<p>I've been thinking about dorm options and narrowed it down to either Fauver or WestCo.</p>
<p>I like the appearance of Fauver, the look of the dorms and lounges, and the building itself. I also like that there are two bathrooms per hall, and the possibility of gender specific bathrooms. However, I'm concerned about its reputation as an athlete dorm, because I don't play any sports and don't want to feel left out. </p>
<p>I like the community WestCo inspires, the fact that its student run and has a reputation for being home of the most creative and eccentric people. I also like that it's a mix of freshmen and sophomores. However, I dislike the look of the dorms (I think they look really depressing, but I was in room 4113... maybe it was just specific to that hall). Also, the bathrooms are gender neutral, which doesn't really bother me, but I prefer gender specific bathrooms.</p>
<p>I honestly can't choose between the two. It would be perfect if I could live with the people of WestCo in the Fauver building.</p>
<p>Any advice? What were your experiences at ANY dorm? Recommend an entirely different dorm if you're that passionate about it. Thanks for any insight! Looking forward to the fall.</p>
<p>I should tell you that you can’t exactly choose Fauver, you just choose frosh-only vs. mixed-year. you could probably request it in the box that they give you to write special requests, but they will probably ignore it if you don’t have a good reason you want to live in Fauver over Clark. </p>
<p>I personally think Westco is overall the best experience and know a couple people in Fauver that really wish they’d live in Westco. but it’s not for everyone, and Fauver is easily the nicest in terms of facilities and probably the most popular (in terms of the dorm that the most people want to get into initially). Yeah, Westco is sort of the shanty dorm when compared to Fauver. but, chances are in Westco you’ll have a two-room double. to me, this is the best living situation you can have as a first-year. people do creative things with their rooms to make it look better. plus you might have a balcony. you can’t get any of those things in Fauver. to me, Fauver looks like a hotel and Clark looks like a hospital. Westco’s also in a better location than Fauver. </p>
<p>you seem to have a pretty good sense of what the community aspect of Westco is like and I can tell you it’s a huge plus. </p>
<p>I sincerely doubt you’ll be left out in Fauver if you don’t play a sport, but it’s true that tons of athletes live there and that contributes to a particular kind of dorm culture. </p>
<p>as for the bathroom thing, gender-neutral bathrooms are something you’ll probably get over really quickly. to be honest, I think the niceness aspect of Fauver is something you’ll get over too. but if the bathroom thing is actually something important to you, you probably shouldn’t live in Westco. no one is forced to use gender-neutral bathrooms (you vote anonymously for your hall at the beginning of the year) but in general it’s against the Westco spirit to have gendered bathrooms. </p>
<p>other note: Most people from Fauver and Clark try to live in Hewitt their sophomore year, and guess what? Westco, Nicolson and Hewitt were built at the same time. Hewitt is basically same as Westco in terms of the facilities.</p>
<p>hope this helps.</p>
<p>Current Wes freshman here. I’d agree with everything that jarsilver said and I’m not going to add much more because he/she pretty much covered it all, but the actual people in your dorm are much more important than your dorm facilities, hands down. Especially Freshman year when you’re just meeting people, you’re closest friends are going to be the ones you live near more often than not. It’s annoying, but the truth is that friendships are built on proximity. So if you think you’ll get along better with the people in Westco, then live there. Even if the facilities aren’t as nice you will have a better time if you like the people better.</p>
<p>Thank you both for your honest and helpful advice. After careful deliberation, I have decided to go with WestCo.</p>