<p>what are the nicest and cleanest freshman dorms at FSU and do any have private baths?</p>
<p>I assume Landis honors dorm would have the cleanest freshmen dorms since it is newly renovated for Fall 2006. Next year (Fall 2007) there will be two more brand new dorms Wildwood and DeGraff that are suite styles as well.<br>
The suites cost more than the older hall style dorms and you are responsible for cleaning the bathrooms yourself.</p>
<p>Gilchrist and Reynolds are fine, too. Probably all the renovated dorms are fine.</p>
<p>In the bath shared between two rooms configuration, the bath is private when you're in it.</p>
<p>Singles are available at a little higher expense.</p>
<p>My freshman son is in Kellum this year. What's the best way to go about requesting a better dorm next year (assuming he stays in the dorms)? What dorm can he request and how soon?</p>
<p>Well, so much depends on the priority number they get when they're admitted. </p>
<p>If he's got a low number, he's in. If it's high, it's luck; or lack thereof.</p>
<p>The best I can suggest is to personally go to Housing and ask how to improve the situation. </p>
<p>An idea - he could be an RA...maybe this'll improve his personal space a bit.</p>
<p>actually im in landis right now, its great. if youre a music or education or international affairs major you can get into cawthorn, which is actually nicer than landis, the rooms are a little bigger. any of the renovated dorms are nice, sorry youre in kellum =P</p>
<p>Does anyone know if the two new dorms (to be ready for 2007/Fall) will be open for freshman? It seems that the only nicer (renovated dorm that a kid can get into without being an honors student or in a learning community is Broward. The website says that you must be in honors to live in landis or gilchrist. Jennie Murphee is all female (which my child says absolutely NOT to). Reynolds makes you sign a wellness agreement (no smoking, drinking or drugs), Cawthon is for music or public affairs or education. Bryan is another learning community. So, the only "regular" renovated dorm is Broward? Assuming cost was not a consideration, what dorm is the best that my child could, with a good priority number, get into (excluding the honors and learning communities)? By "best" I mean cleaner, larger rooms, recently renovated. Are we better off just skipping the on campus dorm thing and going right for Southgate Campus (private dorm) like most of the grads from her prep school?</p>
<p>I guess you will have to call housing because I could not find any information that states what limitations there may be on these new dorms Wildwood and DeGraff. They each will hold 706 students and are suite style. That is all I could find so far.</p>
<p>It is really great socially for the students to be on-campus their freshmen year even if some of the older dorms are not the "best". Currently, parking is also difficult if you live off-campus. They are building a new 981-car parking lot for January 2007 and they do offer FARE FREE ZONE BUS SERVICE- StarMetro CITY-WIDE BUS SERVICE with your FSU-ID as well as the SEMINOLE EXPRESS routes around campus.</p>
<p>I would agree that living in the FSU dorms is an excellent way to start. There are so many advantages to being right on campus. Not having to worry about parking is certainly on the list.</p>
<p>Even the so-called worst condition dorms are still OK. None are really bad. The kids that live there will even defend them.</p>
<p>Every room my girls have had so far has been really very nice - and we're going on three years in the dorms.</p>
<p>I lived in Smith Hall last year and let me just say it... it wasn't all that great. Parking was still horrible... if you left on any day of the week to go somewhere, you were almost guaranteed to lose your parking space and have to drive in circles (even for hours) to find a spot. Sharing a bathroom with 30 other people wasn't exciting either and having a kitchen that was ALWAYS dirty wasn't that great either. Don't get me wrong, Smith Hall wasn't that bad, it was more the people that lived there that basically had no morals or respect taught to them by their parents. I got sick with every kind of illness you could imagine, and I'm not a party girl nor fall into any of that classification. Oh yeah... and having the fire alarm go off at least once a month at 3 AM and standing in the parking lot for long periods of time was VERY exciting as well.</p>
<p>That's just my experience though. I'm currently living in an apartment off campus and feel way better than I could've in any dorm. However, I do admit that living on campus the first year is a great idea because it gives you a feel for the university and Tallahassee in general.</p>
<p>When I was in school, Smith didn't even have air-conditioning, so it sounds like it's improving. However, I'm of the opinion that they should tear down Smith, McCollum, Salley, Kellum, and all the other dorms on that side of campus.</p>
<p>Well, maybe Smith and Kellum.</p>
