<p>I mean seriously, I love WashU. Everything about this school is amazing... except that the dorm rooms = very very small. For the current students attending, how would you rank the different dorms in terms of size, social life, and location?</p>
<p>What dorms are you thinking of? I'm a freshman and I live in a modern dorm--they're HUGE. I think Wash U dorms are far nicer than those of any other college that I've seen. There are modern and traditional dorms. I haven't seen many traditional dorms (I think only two or three are still around, and they'll be rebuilt soon enough) so I'll just describe the modern dorms. Generally speaking, there are two dorm rooms connected by a bathroom. Each bathroom has two stalls, two sinks, and a shower. The bathroom is cleaned once a week. There are some dorms that are suite-style (a couple dorms connected by a hallway with a bathroom). Some dorms even have a private bathroom for just the two people living in the double--these are the dorms that are next to RAs, who also have their own bathroom. My dorm is the typical double, and I've had no problems sharing a bathroom with my suitemates. You can really interact as much or little as you want.</p>
<p>Now, back to dorm size. I want to emphasize how HUGE they are. There are two beds, two desks, two chairs two dressers, two bookshelves, and two closets. My roommate and I have easily fit an air mattress between our beds while still allowing plenty of room to walk around it. There is a huge window, and a little walk in area where many people decide to put their fridge, microwave, and any other kitchen stuff (to keep food out of the actual room). This little walk in area is cut off from the actual room by a door and is connected to the bathroom.</p>
<p>Honestly, it helps to think of a common layout of a hotel room. You walk in and there is the bathroom to one side, and then you continue walking into the main room. Also, each floor has a common room and a kitchen, and there is at least one laundry room in each building. There are also study rooms and tech labs with computers (both Mac and PC) in each building. Seriously, Wash U dorms are very, very nice--at least the modern ones are. They're definitely not something to worry about!</p>
<p>small? WashU dorms are the biggest and nicest dorms I have seen on any campus I've visited.</p>
<p>Uhh, i guessed I missed something?! On the tour I thought the rooms looked tiny but haha, I guess I was wrong. This is only good news.</p>
<p>Yeah WashU was on the top 20 list of Princeton's "most palace" like dorms.</p>
<p>Perhaps on the tour the dorm you visited were of those belonging to more cluttered-type people?</p>
<p>Or maybe you didn't see enough dorms at other colleges...compared to Wash U they look like prison cells...</p>
<p>thanks for the detailed description. They sound awesome!
i have heard that wash U dorms are luxurious. Nice or really nice.</p>
<p>The dorms are amazing. By far the best of the comparable colleges I visited. Even the "traditional" ones aren't bad. The only difference is that the traditional dorms have 2 or 4 common bathrooms per floor. No matter where you end up living, you'll love it, and think that your dorm is the best compared to the other ones.</p>
<p>It doesn't really matter anyway, because Wash U's campus is very open feeling, and your ID card grants you access to every dorm on campus. At two of the colleges I visited (I forgot who), you only have access to YOUR dorm and YOUR dining hall. They made it sound so clique-ish and that would suck.</p>
<p>Some of the dorms have a grand piano in the ground floor lobby, fancy big leather club chairs, flat screen TVs, etc. It all kind of sounds excessive (especially with the housekeeping staff that cleans your bathroom once/twice per week and vacuums), but honestly it makes you want to be/live/exist/sleep/hang out/study there and not resort to going elsewhere all the time.</p>
<p>Do the dorms have cable and/or internet connection (wifi/cable)?</p>
<p>They have cable tv and wifi.</p>
<p>My D is a soph in a modern dorm and it is VERY nice! The room is a suite style setup with 4 single rooms, a common room, and a restroom. WashU says the bedroom dimensions are 8' X 13', but her room does seem small. With the closet and bed on one side of the room, and her desk, the dresser and small bookshelf lined up on the other side, it just leaves a narrow passageway between the two. BUT, as she says, IT IS ALL MINE! It is very nice to have a space to call all your own! The common room and restroom are a nice size and there are large storage closets on both ends of the suite for suitcases, etc. She is very happy in her "space"!</p>
