<p>eh...Duke's been busy building other stuff. </p>
<p>Recent buildings:
1) Bostock Library
2) Fitzpatrick CIEMAS
3) French Family Science Center
4) LSRC
5) Plaza
6) Goodson Chapel Addition to Divinity School
7) Loads of research buildings for the med school </p>
<p>etc etc. You get the point. Plus Duke is spending upwards of $1B over the next 20 year or something to completely rebuild central campus and there are plan to progressively renovate both east and west campus dorms. </p>
<p>The real thing to remember is that Duke might have a sizeable endowment or whatnot, but the residential life and housing services actually has its own budget. That comes from rents and such not from the university administration. Most building improvements need to come from that budget and at the moment, that's just not possible. </p>
<p>Strawboy: A/C isn't critical in NC, it's really not that hot with a couple of fans. Besides, there's always A/C in common rooms, nondorm buildings, etc. It's not like Duke is in the middle of the Sahara or the Outback.</p>
<p>They should still be investing more in the students for things like AC, even some dorms on west do not have it. There is no reason to be doing construction on building after building and leave the student housing facilities aside. Housing is something very important for prospective and current students and they could improve recruitment and student morale by improving housing facilities. </p>
<p>And I'm not asking for a hotel, just AC, hallways that aren't so dreary and dark, more functional bathrooms, etc. The rooms themselves are fine. Without the students all of the other buildings would be empty so again they could invest in the students more.</p>
<p>Well.. I guess it was in comparison to other college dorms I've visited. the Dartmouth ones are SWEET. </p>
<p>I mean, from a school like Duke, which has so much money, you'd think they would focus on the freaking living conditions of Duke students. They were sooo small and so plain. </p>
<p>And I visited in April, dont give me this crap about it not being hot. School starts in August. AUGUST. Guess when that is? Oh yea, the hottest time of the summer.</p>
<p>Well, actually it's only the last weeks of August. </p>
<p>Strawboy: you know, literally over one hundred classes of students have going through Duke having no AC...if they can survive I don't see what your problem is... Besides you are only here for the last weeks of august, just pack a couple of fans.</p>
<p>yeah I think all you pretty girls and boys need to toughen up a little. its COLLEGE DORM LIFE, not the presidential suite at the Ritz. i'm sitting in my "dreary, plain, dark" non air-conditioned Bassett room right now studying for finals and doing absoultely great. if you think duke is bad you should check out the living conditions at big schools, you'd be appalled i'm sure. don't judge based on this petty stuff.</p>
<p>Why is a simple thing like a good dorm compared turned into a "toughen up" argument?</p>
<p>Are you retarded?</p>
<p>All I'm saying is that for all it's worth, you'd think a prestigious school like Duke would have the kindness to build nice dorms for its students. There are plenty of other schools with really nice dorms. Duke to me, when I visited was a school of pure appearance- on the outside everything looked perfect, but then you walk into the doors and its like... ***..?</p>
<p>To each his own. I never thought the East Campus dorms were bad. I loved the fact that they were small enough that you were able to meet a good amount/most of people in your own dorm. I wouldn't replace my first year dorm experience at all. Granted most of the freshman dorms weren't state-of-the-art, but I never wished that they were renovated.</p>
<p>As for West Campus, they completely renovated one of the quads, Kilgo, over the course of a couple summers. I've heard plans for the other quads, but I don't know any details about them. The WEL was also recently built.</p>
<p>We'll see how the Central apartment renovation goes. Has the potential to be amazing, but I imagine I won't see anything really cool until my five year reunion.</p>
<p>Strawboy: no I'm pretty sure I'm not retarded (I'll check again to be sure :D). I'm just telling you to put things into perspective. Yes, good dorms are a plus, but if you are worried about AC, that's only one year (actually about 2 months max) that you'll probably have to suffer. Yes Dartmouth has better dorms, but I think Duke is coming around to dorm renovations and improvements (central campus, west renovations, belltower, etc). You won't be the only one without AC and complaining about it won't get you better dorms any time soon (unless you are a millionaire and is willing to donate some money to build it...). So why bother with all the histrionics?</p>
<p>If anyone is worried about roommates you might want to try the Facebook option. One of my D's friends was very concerned about the roommate selection process (she does not attend Duke). She corresponded with Facebook individuals; called some; etc. and ended up with a great roommate.</p>
<p>By contrast my D said she had heard Duke's matching process worked out well so she went that route. Her roommate is not a very nice person. This has been very difficult for my D who is described by her friends as absolutely one of the nicest people they have ever met and it made her first semester at Duke extremely difficult. Even now she sometimes sleeps in the Bryan Center or the library on West Campus where she chooses to study rather than return to her dorm room late at night.</p>
<p>Some of my D's friends had roommates that fought about closet space - some of the dorms have two closets - with one closet being twice the size as the other, etc. Remember, you might have a roommate that moves in early - those that participate in the special programs in August and those who are part of special scholarship programs like the Robertson scholars move in early and will already be in the room when you arrive.</p>
<p>So, in retrospect going the Facebook route to find someone you might be more compatible with is a good option. Look to see if they would be someone you could be friends with and what you might have in common and especially ask about how late they stay up. If you are a night owl and your roommate is not it does cause problems.</p>
<p>If you do choose to let housing choose a roommate for you a big warning sign is when your prospective roommate will not return your e-mails and is not interested in contacting you. This is what happened to our D - when she contacted her roommate the roommate said she was too busy to do more than acknowledge the e-mail. Each time my D contacted her there was always an excuse as to why it wasn't a good time to chat on the phone.</p>
