<p>Hi everybody!
I was accepted to Andover as an incoming freshman (junior) for next year! I still haven't decided where I want to go, since I'm leaving that decision for the revisit days. However, I do have a couple of questions about the dorms. Which dorms are freshman girls dorms, and which cluster are they in? Also, which dorm is considered the best/nicest, or stuff like that? What exactly are the rooming options - one room single, one room double, two room double, etc.? Do y'all think that having a roommate as a freshman is a good idea or not? Oh, and do you have any advice as to where to get great dorm room stuff? Thanks for all the help!</p>
<p>I think a lot of this could be found on the school website- go do some digging around for a map or something. In addition, these are GREAT questions to ask during revisits! I think the roommate as a freshman depends completely on your personality. You will fill out roommate paperwork to get a relatively agreeable person, but some schools do not allow roommates as a freshman anyway. That is completely your decision based on whether or not you’re up for it! Ikea is good for cheap, larger items, like chairs, lamps, etc. PBTeen is great for bedding and other stuff, and they also have design tools to see how it looks together. But I’d recommend not purchasing anything until after your decision’s been made, you figure out the roommate situation, and you look at the school rules.</p>
<p>Yep, I dug around for some of this information but couldn’t find anything (specifically) on the freshman dorms haha. Thanks for all the info about the roommate situation, as well as the recommendations about where to get stuff and waiting, it’s a lot of help!</p>
<p>The dorm question is pretty moot, since as an incoming freshman (junior), you do not get to select your dorm. You can request a single vs. double, and you may or not get your request. Personally, I think you should have a roommate your first year, but that’s your choice. At the end of the day, the “best” dorm is the one that you are in.</p>
<p>Don’t obsess over this now; there are more than 5 months until move-in.</p>
<p>Thanks for the input about the roommate thing! And I wasn’t trying to obsess, I was just really curious about the dorms for next year. Thanks!</p>
<p>I’m a current 9th grader at Andover and I though I could answer some of those questions for you. First of all, it’s totally normal to be curious about these things this early on. I was picking out my bedding 5 months in advance… I remember being pretty frustrated about the information available on the website about dorms too. You could find out all of this on revisit day, but I thought I’d go ahead and tell you the freshmen girls’ dorms. </p>
<p>In order from biggest to smallest:
Nathan Hale
Double Brick
Isham
Hersey </p>
<p>I’ve never been in Isham so I can’t help you with that, but I do know things about the other dorms. Double Brick has the nicest accommodations (bigger rooms, nicer walls, real closets, more clean). But Hale is the biggest (40 girls!) and probably the most fun. It has a different reputation depending on who you are talking to. Hersey is only five girls and the accommodations aren’t the greatest. The card they give you to make dorm requests is pretty tiny. I was surprised they didn’t ask for more information. But the questionnaire card does make a difference because if you ask for a smaller dorm you really will end up in a smaller dorm.</p>
<p>Having a roommate freshmen year has been great for me. I would definitely recommend it because it helps you to get to know more people. I was coming from pretty far away so I bought all dorm stuff when I got there. If you have a parent to drive you, it shouldn’t be that hard. There’s a target and a bed bath and beyond. Although, you will want to order a carpet online or get one elsewhere because there isn’t great selection nearby.</p>
<p>I apologize if there are any grammatical errors in this… I promise Andover students are smart! Hahah I just don’t feel like reading over this…</p>
<p>Hope I helped :)</p>
<p>I’m a current 10th grader on leave from Andover. Congratulations on getting into Phillips! It’s super awesome and I think you’ll definitely see that on revisit day. There are 4 freshman girls dorms on campus which are:</p>
<p>Nathan Hale (40+ girls) – Pine Knoll Cluster
Isham (18 girls) – West Quad North Cluster
Double Brick House (14 girls) – Abbot Cluster
Hearsey House (5 girls) – Flagstaff Cluster</p>
<p>Hale is a great place to start freshman year, since you can get to know people really quickly, but it is 40 girls all in one house… that’s where the drama is. It’s a bit more cliquey and has kind of a reputation, but is still lots of fun and full of energy. Hale has 3 room doubles, 1 room doubles, and singles. The singles are okay, and the 1 room doubles are TINY. The 3 room doubles are a really nice size.</p>
<p>I stayed in Double Brick my freshman year and at first I hated not being a part of the bigger dorm, Hale. But we all became like family super fast. The rooms in Double Brick are some of the biggest on campus, even though they are all 1 room doubles. There are also only 4 people to a bathroom which is a REALLY good ratio. Even though it’s in Abbot, it’s still the closest dorm to campus in Abbot Cluster. We all had a lot of Double Brick pride, and were so close. I for sure recommend choosing it.</p>
<p>Isham is a really, really clean dorm that is right next to the Health Center. It is in a nice location and is pretty new. The rooms are not that big, but the girls there have a reputation for being super nice (and they were). They have one room doubles, singles, and maybe a three room double or two. The people in it are not as well known as those in Hale or Double Brick, but I guess it varies from year to year :)</p>
<p>Hearsey is kinda weird… It’s just 5 people, so there’s a possibility you won’t like any of them. But it is in Flagstaff, which is right on campus. This means that in the lottery for your 10th grade year, you will have an immediate buy into Flagstaff again. It is really hard to get into the Flagstaff dorms, so that might be something to consider. It is 2 small 1 room doubles and 1 single.</p>
<p>I recommend having a roommate freshman year for sure! I wasn’t best friends with my roommate but I was still glad I had her. Also, I didn’t get a lot of stuff for my dorm room, but what i did get, I got mostly at Bed, Bath, and Beyond. There’s one on the way from the airport!</p>
<p>I really recommend Double Brick! or Hale! Hope this all helped! If you have any more questions, write them!</p>
<p>Thanks so much! Do you know how many three room doubles there are in Nathan Hale?</p>
<p>I haven’t posted in a while so I’m not sure if you’ve made your decision yet, so here goes.</p>
<p>Congratulations on your acceptance to Andover! I hope you are looking forward to beginning your life at boarding school!</p>
<p>The dorm I was in junior (freshman) year was torn down years ago so I can’t comment on specific dorm experience during my first year. I can say however that I had a single which was connected by a door to another room. The summer before school began I was given the name and address of my “roommate.” I wrote her and we exchanged information, so I felt like I knew somebody before I arrived on campus. I highly recommend you do this; you’ll feel more connected to campus and be able to share your anxieties, concerns, excitement, etc. </p>
<p>I’m not sure how much say you really have whether or not you get a roommate and which dorm you’re in junior year. After that it’s a whole other story. My senior year I had a TWO-ROOM single (a living room and a bedroom) because I chose to live in the same cluster all four years and I had seniority.</p>
<p>Whatever dorm you’re in, I’m sure you’ll love your first year at PA! Best of luck!</p>
<p>Any insight about boys’ dorms?</p>
<p>Anything on new lower dorms girl dorms?</p>
<p>Upperclass dorms are not segregated by grade.</p>