<p>Do any current Duke students have anything interesting to say about the different freshman dorms? Which ones seem to be the most fun? Which ones have the most parties? Which ones seem to do alot of studying? Anything interesting a new incoming freshman should know? Thanx.</p>
<p>It doesn't matter, because a dorm is defined by its people, not the other way around and next year, you will obviously have different people. There are really no "differences" in the dorms except for Brown which is substance free and Randolph Blackwell and Gilbert-Addoms are in the backyard quad, with the first two having A/C. They're also building a new dorm by the gym Belltower which will have A/C. And um...dorms really aren't the center of party-life. That's west I think.</p>
<p>Okay here's my opinion on them. Another freshman might have a totally different view so please don't take these too seriously. I live in Pegram which is an awesome dorm. For some reason we're known every year for being a big party dorm (can't spell pregame without Pegram). Alspaugh, Bassett, and Brown are built nearly identical to Pegram and we're all in the same location around Baldwin Auditorium. Bassett seems to always get the basketball players. Brown is substance-free, they're quiet, but I think they're stigmatized as being too anti-social too nerdy and too into their studies a little too much. Wilson and Giles have awesome locations between the Marketplace and the busstop. Trust me, proximity to the busstop is so key. My dorm's deceivingly far away from it. The great thing about these six dorms (all built very similarly) is that they have commons rooms right when you walk in. This helps you know a lot of people from your dorm, especially in the first few months. Wilson is the only dorm that has suites. That seems kinda cool. These dorms have around 120 people each. Aycock and Jarvis look the same (not exactly the most attractive looking dorms) but they could not have different personalities. Aycock seems like a pretty active dorm this year, always out and about. They also have a pretty funny name that they take advantage of every year when they design their benches. Jarvis is really quiet. They seem to be like that every year for some reason. These dorms are a little smaller and have like 80 or 90 people. It's also like a 15 second walk to the busstop, which is a big plus. Epworth is reallllly small (I think 50 people or so) and is stuck behind Aycock. I don't think I'd like that type of environment, but they seem to like it. It used to be the center of campus like 100 years ago but now it's kinda isolated. That does it for the main quad dorms plus Epworth. Gilbert-Addoms (G-A) is the biggest dorm (180 maybe). They're a big party dorm also. Randolph and Blackwell are the newest dorms and have a lot of the athletes (football players in particular). They have A/C in every room but they're really small rooms. They look more like cells than dormrooms. They are clean though. Southgate is far away from everything. They have nice sized rooms, but it really stinks how far away they are from everything on East Campus. The new Bell Tower dorm is getting more negative impressions from current freshmen than positive. It is the first four story dorm on East. The thing everybody cringes about this dorm is that they are going to have a police station in the dorm! That blows. It's also kind of far away from everything. Hope this helps. Feel free to ask individual questions. Like Amused said, West Campus is where the real parties take place. I got to disagree though and say your dorm and who you meet there is a big part of your social life at least for the first few months.</p>
<p>my friend lives in epworth and she loves it to no end. she said because of its small size, everyone gets really close and you always have them to hang out with</p>
<p>I'm also in Pegram, and I absolutely LOVE it minus the fact that it's far from the bus stop. When it's raining (and it will!) and you're trying to maximize morning sleep, Pegram is not always the best. Every year Pegram tends to get a reputation as a 'party' dorm with a lot of crazy characters. It's so much fun. Pegram has no AC, but sometimes you luck out and have a roommate with bad allergies or asthma and get an AC unit (as I did!) which is amazing!! Seriously-- it's hot the first few weeks of school. I don't think we turned off the AC until October. </p>
<p>Randolph and Blackwell have AC and elevators but they're really small, and you have pretty much no way to rearrange the furniture other than lofting the beds. The rooms have no character because they're small, the closet situation is crappy. Cinderblock walls. Ew. My room in Pegram has awesome molding and we're on the third floor, which is kind of like an attic. There are these awesome eves you can stick your bed into and it's just really chill.</p>
<p>Southgate has a lot of triples. I was in a Southgate double that was MASSIVE (and one of the roommates moved out second semester... crazy large single). The GA room I was in wasn't too big, but it's a huge dorm and very lively. Wilson has suites... I think they're like two bedrooms (which, because they're suites and I imagine have a common living room space, are on the small side & have bunk beds) and a bathroom. Since the bathroom is private, you clean it yourself. Some people love that idea, and others hate it. Ive heard Brown (substance free) has very large rooms. I don't know much about Epworth aside from the fact that it's in one of the original buildings so it's a little white house. And the walls are lavendar.</p>