Can anyone rate the Freshman dorms from best to worst at FSU? My daughter hasn’t a clue other than going for suite style. We don’t know where her classes will be because she’s starting out as an exploratory student. Her priority number is just under 1550. That seems like a high number.
The dorms listed in the booklet for 2015 freshman are:
Broward (all female)
Bryan
Cawthon
DeGraff
Deviney
Dorman
Gilchrist (Honors overflow)
Murphree
Landis (Honors)
Reynolds
Salley
Smith
Wildwood
I won’t “rate” them for you because I haven’t been in any of the dorms at FSU before, but I have a lot of friends who go to FSU so I’ll tell you what I know and your daughter can decide what fits her best.
To start, Smith is not a suite style, but instead a community dorm (you share a bathroom with your whole dorm). Smith is the only community dorm for Fall 2015, but it is old (it might be the oldest dorm on campus, not sure though.)
Salley has a very unique floor plan (you can see it on the FSU website, it’s hard to describe.) I liked the layout when I saw it online, but after seeing a bunch of things online, this is the most rundown dorm at FSU next to Smith.
The rest are all suite style:
As you said, Broward is all female and Jennie Murphee is now co-ed
I have a friend who is in Reynolds and he said it’s really nice. It’s on Landis green and near a dining hall. It’s pretty much in the middle of campus. Bryan and Cawthon are also very similar to Reynolds. Although, I’ve heard Cawthon is haunted (not sure how accurate that is though).
Landis and Gilchrist are honors like you said, so unless you got into the Honors college don’t put it down. If you did get into Honors, PUT LANDIS AS YOUR #1 PRIORITY. It is the nicest dorm on campus; nicest study rooms, best location, nicest rooms. Gilchrist is also nice, but not as great as Landis.
Deviney and Dorman are the newest dorms and both are located right next to the police department, so I’m assuming they are going to be very safe to stay in and very nice.
DeGraff and Wildwood are also fairly new and neither require a meal plan, but they have their downsides…
DeGraff is off-campus and right on the outskirts of a “bad part of town.” Although, from what I’ve heard, it is a nice dorm (my boyfriend’s sister stayed there her Freshman year). Most of the crime happens really late at night (after midnight) and in the parking lot.
Wildwood is on-campus and near the gym. It’s the newest dorm (other than Deviney and Dorman), but I just heard from a friend that they are currently having a spider problem… Not sure about you, but I want nothing to do with that
Also, Wildwood is right next to the football field, and on Saturday mornings in the Fall, you can hear the band practicing. Some people would love that, but others would hate it, just a personal opinion I suppose. Also, a lot of the jocks live in Wildwood.
I think that pretty much covers all the dorms. You can learn more on the FSU website. They provide information about which dorms require meal plans, visitation hours, location, etc etc.
Right now my top 6 are:
Gilchrist
Deviney
Dorman
Reynolds
Cawthon
and Wildwood or Bryan
(not in that order though)
I hope this helped!!
Not really, because what one person sees as best another will see as worst. Beyond saying “suite-style” there’s lots of other things your daughter will need to decide what she wants in a dorm:
Does she want centrally located in case her classes are spread across campus, near the gym, near food halls, or none of these options?
Does she want a meal plan or would she rather not be forced to get one?
Would she want to be in the newest and greatest (Dorman/Deviney) or does she want one of the “historic” buildings (Bryan)?
Within a couple years all dorms at FSU will be suite-style. This is why the newly rebuilt Dorman & Deviney are suite-style.
bballgirl114 posted a lot of good information (though some of it is not true).
Cawthon isn’t haunted. Especially if you don’t believe in that stuff.
Landis is only the best if you think that it is (I don’t).
Wildwood isn’t having a spider problem (I have 2 friends that are RAs… they’d have heard about it if there was one).
Degraff isn’t really “off-campus” like it’s made out to be. While it’s across Tennessee Street, it’s only at most a couple hundred feet from the student union. It’s still on campus property. There isn’t much of any crime around Degraff at all. In fact, crime this year around campus seems really down (even including the campus shooting in November).
You can hear the band practicing in Wildwood because their practice field is across the street. You can also hear the band practicing from as far away as Kellum/Smith/Salley. I can hear the band while walking along Tennessee Street (and not to mention, they practice at the President’s House across Tennessee the day of a home game).
The jocks don’t live in Wildwood- they live in every dorm. Wildwood is just the one closest to the gym so it probably seems that way.
Keep in mind some of the following:
Getting into Cawthon with their 3 Living-Learning Communities is tough.
While Dorman & Deviney are going to be brand new, Wildwood and Degraff each opened less than 10 years ago.
Bryan requires being admitted to the Bryan Hall LLC.
Reynolds requires signing off on the Wellness Agreement where you agree to not drink or smoke. Get caught and you can get kicked out.
1550 is a decent priority number. I wouldn’t worry. She may not get her first choice (especially if it’s Dorman or Deviney) but don’t worry about getting housing or anything like that.