<p>I was wondering if the current students could tell us about the dorms at Vassar, about how each dorm is different and special in its own way.
Thanks in advance.</p>
<p>I'm no current student, but I understand the basic stereotypes of some dorms:</p>
<p>Lathrop - Party dorm!
Joss - big rooms, family type?
Strong - Female dorm (clean)
Cushing - Harry Potter dorm (It looks cute)
Noyes - Weird dorm (architecturally at least)
Main - big, convenient to everything
Jewett! - Hotel-like
Davison (closed next year) and Raymond I don't know much about. I think that covers everything.</p>
<p>I stayed in Noyes on my overnight, and it has an awesome lounge.</p>
<p>thsnx smiles1011,
i was thinkin about noyes or davidson, now i think i'll have to stick to noyes</p>
<p>Yeah, but there's no way to request where you are put, it's totally random.</p>
<p>I'm a current freshman, so here's my take on house stereotypes....</p>
<p>Lathrop: the stereotypical "party" dorm, Lathrop is known for being loud and a bit worn out in appearance. It's on the residential quad and quite convinient to ACDC. I personally don't find Lathrop to be quite as crazy as people make it out to be (my bf lives there, so I'm there rather often), but that's just my opinion. Lathrop is the host of "The Seven Sins" party which occurs annually.</p>
<p>Josselyn (Joss): located just off the main residential quad, it faces a huge grassy lawn. I've heard the dorm described as "rebellious" before due to the lack of involvement of its members in Serenading (don't know if that's true though because I didn't attend the event). The dorm is also known for a particularly successful intermural sports team and having residents who are "sex-obsessed" (although I'm unconvinced that this is more true in Joss than in any other dorm on campus). It has recently refurbished bathrooms and a new parlor complete with pool and ping-pong tables. This past semester, Joss was a co-host of the Harvest Ball, an annual semi-formal dance.</p>
<p>Strong: the all-female dorm on campus, Strong is known for being very quiet and clean. It's located on the Quad and is quite convinient to both Main and ACDC. Strong co-hosted a "Mods and Rockers" themed dance this past semester.</p>
<p>Cushing: known as the "Harry Potter" dorm, architecturally-speaking, Cushing is, debatably, the most attractive dorm on campus. It's also the most isolated from the other dorms in that it is furthest from the residential quad, although it's very convinient to the Psychology, Education, and Anthropology buildings. Due to its isoalted nature, Cushing residents are known as being "anti-social." Cushing traditionally hosts Scantily Clad.</p>
<p>Noyes: Noyes is traditionally known as the "weird" dorm, both architecturally and people-wise (although I'd question this). It's convinient to ACDC and has a grassy circle in front of it where the Ultimate Frisbee team practices (and which frequently floods with heavy rain). The dorm is the only one open year-round, and is thus where students who don't go home for Winter Break or stay on over the summer live. Up until a couple of years ago, most international students were housed in Noyes; however, this practice has changed. This past semester, Noyes co-hosted the Mods and Rockers dance.</p>
<p>Main: The dorm rooms of Main are situated above the student center, a variety of academic offices, and the Retreat. It's also a national historic landmark and located in the center of campus, which means that it's probably the most convinient dorm to live in. Due to its large size, Main is known for a large amount of house spirit (and has won at the Brewer Games and Serenading for several years running). It's also known for showers which never get properly warm (once again, due to size) and a complex floor layout. Main hosted the Moulin Rogue Dance this past semester.</p>
<p>Jewett: Jewett was renovated in 2005, so is thus the newest dorm on campus (complete with lofted beds). Its inner appearance has been described as a hotel due to its small room size and overall feel. This has caused some Vassar students to believe that the dorm lacks "the character" of the other houses. The outer architecture has been frequently described as "phallus-like" due to the tower part of the dorm, which has nine floors (and, thankfully for its residents, an elevator). It's located on the main residential quad and is convinient to ACDC. Jewett is also known for its oversensitive fire alarms which go off more than in any other dorm.</p>
<p>Davison: Closed for renovation in the 2008-2009 school year, Davison is stereotypically known as the "family" dorm due to its particularly friendly residents. It's located on the residential quad and Joss Beach. The dorm is also known for being one of the more quiet ones to live in, which could be due to the fact that the first two floors contain both Quiet and Wellness corridors. Davison co-hosts the Harvest Ball annually.</p>
