Double or Single?

<p>Hey. I was wondering if someone could share some advice on whether or not to choose a double or single for my freshman year at Vandy? On one hand, I think I might want the privacy of a single. Being able to control the hours I sleep, study, and not having to worry about the polar-opposite always drunken roomate would be a plus. On the other hand, I think the spontaneous fun associated with doubles is attractive, and the opportunities for social life would be greater. Ultimately, I know it comes down to personal preference and choice, but any advice/personal experiences/stereotypes of the dorms would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!</p>

<p>stereotypes:
kissam - nerds
branscomb - partiers
vandy/barnard - no stereotypes, really</p>

<p>pros of single:
privacy
time to just be by yourself (a rare resource in college)
place to work uninterrupted
you can keep your room how you like it</p>

<p>cons of single:
people may think you're nerdier
if you're not willing to leave your room to make friends, your life will be pretty boring
you have a long way to walk to frat row</p>

<p>pros of double:
more opportunities for socializing
guaranteed friend (for at least the first few days)</p>

<p>cons of double:
louder (and later into the night)
sharing a room and everything that comes with (cough..sexiled..cough)
crapshoot roommate selection (for most people)</p>

<p>overall, i think a single is a better choice for freshman year. i think it makes it easier to acclimate at your own pace. with a double, you may get stuck with a weird/loud/creepy roommate. also, to be honest, bscomb isn't known as being conducive to studying, so it might make it harder to get schoolwork done. the social disadvantage of being in a single can be easily overcome simply by going out and meeting people. I think the best, though, is vandy/barnard with the mix, so hope for that!</p>

<p>hmm, do the libraries open for all 24 hours? can we just study there if we choose double rooms?</p>

<p>there is one library open 24-hrs.</p>

<p>id recommend a double (at least for your freshman year).</p>

<p>I highly recommend a single for freshman year. You will still have three years to get a double if you so choose, and it is really easy to make friends even in a single. In my hall (Kissam quad, by the way) almost everyone leaves their doors open during the evening when everyone is here, and it can be like one big living room. Or, if you need to study, you just shut the door and get to it. I really like my single for just that reason. Sure, there is a stereotype of Kissam being nerdy, but really, it's all what you make of it. There are several guys on my floor who are in frats. I personally am glad I got in Kissam instead of Vandy/Barnard, cause I've heard stories about V/B being just as crazy as Branscomb. I will admit that Kissam is a long walk to just about everything other than Wilson...especially for us Blair people...if you're a Blair freshman, get a bike. Period. No matter which dorm you get!</p>

<p>My son (freshman) loves having a single (and I don't think he particularly fits the nerdy label.) He is in Kissam quad. Since everyone there is in a single, he doesn't feel isolated since many tend to leave their doors open and/or they spend a lot of time socializing in the lobby. A single is great when you need to study, sleep late, get up early, or whatever, and you can be as outgoing as you want with regard to socializing. It really depends on what your priorities are I guess.</p>

<p>Get a double for frosh year. Branscomb is the place to live. There are plenty of study spaces in the dorms and all around campus. </p>

<p>The singles are filled up by those who couldn't get a double, not the other way around.</p>

<p>Branscomb is definitely the more convenient dorm. You're closer to Sarratt and the frats, and if you're a science or engineering major, Branscomb is actually closer to Featheringill and Stevenson than Kissam. Plus, the Branscombs are all interconnected so you don't have to walk outside to move from house to house, yet you also have a large courtyard to lay out when the weather is nice. Branscomb even has Munchie Mart, a dry cleaning shop, and place to get your nails done, for crying out loud! But for those conveniences you must endures loud hallways, raudy hallmate, possibley shady roomates, and very little privacy.</p>

<p>Kissam gives you your privacy and a shorter walk to West End and 21st avenues (ie, the outside world) and the A&S campus for the price of isolation from the rest of campus (again, you're surrounded on two sides by the city-campus boundry and the third by academic buildings) and relatively few conveniences (having to walk to Vandy-Barnard to do your laundry and shop at a Munchie Mart gets tiring real fast).</p>

