<p>Hi, I was looking over the website and found very vague information on residential halls. Would any of you current students care to elaborate on what the dorming situation is like?
Are any suites available for freshman students? Or are there mainly doubles? Did most of you current students have your requests honored when requesting dorms?</p>
<p>Most freshman have one-room doubles, but some people in james and stearns have two-room doubles. no suites are available for freshmn students. the rooms are very nice here, with the nicest probably being in charles pratt (pratt was recently renovated). james and stearns are best in terms of location. appleton, south, & north are ok, while williston is probably the worst. of course, the living situation also depends on the kind of people living in each of these dorms, so it all differs.</p>
<p>there are 7 freshman dorms on the freshman quad. all freshman live in one of these 7 dorms. Most rooms are one-room doubles. Some rooms (only in James, Stearns, Charles Pratt) are two-room doubles. Charles Pratt is the newest and nicest dorm (in terms of common spaces) having just been renovated for this freshman class. James and Stearns were renovated in 2003 and have rooms comparable to Pratt without the over-the-top common spaces. The other four dorms have all been recently renovated (I believe all within the last 10 years) and are probably only a step below the three aforementioned dorms.</p>
<p>All in all, Amherst freshman dorms are some of the best in the country amongst prestigious colleges and universities. I've visited friends at Princeton, Harvard, Yale, Brown, etc and have yet to find a dorm as nice as my own at Amherst. You won't be disappointed.</p>
<p>Thank you so much for answering my questions!</p>
<p>The "worst" freshman dorm is very much relative at Amherst. Appleton has gone the longest without renovation and it was redone about 10 years ago and is still very nice. Almost every dorm has hardwood floors and multiple common spaces. I agree with paj8989. I've slept in the dorms at HYPM, Brown, Williams, Brandeis, and NYU and none of them have topped what's at Amherst.</p>
<p>Amherst's dorms are the best of any school I visited when I was applying to colleges by far. You really can't go wrong with any dorm here. If you want a two-room double or a single freshman year, you can request it on your housing form (I was successful in doing this).</p>
<p>I am somewhat confused with the policy that states no airconditioners are allowed in dorms. Why is this so? Doesn't in get really hot during summer? And there must be some type of heating system, otherwise, won't people die(?!?)</p>
<p>It does get fairly hot during the summer, but remember that classes don't start until after Labor Day. It generally starts to cool down fairly soon thereafter, so you're only on campus for a few weeks when it's hot and humid. You can have a fan if the heat is a problem. An air conditioner will just sit around taking up space for 90% of the year.</p>
<p>And of course there is heat. It works fine.</p>
<p>Catfish, how many single-rooms for freshman are available. If I request a single room, is it likely that I'll get one? Also, in the Amherst website, I saw about single-room doubles and two-room doubles. What are these?(I am int'l by the way, many of these things are new to me).</p>
<p>yeah what are two room doubles?</p>
<p>There are no singles available for freshmen. You could be in Stearns or James, which have two room doubles (so you can each have a room, although there is only one door to the outside, so the person that has the inside room has to go through the other's room). The other dorms have one-room doubles (including the incredible Charles Pratt).</p>
<p>CRD456, I think there are a couple random singles in James and Stearns, but I'm not sure. Either way, there's not more than 6, so it's not something you should expect to get.</p>
<p>And Charles Pratt is ridiculous. I haven't seen a nicer freshman dorm anywhere.</p>
<p>Is it better to get a single? Also, how stringently is the no-substance policy enforced in substance-free dorms?</p>
<p>out of respect to people who all agree not to consume drugs and alcohol, it is fairly strict (as it should be. I myself am not substance free, but people who live in those dorms all make a mutual decision...have a bit if respect). You can still drink, but you may not come back to the dorm drunk.</p>
<p>That said, I don't believe they would discipline you for that (though anyone under 21, as I assume you are, may have to meet with the dean for a drinking offense, I think). You could possibly be asked to leave the dorm until you sober up.</p>
<p>I don't think it's better to get a single, because the doubles are all quite large and having a roommate is part of the college experience.</p>
<p>Does each room get its own bathroom? Or is it a communal floor thing?</p>
<p>There's a guys and girls bathroom on each floor, with private shower stalls and little cubbies by the sink to put your stuff in.</p>
<p>How's the dorm compared between Smith, Amherst, and Williams? When you visit your friends at the other schools, what do you think about their dorms? Are they smaller? Which has the nicest dorm?</p>
<p>which are the substance-free dorms? do they change year by year?</p>
<p>My S is a sophomore. The freshman dorms at Amherst are quite nice. I have not seen the newest, which was opened this year, but I understand it is great. A fan is essential -- I suggest a rotating tower which takes up little floor space. A number of sophomores this year ended up "on the hill" (e.g., Plimpton -- about three or four blocks off campus on the Valentine Hall side of campus) which is a different story. They are badly in need of updating generally, the bathrooms will drive most mothers to madness (my wife did not see the dorm, I did) and I personally worry a bit about women walking alone at night -- it's dark -- but I have heard no indication of a real issue. I have an older daughter too, so I think about these things.</p>