<p>I wrote one time that kids should avoid Smith and Kellum and a student from Kellum wrote back defending it. So I had to figure it wasn't so bad. Still a good reason to work for a low priority number...and get the dorm you want.</p>
<p>um, about kellum....its pretty horrible. I have a friend who lives in kellum, theres mold spores whihc lead to the "kellum cough". Yeah, im glad im in landis, i would say no to smith or kellum.</p>
<p>P2N is right - a ton of people who live in Smith and Kellum will defend their territory. Most of the negative comments come from people who do not actually reside there. There was some apprehension to the learning communities unless things have changed, the requirements of the dorms are minimal. Bryan hall required you take a class in the dorm which is actually pretty nice. You can normally find one that counts for your degree requirements, theres more personal attention, and you cant beat the commute. Residents also must go to a Monday night colloquium with a different speaker every week it could be the president of the mag lab, university president, you name it but its pretty cool.</p>
<p>Wildwood Hall is an air-conditioned home for 700 men and women. Wildwood Hall offers double rooms. </p>
<p>All resident rooms are equipped with movable beds, dressers, closets, desks with chairs, a sink and a small refrigerator. All furniture is hardwood. Wildwood Hall offers semi-private baths, shared with four students. Suite bathrooms are deep cleaned by University Housing staff during breaks and at the end of the spring term. Students are responsible for the regular cleaning of the bathrooms.
The Social Justice Living Learning Community in Wildwood Hall is designed for students who desire to understand and practice social justice. Approximately 40 first-year students from diverse majors will be members of a supportive, inclusive community. Together they will live, learn, and explore social activism, social change, and the philosophical foundations of justice. The leadership knowledge and skills gained from academic coursework and co-curricular programming will equip participants to initiate and bring about positive social change. </p>
<p>The College of Nursing Living-Learning Community at Wildwood is for approximately 40 freshman students who have declared nursing as their major. This communitys goal is to provide an atmosphere that encourages the discovery and development of the professionalism that is at the heart of a career in nursing. </p>
<p>DeGraff Hall is an air-conditioned home for 700 men and women. DeGraff Hall is home to the Social Sciences and Public Affairs Learning Community . Only designated spaces in DeGraff are reserved for students in the Social Sciences and Public Affairs Learning Community. The majority of the residence hall is open to non-Learning community participants. </p>
<p>DeGraff Hall offers double rooms. All resident rooms are equipped with movable beds, dressers, closets, desks with chairs, a sink and a small refrigerator. All furniture is hardwood. Wildwood Hall offers semi-private baths, shared with four students. Suite bathrooms are deep cleaned by University Housing staff during breaks and at the end of the spring term. Students are responsible for the regular cleaning of the bathrooms. </p>
<p>All students who reside in renovated residence halls on the East side of campus are required to purchase a meal membership plan. The affected halls are as follows: Broward, Bryan, Cawthon, Gilchrist, Jennie Murphree, Landis and Reynolds. Students residing in DeGraff, Deviney, Dorman, Kellum, McCollum, Ragans, Salley, Smith, and Wildwood Halls are not required to purchase a meal membership, but many choose to do so. For more information about meal plan memberships, please visit the Seminole Dining website.</p>
<p>I wonder why the brand new dorms, Wildwood and Degraff, are not requiring the tenants to purchase the meal (like the renovated East dorms)? These dorms are suite-style with the same basic floor plans as the others. Anyone heard anything about these dorms (like the room sizes or if they have carpet)? I would think, with the exception of someone who wanted a "learning community group", that these dorms would be at the top of accepted students dorm preference list (since they are brand new).</p>
<p>My guess:
Degraff is across Tennessee Street so perhaps the reason the meal plan is not mandatory is that it is not conveniently located near either of the main cafeterias. I am not sure precisely where Wildwood is in relation to the cafeterias but I think it is in the middle of the campus and therefore not close to either the East or West cafeterias as well.</p>
<p>You can purchase a brand new carpet properly sized for your dorm room with a choice of colors and already delivered before Fall move-in at <a href="http://www.uparents.com/carpets/carpets.aspx%5B/url%5D">http://www.uparents.com/carpets/carpets.aspx</a>
They send out information over the summer.</p>
<p>Wildwood is right across the street (to the west) from Ragans.</p>