<p>I noticed that 5 out of the 12 Freshman dorms are pretty far away @ the mount Vernon campus. This would be a "show stopper" for my son!</p>
<p>Any suggestions to get a dorm on Foggy Bottom?</p>
<p>I might be missing one, but on the website I see 4 first year halls that are on the Vern. (Merriweather, Clark, Hensley, Somers) A couple of them are very small (39 or 46 students) with Somers being larger. My rough guess is that no more than 20% of the freshmen live there. He should get his preference survey in as early as possible but I don’t think there are any guaranteed ways to avoid it.</p>
<p>Thanks for your post - I think Cole is the 5th one @ the Vern.</p>
<p>Any idea how they assign? I would assume EDI, EDII, RD in that order.</p>
<p>I would also appreciate any comments from students/parents who live or have kids @ the Vern.</p>
<p>I think AU is looking better!!</p>
<p>Thurston Hall, a freshman dorm in Foggy Bottom is huge. There is a great chance of getting in there. She had a double room preference but ended up in a quad. (which today I read on Wikpedia is where 50% of freshman are placed. We moved in yesterday and I was a bit upset and trying not to let my daughter know. The room came with one set of bunkbeds. Not only are they not debunkable, which some rooms do have, but we were the last ones arriving at 8:30am and my daughter has the top bunk. I hate the thought of her climbing in and out all year long. If worse comes to worse, we will see about the debunkable beds and talk to roommates about rearranging.
The bathroom is quite small and there is no communal bathroom in building so arrangements have to be made for shower schedules. </p>
<p>Lots of doors stay open on move in day and i saw a few HUGE quads on the first floor.
My daughter is not complaining so I am trying to let it go.</p>
<p>My D was in a room of 5 (Thurston) last year with 3 singles and one set of bunk beds. The bathroom is small, they managed to get along just fine for the year. (And yes, the last girl in got stuck on the top bunk.)
I’m not sure about the order of room assignments.</p>
<p>So they never debunked? It seems the only place for the bunkbed gals to hang out is on a desk chair.</p>
<p>CJ, you should visit the campus. My D is a freshman at GW and decided to live at Mount Vernon. While Mt Vernon is quieter, it also offers a lot of amenities including Eckles Library and the ability to have quiet time to study. She has classes at MV a couple of days a week. She is at foggy bottom a lot and rides the Vern Express to get there. She loves school and will live at foggy next year.</p>
<p>To GWUDad</p>
<p>Thanks for the feedback on the Mount Vernon Campus. Just a question, did your D request MV or was that where she was placed?</p>
<p>Also, how long is the shutlle ride during rush hour?</p>
<p>Visiting GW this week for a tour with my S.</p>
<p>CJ, the ride is no longer than 15 minutes, I’m even taking classes there and I have never been late.</p>
<p>I got out of a quad at Thurston to a double in a smaller dorm through the swap program, before I even got to GW. It was a good decision for me, despite the flack that I took form some of the CCers about my thoughts on Thurston. Anyway, I have a class on the Vern and the shuttle is usually fine, and I see some of the Vern kids come to Foggy Bottom for parties and dining in the city. So you have been given three choices, Thurston, another smaller quieter dorm or the Vern. I think GW will meet your needs somehow.</p>
<p>I took my daughter on a tour at GW yesterday, and asked if most students were placed on the campus they requested. The tour guide said that she never heard of anyone getting housing at MV that didn’t want it. My daughter has no interest in living on the MV campus either. She wants to be in the city.</p>
<p>My son decided the night before deadline which university he would attend, then left it to the last minute to turn in housing materials. Bingo - MV campus housing. He didn’t like the idea. Turned out that the MV campus is beautiful, especially in the spring. The shuttle was certainly no worse than the buses people have to take other larger campuses (e.g., Penn State, BU). </p>
<p>Anyway, he would have preferred to be on campus. But it only lasted a year, the dorms were huge, with cleaning people coming in once a week. Plus he met his girlfriend, and they’ve now been together for 4 years. </p>
<p>You never know how things will turn out. Do what you want; but to choose against a university because of a one-year dorm issue seems pretty short-sighted to me. He loved GW, and first year shuttle bus is a pretty distant memory now.</p>
<p>To Hayden</p>
<p>Thanks for your insight and I completely agree with your advice and comments- you never know do you! The same situation is at Boston College with Newton Campus for 1st years. I’ll let my S decide!</p>
<p>CJ Madison: “I’ll let my S decide!”</p>
<p>As another mom, I know that’s easier said than done. Funny you said BC. My son was deciding between Penn State, GWU, and BC. I wanted so much for him to go to BC. He preferred PennState. He ended up splitting the difference and ended up at GWU. Who knows about the road(s) not taken. But he loved GW, loved his friends, and doesn’t regret a minute (that he’s ever admitted, anyway!!)</p>
<p>All the best for you and your son. I hope that 5 years from now, you both look back and know he made the right decisions, and that he’s happy.</p>
<p>Just got back from parents’ weekend (rained pretty much the whole time!) From what the students told me, eventually all the freshmen will be on the Vern, and thurston is going to be torn down. Not sure what the time frame is for that. And momjr, your tour guide was wrong - I have met several students who were housed at the Vern against their wishes. Some liked it, some hated it.</p>
<p>Do you know if this decision about thurston is going to happen within a year?</p>
<p>Oh and how was parents weekend? How does your child like GW?</p>
<p>It sounded more like a sometime in the future plan, not that soon. I didn’t do any of the official parents’ weekend things, just visited with my D, went to a museum, out to dinner, etc. She is very happy at GW (is in Elliott).</p>
<p>Freshman and Dorm Locations</p>
<p>Just toured GW and my S interviewed. No mention of Thurston “being torn down”. I do know for a fact that Lafayette is closing for 2010-2011 for renovation. This will make it harder for freshman to stay on Foggy Bottom. However, given the sheer # of freshman @ Thurston - there’s no way they can accomodate all of them them @ the Vern - at least as of now.</p>
<p>I’m not surprised to hear that “The Vern” is the ultimate location for freshman in their long-term plans. This is exactly what BC did when the #'s of students increased - they developed land “near” BC’s main campus- Newton- and bus the freshman to the main campus.</p>
<p>Since my S is doing RD and not ED, I’m sure it’ll be potluck @ GW. 1 yr @ the Vern would not be the end of all things. Who knows - he might like it!</p>
<p>No, it’s not an official word, just what the students I was with think will happen. Pelham hall is supposed to have 287 beds and open in 2010, which will almost double the capacity at the Vern.</p>