<p>She was in a modern double as described by 'uncertainty' earlier last year. That room was 10.5' by 17' and just seemed so much larger because of the empty space in the center of the room, even though two were sharing the room.</p>
<p>I think the 8' x 13' dimensions do give the suite singles that "long and narrow" feel, but I do not think the passageway between the bed and the desk/dresser is really that narrow, it just seems more that way compared to a double in a traditional dorm which does seem more open. Plus you can always try rearranging furniture in the room to your own preference (no roommate to compromise with!) I think some people actually prefer the "coziness" of the long and narrow suite singles.</p>
<p>while we're on the topic of dorms at Wash U.....which ones are the newest/nicest/best for freshmen to live in? I know that the school is newly renovated and every dorm is very nice, but are there any that are better than others in terms of living space, amenities and location?</p>
<p>The best one in my opinion is Liggett/Koenig since it has the best location (close to both the Wohl Center and Ursa's and Student Tech) and also has absolutely gorgeous lobbies and study spaces.</p>
<p>gerrard- most likely the answer you'll get is the responders own freshmen dorm.</p>
<p>I personally think my dorm is the best (it's a modern), although I will yield that liggett/koenig has the nicest common room.<br>
But my dorm has a better location.
(On that note, my freshmen floor is also clearly the best).</p>
<p>I have yet to hear anyone say that they don't think their dorm is the best, so it's not something I would really worry about.</p>
<p>i am an incoming student of Wash U this year. well, i get little confused with the dorm stuff. I heard someone said it's too "unsocial" about the modern dorm, while the traditional one gives you much more opportunities to meet new people. But another guy on college pro_wler website stated that the traditional ones are full of students who live on their own for first time, thus kind of mess,noisy and you cann't concentrate on study or go to sleep when you want. Is there anyone here can tell me what's true and how i should decide? THANKS!</p>
<p>cedric--</p>
<p>As a current freshman living in a traditional dorm, I can most definitely say that the people in there "are full of students who live on their own for first time, thus kind of mess,noisy and you cann't concentrate on study or go to sleep when you want."</p>
<p>There are a lot of different angles to that sentence. But the first sentence is most definitely false. I'm not sure how that stereotype was started. I would assume that there are these type of people who have never lived on their own before in all the dorms, but in general, I think WashU students are pretty worldly. </p>
<p>Messy--Again, you will get that in any dorm. The public areas in my dorm have gotten messy (especially the public bathrooms) but the responsible parties have always cleaned it up. </p>
<p>Noisy--This almost depends on the social dynamic of the floor. I tend to agree that moderns are a lot less noisy (they are, whenever I go visit one anyway). Their hallways are much farther apart and the entire floor is pretty spread out. I know in Danforth (because that's the modern I'm most familiar with), the common room bisects the hall so that half the floor is on one side while the other half is on the other. The traditional dorms have hallways that are narrow and bendy so everybody is situated close together. People usually have their doors open.</p>
<p>Modern dorms are notorious for having thin walls. Apparently, you can hear everything your neighbors are doing. The traditionals have concrete walls. ;) But occasionally, I can hear some noises coming in through the walls.</p>
<p>As for being a social dorm, that all depends on your floor dynamic. In my (biased) opinion, the traditionals usually have a better floor dynamic. However, there are social modern floors and not so social traditional floors.</p>
<p>You should definitely choose a traditional (again, this is a biased opinion). You really feel like you're going to college when you live in a traditional as opposed to staying in an extended-stay hotel (although the moderns are very nice). The public bathrooms aren't that bad.</p>
<p>balancedhelium:
thanks a lot! that helps!</p>
<p>As the parent of a Wash U alum, you should be aware that while you can request either a traditional or modern dorm, whether you actually get what you ask for is totally out of your hands.</p>
<p>My S requested a modern dorm as a freshman, but he got a traditional and ended up loving it.</p>
<p>As others have said, whatever dorm you end up with, you'll think it's the best--so no worries!</p>
<p>dg5052--
i appreciate your reply. that's a sweet note!</p>