<p>is that possible to study all in the library and just go to dorm to sleep? do ppl usually do that? how far is Branscomb from the library?</p>

<p>btw, in Branscomb, or B/V Hall, do ppl usually open their doors during the non-quiet time? it seems like we really couldn't study in our own room. so, are there any ppl closing their door, and study in the dorm w/ their roommate? if i could meet a roommate that we can inspire each other to study in our own room. That will be graceful. i would thank God.</p>

<p>i still prefer the double room as long as i can find a place to study.</p>

<p>I lived in Vandy/Barnard and kids had their doors open constantly. It was like having 20 roommates. Branscomb is definitely the party dorm, V/B is mixed, and Kissam is generally quiet. The Baseball Glove Lounge is a close walk from Branscomb and is a good place to study. Also, Branscomb has its own study lounge I believe.</p>

<p>so, lounge is definitely a good place to study, and in that way, it can compensate all the disadvantage of double rooms?</p>

<p>yeah i think so. If im just reading i'll do it in one of the lounges but if I'm studying something intense I'll do it in the library.</p>

<p>Branscomb has a HUGE study area. I lived in a double Frosh year. Towers suites the remainder. Don't miss out on the opportunity to live in Branscomb. You only get one chance to correctly be a freshman. </p>

<p>I did the entire four years having never seriously studied in my room. Not that it is impossible to do so and even in Branscomb, but it worked best for me to establish a work and home routine. When I studied, I headed to the libraries. When I was off work, I enjoyed everything else. I got this advice before leaving home and it was the best advice ever. If you set your class schedule well, you can be done studying on normal nights quite early and get home to relax. All across campus, you are at most a minute’s walk from a decent study spot.</p>

<p>To put it plainly, you shouldn't study in your dorm room. To put it plainly, you shouldn't be going to bed early. To put it plainly, their is no advantage to Kissam. It's a hovel. A hooverville. I am exaggerating, but in all seriousness, Branscomb and Vandy/Barnard are much better housing arrangements. Branscomb is the dorm of choice. Many people complain that it's too loud to study. Their are many places to study. Don't study in your room. People would complain that a roommate cramps your style (isn't that a great saying). I never want to have someone living this close to me again, but in all seriousness, my roommate-living experience is one that I will forever cherish, if only for the fact that it leaves an indelible mark on your personality. Get the double for first year. If you don't like the way you're living, change it down the road (i.e. Sophomore Year).</p>

<p>I see it the other way around. I'd suggest a single the first year. You don't have a chance of getting stuck with a crappy roommate, so you can get to know a lot of people and pick your own roommates for the next 3 years. Kissam is in a bad location to most places on campus, but it's not as quiet as people think. Even still, it's a lot easier to sleep at night, and at some point in time, you will want to study in your room, something pretty hard to do in branscomb.</p>

<p>to help dispel misconceptions about kissam, just this week some guys were having a fight with airsoft guns and one kid got trapped in his room and tried to tie sheets together to get out of his room (on the 3rd floor) and there were like 100 people in the quad watching it all go down. and one of my friends over there told me about how some kid left his door unlocked and his hallmates moved his entire room into the bathroom. branscomb has loud drunk people (with exceptions), kissam has crazy cool kids (also with exceptions).</p>

<p>*I live in Vandy/Barnard, so I'm not just supporting my own dorm.</p>

<p>slipstream, which Kissam dorm was that? I'm just curious. I'm on a Kissam third floor, and that story sounds a lot like my fellow third-floor-ians. I didn't hear about that particular episode, though there have been some other crazy stunts pulled this year.</p>

<p>i filled out the form for housing and didn't see any place to select which dorm building you'd prefer. i picked a single room, but is there any way to request the building?</p>

<p>not for freshman year. I have a hunch that they will put you in a building based on your answers to the "what time do you go to bed" type questions, but I haven't ever actually confirmed this. Anybody out there know how that works?</p>

<p>i doubt it's by that question because it could mean that you're up late studying OR partying.</p>