up the dimensions. It was smaller than some of the singles. My roommate found some of the furniture in the closet, but she pulled it out. That cost us floorspace, but we couldn’t have hung up any clothes if we left it in there. </p>

<p>Neither of us thought it was safe to have a bed up against the radiator (where we found it), and we did not want to bunk them. We wound up with an arrangement where we had to squeeze through furniture to reach the closet & we couldn’t completely open the door to the room.</p>

<p>My assessment of the older dorms: gorgeous architecture, with fascinating antiques in the common areas, but not the most comfortable living spaces, especially for first years.</p>