dorms and roommates

<p>What are the dorms like at Davidson? and how does the whole roommate matching thing work out? I know there is a very thorough personality test used to match roommates and floors...does this actually work? are floors just matched in single sex housing? How does it impact your experience at davidson as opposed to other colleges with randomly assigned roommates/floors? Thank you :)</p>

<p>The dorms at Davidson are excellent. Almost of all of them have gotten or will be getting major face-lifts in the next few years and they look fantastic. I live in Watts, the largest, nicest freshmen dorm. Our furniture is all brand new, our lounge (complete with a 60" flat-screen HD TV) is huge and a great place to study and chill, and the bathrooms are really nice. Belk has not been redone recently, but it's pretty nice; Richardson was recently redone, though it's much smaller than the others. Cannon is as large as Watts, but was not redone this past summer, so it's not as nice.</p>

<p>Roommates are matched through the Jungian-based Myers-Brigg personality test. It's a comprehensive test that the Residence Life Office has you take in June or July before your freshmen year. There are sixteen types (I'm INFJ...the rarest type haha); first there's Introverted or Extraverted, second Intuitive (N) or Sensing, third Thinking or Feeling, and finally, Judging or Perceptive.
The test is multiple choice and takes probably fifteen minutes. My roommate and I get along well enough and we're certainly compatible, but we're not super-close. Most roommate pairs, however, usually are very good friends. The halls are extremely well matched -- usually, if someone doesn't end up rooming with their freshman roommate during sophomore year, s/he's rooming with another member of the same hall, instead. Not only are halls matched, but so are whole buildings, and it's very effective. Everyone in Watts is amazing! We stick together!</p>

<p>Housing is single-sex by floor in Cannon, Richardson, and Watts. In Watts, even floors are female; in Cannon and Richardson, even floors are male. In Belk, however, the halls are co-ed, but are gender-segregated by wing, so the West wing is usually girls and the East wing is usually boys.<br>
Belk: Davidson</a> College Student Life - Residence Life
Watts: Davidson</a> College - Residence Life
Richardson: Davidson</a> College Student Life - Residence Life
Cannon: Davidson</a> College Student Life - Residence Life</p>

<p>I think having a randomly assigned roommate would be very risky. Even if my roommate and I aren't buddy-buddy with each other, we're at least very compatible. We have the same mannerisms...the same habits...the same outlooks, generally. It helps to know that as roommates, we at least work well together.</p>

<p>thanks so much!
on a somewhat related level, what is a typical weekday at davidson? weekend? what are your friends like?</p>

<p>also whats the lake campus like and how much do you use it? thank you so much :)</p>

<p>People use the Lake Campus as much as they please. Personally, I've only been there three times: once for activities at orientation, and twice on picnics with my boyfriend and friends. There are students who use it almost every day, and there are others who have never visited, at all. It is certainly beautiful and I regret that I do not get out there more. Occasionally, the Union Board hosts activities out there (water-skiing, boating, and on Halloween, a spooky showing of Psycho at night). It's about five minutes from campus. Easy to get to, but you almost certainly need a car or someone with a car, I think.</p>

<p>A typical weekday at Davidson last semester.... Monday.</p>

<p>7:30 -- wake up, shower, get dressed, go down to Commons for breakfast
8:20 -- leave Commons and head to Chambers for first class
8:30 -- Biology 111 (Molecules, Genes, and Cells Lecture+Thursday morning lab) with Dr. Sarafova; over at 9:20
9:30 -- Math 130 (Calculus I with previous exposure) with Dr. John Swallow; over at 10:20
10:30 -- English 240 (British Literature through 1800) with Dr. Cynthia Lewish; over at 11:20
11:30 -- Down to Wildcat Den for an early lunch with my friends
12:30 -- Homework, studying, and other obligations
Around 18:00 or before, depending on workload -- Dinner at Union Caf</p>

<p>thanks so much!!!! this is really really helpful</p>

<p>is building assignment just random?</p>

<p>I believe so, yeah, at least to an extent. Sub-free kids are not necessarily the same personality types, just because that's limited (overall 4/20 freshmen halls), but I know they try to match up people in the same building, when they can. Might be a numbers thing, but yeah. Pray you end up in Watts, but that's probably all you can do....</p>