<p>Raymond: Located on both Joss Beach and the Quad, Raymond is, to the best of my knowledge, very similar to Davison in that it's relatively quiet, hosts few loud parties, and is known for its friendly residents. It also has a reputation of having residents who are "a little bit weird" (although I'm not entirely sure what that means). Raymond hosts the Halloween events on campus.</p>
<p>Ferry: a cooperative living house, Ferry is the home of about twenty students at Vassar. In order to live in Ferry, one must submit an application and be accepted into the house. It is Vegan and requires its residents to contribute to such chores as keeping the house clean and cooking for it. It is centrally located and was recently rennovated (I think).</p>
<p>Since davidson is closed next year does that mean that Housing will be more crowded?</p>
<p>^ Yes. Sophomores don't get singles. I'm bitter. And the freshies will probably be shoved into a LOT of triples... have fun with that ;-)</p>
<p>umm... I think all the dorm stereotypes have been pretty well-covered. They're adding two more co-ops (like Ferry) next year or the year after. I don't know if they're going to be vegan... I think the vegan thing is mainly due to the fact that they can't afford meat... hahaha</p>
<p>Jewett has a lot of floor parties. Which just get busted up the second security arrives on the floor... but at least individual students don't get in trouble! (At least theoretically...) </p>
<p>I didn't realize Joss was "sex-obsessed," but I did have a really pleasant "soundtrack" as I was packing up to leave for winter break last week. On a Wednesday morning. No, really. I think we're kind of antisocial, though. I mean, we're social with each other (possibly too social... hmm, maybe we ARE sex-obsessed) but the dorm itself kind of tends to hang out with... itself.</p>
<p>From what I've heard (I live in Davison, so I've been trying to keep relatively educated about what's going on with housing for next year) they're not planning on increasing the amount of triples on campus. Instead, the larger singles will be turned into doubles, meaning that sophomores will be affected more than freshmen by the closing of Davison.</p>
<p>Egad. That could be worse.
I hate this whole renovation thing! Couldn't they just... do it really quickly over the summer? </p>
<p>(I know the answer to that is a resounding NO, considering they couldn't manage to build a set of stairs over a summer...)</p>
<p>could anyone explain how students and dorms are matched?
thanks everyone</p>
<p>Randomly, unless you request wellness or all-female.
And I think Jewett is the only one with wheelchair access, so if you're in a wheelchair (I've only seen one kid on campus in one) you'd end up in there.</p>
<p>Oh, so you can request to be in Strong? But others are also placed there without choosing it...? Slightly confused.</p>
<p>Yeah, people get stuck in Strong even without requesting. I know someone who specifically wrote "DO NOT DO NOT DO NOT PUT ME IN STRONG!!!" on her form and she was put there.</p>
<p>i heard tht international students are now scattered throughout the dorms, and not centered in noyes.</p>
<p>International students are scattered throughout the dorms, but there is a greater international presence in Noyes. </p>
<p>Noyes is the only dorm which is open during winter break and spring break (all of the dorms remain open during october recess). Because of this, more international students request 'inter-session housing' and wind up in Noyes. Internationals who need to stay over break and do not live in Noyes are moved into a room in the dorm for the winter and/or spring break.</p>
<p>Strong is amaaazing! I just have to say that once and for all :) I was irritated that ResLife put me in there, since I really wanted co-ed housing, but let me say this: by second semester, Strong is the house that everyone wants to move to. Once you have to study for finals, you really realize how amazing it is. It's quiet, there aren't many parties (that way you can go to other dorms if you want to party, and come back and SLEEP), it doesn't smell like alcohol and pot, and the bathrooms are way cleaner.</p>
<p>I'm actually considering requesting Strong. I never thought I would say I wanted to live with all females or anything, but when I was doing my college search I ended up really loving a lot of all women's schools. And I'm really not a big partier. But then again...I feel like it might be a better idea just to let them put me somewhere.</p>