<p>I was recently admitted to Wellesley as a Transfer beginning in the spring semester and I was wondering which dorms are the nicest to live in- almost all of them look absolutely beautiful from the outside, but I wondered which of them have the best room, dining facilities, and location. Any advice or recommendations about the dorms, or Wellesley in general, would be greatly appreciated. For instance, is there anything special I should bring? Thank you very much for your help!</p>
<p>The dorms all have excellent qualities to recommend them. Some are more recently renovated than others (Stone-Davis, for example), some have fantastic locations (depends on where you take most of your classes), and some have the most food choices (the Quad--and don't let anyone tell you that it's called the Quint). </p>
<p>No matter where you end up living, you'll find something to like about the dorm. (I have to put in a good word for Munger. Too many people ignore it, kind of like they ignore Dower, but it was my favorite dorm of the three I lived in.)</p>
<p>As for particular things to bring ... bring as little as possible. Consider bringing a desk or floor lamp, but you might want to wait until you've moved in and know what the space is like. You can always order something inexpensive online. All of the rooms are equipped with death-ray-like fluorescent ceiling lights, and I'm fairly certain you'll also get an incandescent floor/desk lamp. You might want to supplement that with another incandescent lamp if you want to avoid using the evil ceiling light.</p>
<p>I don't know to what degree you can pick your res hall- the winter lotto has more leeway.</p>
<p>I live in Tower Court. It has a great location for Humanities Classes, the new Campus Center, and the Library. It's okay for the sports center and the theatre. Walking to the Science Center, the Observatory and the Vil isn't as great. Tower is also Wellesley's "showpiece" dorm- they hold alumnae functions and wine and cheese(!) parties for the parents of admitted students for spring open campus in the Great Hall, which could double for the Gryffindor common room. On the flipside, it's slightly antisocial, and has small grimy rooms (esp the doubles) that have been renovated far too few times since 1918.
The Dining Hall is usually crowded, but has lots of food, and a Display bar.
I also lived in Bates over the summer. The rooms are bigger and cleaner, and built in an era where people had a better idea of what it meant to build a dormitory. The food is good, but the location description is exactly the reverse of Tower. </p>
<p>I'd post on livejournal's Wellesley Blue when you get your assignment to see whether your hall is carpeted or not: Tower isn't and a rug makes sooooo much difference.
Don't bring a microwave: they're banned from rooms anyway.
Do bring handtowels: the bathrooms have nothing to dry your hands with.</p>
<p>If you are driving to Wellesley, feel free to load up your car with your old form supplies, and pick and choose what you want your parents to pack. If you are coming by plane, rent a car, drive to Route 9 and buy what you're missing.</p>
<p>Also, most of my classes will probably be English classes. So I would, if possible, like to be near wherever those are. Thank you both for all of your advice; it is really, really helpful.</p>
<p>All of the dorms have kitchens. As far as I know, there's one on every floor in every dorm--I've never looked in some of them to find out for sure, but suffice it to say that there are plenty of microwaves for popcorn and tea and ramen. Some kitchens also have hot-water taps that spew out glorious, 190-degree water, so you can get away without boiling water in the microwave a lot of the time. Every dorm has at least one oven for student use, and most of the floor kitchens at least have a few burners (electric). </p>
<p>As the previous poster mentioned, microwaves in rooms are forbidden, as are all appliances that generate heat. You are more than welcome to use things like your own rice cookers, coffee pots, George Foreman grills, toasters, and electric tea kettles in the floor kitchens.</p>
<p>English classes are almost entirely in Founders. Tower Court is closest, but none of the dorms are really very far away from anything. Except French House, but that's far away from campus, period, and you have to apply to live there so it shouldn't be an issue.</p>
<p>Also, I don't think you get too much of a choice in your first housing assignment. No matter where you end, you'll find that it's no more than a ten or twelve minute walk to get anywhere except the Ville, the distribution center (which you'll never need to get to unless you have a car) and maybe the sports center. I haven't been on campus since they reopened the walkways around the Wang, so it might only be ten minutes to the sports center, too.</p>