i haven’t really been able to find a ton of information on the first-year housing selection process, so i was wondering if certain dorms are more social than others, and how much power incoming students have in choosing a particular hall/roommate/room type.
My daughter found her roommate through the Facebook page set up for her class year. Someone made a questionnaire that was more detailed than the housing office questionnaire, and she was able to find a very compatible roommate this way. They’re graduating next month and are still good friends.
I think the housing office assigns your res hall, but I can’t remember if she gave much input at all. I can say that if you’re majoring in a science, you might want to be on the east side of the campus (Bates, McAfee, Freeman, Dower, Stone Davis), because these halls are closer to the science center and will be convenient for late night lab work. They are farthest from the Academic Quad, which means longer treks in the snow, but more exercise.
Dower is the smallest and oldest hall. It is very run down and ugly, but has large suites. My daughter was assigned there her first year and loved it so much that she picked it again her sophomore year. It was a tight knit community, but this probably depends on who ends up there, since there are so few people.
Tower Court is the most social. Very lovely public spaces, but super tiny rooms. It’s also known to be noisy, though.
I think you’ll get a housing packet soon, but you should look for whatever roommate matching survey you can. My D and her roommate corresponded all summer, so they kind of knew each other when they arrived on campus even though they’d never met in person.
There’s a questionnaire for roommate matching, however, first year students do not get to pick their dorms. You get what you get and you don’t get upset.
No dorm is significantly better than another–all have trade-offs of plusses and minuses. Some do have beautiful views which is nice. But this might be offset by a very clangy radiator. Some might be a little farther from the academic quad or LuLu, but this might be offset by larger floorspace and better closets or the cafeteria you might like the best. Etc.
Wellesley dorms have a lot of character to say the least. But all of them have social activities.
In second year you get a lottery number and can pick your dorm/exact room from what is left when your number comes up. Most juniors and seniors can get singles (also distributed by lottery number order).