<p>My son will be a freshman in September. I'm looking for details on the 6 dorm options. He's interested in a nice size double room (he's 6"3"). Is Andrews all suites? Is East for only substance free kids? That would rule out East. Is Gate House still run down or was it recently removated? Does West 4th & 5th floor kids have to share a bathroom on the 4th floor? If so, he wouldn't want that either. That may leave Curtis and Stillman. Which doubles have the most modern, clean looking rooms and bathrooms? Do all the bedrooms have windows? Which builings have individually controlled A/C and heat? I understand room selections are made by staff. Is there a way to answer the questionnaire to receive an assignment in a building this is desirable based on the info. I provided above? He will be attending an alumni meeting in April on LI. If he meets somethere there he would like to room with, can he request that person or he is better off letting Colgate do the match-up?
What else can I tell you?</p>
<p>[First-Year</a> Gallery](<a href=“Offices, Centers, & Institutes | Colgate University”>Offices, Centers, & Institutes | Colgate University)</p>
<p>This is on Colgate’s 2015 page and it has all the pictures of different housing options if you want to see what they look like</p>
<p>As the previous poster explained there is a good amount of information available on the website. Of course your son also has access to friends and to friends of friends who are current students, use social networking, and/or have visited this year.</p>
<p>When I was an accepted high school senior I took all these issues in my stride. That was, I suppose, in another era closer to your own college years. I suppose I researched these questions and then made my election for a double. The result was a double in East Hall and a swap of room mates also in East a month into freshman year with a win/win for everyone. My parents did not play a part nor would I have asked them to do so.</p>
<p>With all due respect, why don’t you leave it to your son to manage his housing options? He will be in the driver’s seat very very soon and be responsible for so many choices and decisions. He will be deciding who he associates with, what courses he takes, how he studies and spends his free time, how he evaluates his standards and performance, where/when he might take a semester off campus on a study group, what his major/minor will be, how he spends his summers, what his senior thesis will deliver, etc- all in a fleeting 4 years.</p>
<p>My view- again with all due respect and for what it’s worth- is that the sooner he steps up and takes responsibility for this terrific opportunity to develop his skills at Colgate the better. The choice of freshman dorm is just one small step.</p>
<p>I wish you and your son a most satisfying experience in settling into the Colgate family!</p>
<p>Freshman dorms are all nice except Gatehouse which was overflow housing but is now a dorm. Its below the standard of the others plus its less conveniently located. But its priced the same. My son has not has good housing experiences. A junior now he was writing his mid term papers two weeks ago in shorts and bare feet while the Custodians were pumping the flood out of his dorm/apartment. I guess they are preparing him for post Colgate poverty living…</p>
<p>When D was looking at school 4yrs ago, we were told Gatehouse would be torn down to create parking for the new env. sciences building. I’m surprised it’s still there.</p>
<p>I can only report my son’s experience in the dorms and it was a very positive one. First, it appears that Colgate really works hard to interpret the questionnaires regarding housing and make compatible roommate assignments. My son lived in a quad in Stillman freshman year and he and his roommates were extremely compatible from the start - as juniors they will continue to live together. Stillman quads are bright and sunny with two bedrooms flanking a larger common room with large bay window. Each bedroom has a nice window as well. While the bedrooms are quite small (the beds are often already bunked) my son adjusted well and loved it - we were really quite surprised! My younger son had met someone from his school at an admitted student event and they decided to room together - that turned out poorly. I would be inclined to let the housing department do the roommate matchup - they take it very seriously. Just my two cents.</p>
<p>My daughter (as a freshman) got a single this year. THere are a bunch of those in West and East. SHe was disappointed. She really wanted a roommate.</p>
<p>Part of the issue is she is quite shy and there were no activities to integrate those kids in singles… so now she is ending the year with a bunch of acquaintances and no one to room with next year. </p>
<p>She is going to meet with Res. life today.</p>
<p>Curtis has very small rooms, I would avoid this option at all costs. Stillman tends to be pretty dirty, and the suites in Andrews are pretty crowded (its hard to study when there are 3-5 people in one common room). I am not sure if East is still sub-free, and I would avoid this option too. Gate house is close to the COOP (yum) but far from the main dining hall–however, they have AC and the rooms are now doubles instead of triples (at least, last time I checked) so they are big. My favorite, however, is West. I lived there freshman year, and as long as you aren’t stuck in a triple, the rooms are huge and the facilities are the most up to date (besides Curtis). </p>
<p>Picklemom–
I started in a triple in West my freshman year, and moved to a single a few weeks in. I liked living in the single, personally, but I can imagine how lonely it would be to start off there. I would recommend that your daughter try joining student groups (model UN, volunteer groups, etc) to meet new people outside of her classes–this is how I made some of my best friends at Colgate.</p>
<p>The major freshman dorms are all on the “hill” together, and all are pretty similar in quality – modest, clean, typical freshman dorms which have singles, doubles, and triples with a few quads. All floors have shared bathrooms (no baths in the rooms themselves). My daughter ended up in a single room (she did not ask for a single and wanted roommates, but made friends on her floor, anyway) in West Hall. East Hall is very much the same building next door. Stillman and Andrews are somewhat bigger and also nice. There’s really nothing to worry about since there is no ‘bad’ dorm for freshman and no fancy luxury dorm, either. I’d just let what happens happen, and I’d hope any freshman ends up in a good roommate situation. But, that would be the same at any college or university. It’s nine months of their life and coping with whatever they end up with is good for them. When I was a student, myself, back in the Pleistocene Era I got stuck in a triple with two basketball players who talked about nothing else day and night. I moved to a single halfway through the year and managed to make a whole new set of friends in that dorm to go with the ones I had made in the first. Freshman year is over fast, so don’t let the dorm situation become too big a concern for you or your child. Good luck at Colgate!</p>
<p>How does housing work your first year?
Do you put down choices of the building you would prefer to live in?
Also, roommate wise, how extensive is the roommate survey? Do you end up with a good match?</p>
<p>I think you don’t select a dorm (how would you since you haven’t seen them yet?) but tell the housing office a little about yourself, and they put you in a suitable room on one of the buildings. Mostly it works out well, and you will make friends. We’ve all had the one annoying roommate, though. It’s all part of growing up. And it gives you great stories to tell. Let me tell you about my freshman roommate who couldn’t stop talking about basketball or dribbling a ball in the room. Grrr . . . I’m pretty much over it now.</p>
<p>You are randomly assigned freshman housing, so you don’t have a choice for what dorm you live in!</p>
<p>It’s not actually random… you put preferences for room configuration (single/double/triple/suite) and give information on how clean/messy you are, how late you stay up, interests, etc. and they try to match people based on that. It actually seemed to work fairly well, in general.</p>
<p>you can also request a single sex floor if you want.</p>
<p>East Hall was not substance free this year. Actually Stillman (East Stillman) was. They change it up every couple of years. I lived in a single, and it was great. The only time it sucked was the first day because you know no one but you get your privacy and have the choice of company or no company. East Hall is the best bet. Curtis is loud and dirty (you can always go to the party but you dont want to sleep in it). Andrews was decent this year but it is over hyped by prospectives (not current students). West is similar to East. Gatehouse seems sucky but they look pretty happy. Rooms are a nice size too. Stillman smells and is cramped.</p>