<p>And as for air conditioning - if you come from a climate where the average temperature is 20 degrees lower than Durham, then, yes, you will not be comfortable at first in a non airconditioned setting. The worst part for those in a non airconditioned dorm is that is can be very difficult to sleep at night if it is hot and muggy - the air feels like it presses down on you. Eventually your body will adjust, but it will take a few weeks.</p>
<p>I do agree that Duke does need to renovate its dorms in order to compete with other colleges. Newspapers and magazines are full of articles about college campuses renovating housing, adding on campus shopping etc. This is what Duke planned on the Central Campus - however, they have been stymied by local activists who claim it is unfair for Duke to have stores on campus that compete with merchants in Durham. One of the early plans called for a Barnes & Noble type store on campus, but that has been nixed due to concerns over competing with locally owned bookstores. So, due to local activism the plans for Central Campus renovation were not approved until this year. That does not mean, however, that Duke could not proceed with plans to renovate some of the older dorms. Edens on West Campus has had two incidents of mold infestation in its ventilation this year and once this happens it is very difficult to eradicate - this might prove costly to fix.</p>
<p>I agree that Duke doesn't do a particularly good job of matching roommates. The five basic questions aren't enough to guarantee a good match, especially if they fudge their answers (like my freshman roommate did). </p>
<p>It's definitely a good idea to bring a fan. I used mine at night even in winter because it helps to muffle noise. If you keep a fan running, your room shouldn't be that warm. Personally, I was a lot more uncomfortable in winter when they turned up the heat full blast! </p>
<p>I lived in Alspaugh last year, and I thought the rooms were nice. My closet was HUGE, and some of my friends from other schools commented that it was nearly as big as their rooms. I agree that the housing situation on West could see improvement, though. </p>
<p>
[quote]
Edens on West Campus has had two incidents of mold infestation in its ventilation this year and once this happens it is very difficult to eradicate - this might prove costly to fix.
[/quote]
Yes, the fifth floor of Edens 2A...the exact floor I had just picked during RoomPix. :rolleyes:</p>
<p>Exactly how hot does it get in Durham? I'm from Hawaii which can be a pretty hot place itself except we get a lot of wind here. So what are the temperature ranges in August and september?</p>
<p>My other question related to housing is how does your financial aid package differ if you happen to end up in a air-conditioned dorm? Do students have to cover the extra $1000 on their own or will the school adjust accordingly? or perhaps could outside scholarships be used to cover the difference? Thanks ahead of time to whoever answers my question.</p>
<p>I don't know if I'm giving away a secret, but if over the summer you e-mail housing or financial aid (I can't remember which one, but they will let you know who to send it to) about your concerns with having to pay extra for an a/c room, then they place you on a list of people to give extra finaid (if you qualify for it) if you end up in one of the 3 a/c dorms. After e-mailing them, they told me that they would never expect me to have to pay more than what they estimated my EFC to be. Once I was placed in Blackwell, my finaid increased to cover the costs.</p>
<p>lisag106 - since the housing assignment is out of your control you do not have to worry about the extra cost. You do not need to e-mail housing or financial aid. Financial aid cross references with your tuition, fees and housing bill and will automatically increase your financial aid package in case you are placed in an a/c dorm (there are only three on the East Campus).</p>
<p>You just need to remember the $1,000 financial aid increase will show up in two increments - one on your fall statement and the 2nd half on your spring statement.</p>
<p>I was told by my D that all the athletes are assigned to a/c dorms on East Campus so if you are an athlete it may be automatic that you are in an a/c dorm.</p>
<p>The heat in Durham will be different than Hawaii. The humidity makes the air heavy and oppressive. There are few breezes in the summer months. Sometimes a mist forms along the ground due to the heavy humidity in August - you can see this in the evenings. It looks very spooky.</p>
<p>It can also get very chilly in the winter months. Remember you are going to be outside in the cold waiting for the bus and walking to and from class and to and from the dining halls. You will need a warm coat, hat, gloves and scarf. You will also need long sleeved pullovers - cable knit sweaters or sweatshirts will do. So, your coat has to fit over bulkier clothing. If you wear short sleeves under the coat you will still be cold.</p>
<p>You will also need rainboots. The rainstorms are not light and misty. They tend to be a very heavy downpour. The water is literally running down the sidewalks and there are puddles! You might want to think about a warm coat that will repel water. Umbrellas are hard to use when you're carrying a heavy bag of books and your computer. And remember, again you are going to be waiting for a bus to show up to take you to and from East Campus and you will be standing in the rain and then lining up to get on the bus. It's difficult to use an umbrella in a crowd and the rain runs off your umbrella onto others clustered around you. There are NO bus shelters! And I think there should be. Students you need to lobby for bus shelters that shade you from the hot sun and shelter you from the rain!</p>
<p>I am basing this from my visits to Durham and what my D encountered. I have met many Hawaiians in the Pacific Northwest and they think it is cold here. My D found Durham colder than the PNW.</p>
<p>Was at Duke Up Close during a massive rainstorm this April... I wish I had rainboots... I really do... and a water-repelling coat. The umbrella is definately something I noticed would be hit or miss, depending on what you carry, a hood would probably be a better idea.</p>
<p>The water DOES run across sidewalks and there were several wide puddles... ick</p>