<p>Hi–anyone haunting this forum?? S trying to put down first 3 choices and wishes he knew more about the various dorms such as Doney and East and Lee.</p>
<p>Bumping up this thread for 2011-12. Anyone have more to add?</p>
<p>My son is a freshman with a room in Doney. His friends are located in Belknap, Terra, and Kaneko. When he did an overnight at Willamette as a high-school senior, he stayed in Belknap and really liked everyone he met. He characterized it as a dorm for freshmen and sophomores, and he probably would have been happy there. But during his visit, someone he met recommended that if he wanted a “quieter dorm,” he should look at West Campus, which includes Doney and Lausanne. So he put down Doney as his first choice. There are more sophomores and juniors there by far, so he usually walks across campus to visit friends in Kaneko and Belknap, but he likes the dorm so much that he’s selecting it again as his first choice next year.</p>
<p>My son also had two Japanese roommates: one in Fall, the other in Spring. The first semester, they had little in common and were hardly in the dorm room at the same time. But this semester his roommate is a very friendly, really nice guy. Willamette is committed to international experiences; the school sends nearly 60% of undergrads to study abroad, which is a really high percentage compared to most colleges. Think of the school’s relationship with Tokyo International University as part of this experience. Your child may live one year with one or two students from another country. It’s an opportunity! </p>
<p>If your son or daughter is placed with a student from Japan, I wouldn’t worry about it. Willamette is a small campus full of friendly students – most visitors to the campus comment on how friendly and accessible everyone is. There are clubs for every sort of interest, so every freshman can make close friends with others who will remain on the campus for all four years.</p>
<p>Thank you for your info, CalAlum! What is the housing form like? How many choices do you list - and I assume they’re ranked?</p>
<p>My D stayed overnight in Doney last week and liked it. She also likes Lausanne, and <em>really</em> likes Kaneko, but feels Kaneko is too far away that she would feel disconnected from the rest of campus. Unfortunately, Doney and Lausanne are hard for freshmen to get into, so chances are that she’ll end up in Belknap or Matthews. She knows someone in Shepherd House, the substance free dorm near the sororities. Said the rooms there are very small, but she might not mind living there. I think Shepherd might feel somewhat disconnected from the rest of campus too - any thoughts on that?</p>
<p>You can rank your choices on the housing form. It’s only a 5-minute walk from one end of the campus to the next, so no matter where students live, they’ll be living closer to their friends than at any other point in their lives.
:-)</p>
<p>I think they said on our tour that they get to rank three choices. My D liked Lausanne and Doney, but she wants to live with a lot of other freshmen. That seems to be Belknap, Matthews, or Kaneko. (Actual Willamette students or parents, please chime in if I’m wrong!!) She absolutely does not want Kaneko – too far, no dinner or weekend meals. She’s thinking Matthews.</p>
<p>Is Baxter (substance-free) also a freshman-heavy dorm? Does anyone know? Can anyone comment on the experience of being a freshman in either Lausanne/Doney or one of the smaller dorms? Do they still get a chance to get to know the rest of their class?</p>
<p>My daughter is a freshman in Doney. She met a really good friend(also a freshman) who lives a couple doors down from her. A pair of freshman boys have a room between them (perhaps your son, CalAlum???) There are more freshman than she was expecting as she had been told it was predominately an upper class dorm. She is going to stay in her room again next year.</p>
<p>Current students are making their housing requests now. Freshman will select over the summer, and priority is given by date of deposit. If you are sure Willamette is the place for you, get the money in asap.</p>
<p>Remember that Freshman start a week before the older students return. They will be in their orientation groups doing a lot of activities and getting to know one another. Between the 16 kids in the Opening Days program and the 14 or so in their College colloquium class that starts during orientation, your kids will be meeting people from day one. Also, consider the Jump Start option. CalAlum’s son did that last year and found it beneficial. Another chance to meet peers will be their classes. Many of them will have predominately freshmen. I personally think it would be a good idea to mingle with non freshman, so a mixed age dorm has it’s advantages.</p>
<p>Lausanne and Doney have large rooms. Lausanne has high ceilings too which make it seem even more spacious.Belknap has triples, so that is something to consider. Some kids love Kaneko and others dislike it, but as mentioned above, it is a small campus and a short walk to anyplace you want to go. Even if your daughter gets put in Kaneko and it is not her first choice, it will have advantages. I believe the pool is there and they have a pool party at the beginning of the year.</p>
<p>Congratulations on your child choosing Willamette. Great school and we are still excited for our daughter’s opportunities and experiences.</p>
<p>Seattle_Mom, we took a peek at Baxter after you and I parted ways. We didn’t get to look inside a room, but the hallways were really dark and depressing. D and her BF immediately said, “No way!” You know what they say about first impressions. I think that one might be hard to overcome.</p>
<p>Plus she doesn’t want to live right in between the fraternities. Can’t say I blame her for that. :p</p>
<p>I know! It makes you wonder about the value of substance free (quiet?) tucked in there amongst the frat life.</p>
1 Like