Freshman dorms

<p>I got accepted and am very excited about whitman, but now must ask one last question: Which freshman dorm should I apply to? Being a male student, my choices are limited to Andersen, Jewett and Lyman. Does anyone know much about these dorms and have an opinion on which is the nicest?</p>

<p>Congratulations! My DS is a first-year and there was some discussion on the different dorms last spring that you can find if you show the older threads. He selected Lyman because it’s coed, has mixed ages, and the rooms are suite style. He really likes it there.</p>

<p>congrats shoeguard! lots of info if you’re willing to dig around the discussions on facebook–Whitman class of 2012 and Whitman class of 2013. In the ask a current Whittie sections you’ll get all kinds of opinions!</p>

<p>thanks so much</p>

<p>I’m a freshmen at Whitman. I lived in Anderson first semester and am now moving to Prentiss. The main reason I’m moving is Anderson was very loud and I could never get work done there. People like to hang out in the hallways. Many people love Anderson though (my room-mate did). Most of the building is just one long hallway so its easy for people to socialize. There was not a ton of drinking or anything like that in common areas, but it is a very social dorm. It is co-ed, but is split into men’s/women’s sections. The basement is nice and has a number of study rooms and a gameroom/tv lounge.</p>

<p>I’ve been in Jewett (seeing friends and I stayed there for my visit last year) and it is basically the party dorm on campus. A lot more people that drink. Tends to be louder than Anderson. One nice thing is that there is a dining hall attached to the dorm so you will not have to go outside to eat, which is nice in the winter. It is also very close to the academic buildings.</p>

<p>I really like Lyman but have not lived or stayed overnight there. It is quiet and many people there are pretty introverted, but there’s still fun things that go on. It is smaller than the other freshmen dorms and also has a small dining hall attached to the building. The location is near Jewett and the academic buildings, so your walk to class will be short. Even if you like partying, the advantage of Lyman is you can party elsewhere and then come back to the dorm to sleep. The rooms are also split into two. All sections are co-ed and mixed year.</p>

<p>I’m having a real problem on deciding between dorms. I am extroverted, but I dont know if jewett is too “rowdy.” (to the point where you wouldn’t get anything done) I am okay with drinking, but i definitely don’t want to be doing it 24/7. I love the idea of having suite style rooms but Lyman’s introvert stigma kind of scares me. I wish there was an in-between dorm but it seems you either go for the rowdy of the super quiet. Any advice on dorm choice would be appreciated.</p>

<p>I was a freshman in lyman, dated a girl (so half lived) in jewett, and was an RA in anderson. </p>

<p>some of my best friends are from freshman year in lyman, but it can attract so … characters. And lyman can party (just ask the RD there about the 70 person dorm party in '06. so many fire code violations…) but you’re right, it is generally quiet. the introvert stigma comes from the upper classmen who stay there though.</p>

<p>Jewett is a fun place to visit, but you can’t study there. or you can live there and make good friends with people in lyman to have a quiet place to retreat. I know lots of people who did that too.</p>

<p>Anderson is a pretty happy medium. it can get loud on the weekends, and people love lounging in the halls, but the basement has some great study rooms where it is generally quiet.</p>

<p>Also, just to clarify, Jewett is considered liveliest of the freshman dorms, but that is not so say that it is a mad house all the time. I lived in Jewett as a freshman, and while there might have been nonstop parties during orientation, Whitman is a rigorous school, and most people quickly find a balance between studying and partying. For most, that means partying sometimes Thursday, but mostly Friday and Saturday and studying Sunday-Thursday. In my experience, people tried to party much more than that saw their grades suffer greatly.</p>

<p>That said, Jewett is an excellent place to live. Most of my friends and I lived on the same floor, and it was so nice only having to walk down the hall to see people I knew and liked. “Hall parties” where we all just hung out in hall and talked were fun and happened on a regular basis. My friends who lived in Lyman make fun of Jewett because the rooms were “small” and there wasn’t the 2-room setup, but honestly the rooms were more than big enough and I felt like the more traditional, open arrangement of the room and basic, shotgun layout of the floors were much more conducive to social interaction and a generally friendlier atmosphere. </p>

<p>In terms of studying, I personally have never been particularly productive working in my room, but I found that when I closed my door, it was enough to keep people away. Another effect of the not-insubstantial Whitman workload is that people understand when you say you have work to do and give you your space when you ask for it. Also a perk of living in Jewett is being so close to all of the academic buildings and the library, all places where I got much more work done than in my room. Thinking back to my freshman year, I managed to get most of my work done, and my grades turned out fine, so I wouldn’t be so quick to assuming that living in Jewett = all F’s first semester.</p>

<p>Granted the year I lived in Jewett was considered a “tamer” year, I would still encourage an incoming freshman to put fears of Jewett being an Animal House dorm aside and put things back in perspective. Jewett is a freshman dorm at Whitman, a tough school. It’s not the TKE house. :P</p>

<p>I am new to this site, and am trying to find out any info about SUNY Cortland dorms. My son will be a freshman in the fall, and is trying to decide between an all-freshman dorm or a mixed dorm. Anybody with firsthand advice about the housing at Cortland?</p>

I know this feed is like 300 years old, but I am just wondering if any of you know if the dorms at Whitman College have mini fridges or microwaves? Thank you!

Dorm rooms don’t come with appliances. Residents can rent mini fridges; I believe it is $50 per year. Each freshman section has a shared kitchen area with range, microwave etc. (Son is a sophomore there now; daughter will be a freshman this fall.)