<p>It was so much easier than we had thought it would be. We thought that things were really well-organized. Parent's Orientation was great and we left there thinking that the place is just such a great place to go to school. They definitely had their act together.</p>
<p>We agree. It all made me wish that I could be a freshman again, with so many wonderful people and resources.</p>
<p>The same for me 4 years ago. Wash U is such a together school! Everything, and I mean everything, runs like butter!</p>
<p>Everything was great except crappy dorm - Beaumont. It seems totally unfair that some kids are in really nice new dorms and also have things like pool tables and lounges. Seems like they could at least put a pool table in Beaumont.</p>
<p>Amazon</p>
<p>Ask to move to a new dorm...and tell them about the lack of recreational stuff....</p>
<p>No one wants to be in an old dorm. It's just the luck of the draw, there's nothing that can be done. Reslife said something strange about things like pool tables coming from student funds which I totally didn't understand but the gist was that Beaumont can't have anything. There's just a few beat up couches. No games, etc.</p>
<p>My D had (at the beginning) an old triple but after she requested a new dorm she was placed in a double and now she misses her old roommates. Some kids love the old dorms; they say is more social, and no matter where they are, they are always going to one dorm to another visiting friends.</p>
<p>"No one wants to be in an old dorm." Actually, my son did. He requested an old dorm, spent his freshman year on Lee 3 and had an amazing year. The floor had a "family-like" camaraderie and some of his current roommates (he's a junior) come from Lee. Are they old...yes. Rundown...yes. The end of the world...by no means.</p>
<p>My S requested a traditional last year as a freshie and also had a great time in Lee --- res life puts together some wonderful fun activities throughout the year. Birthdays were celebrated and most holidays, regardless of religion. S loved his time there and happily moved into Elliott house where he met up with some former Lee friends. </p>
<p>Amazon: you could try to switch but you could also go into the experience looking for the positive and remember that being in a less desirable dorm this year means you will probably get a higher lottery number for choosing housing next year.</p>
<p>The way the res-colleges work, the freshmen in the old dorms get first dibs at the traditional sophomore dorms - While they are older dorms and not every room is a single (2 singles & 2 doubles for 6 people), those sophomore suites have a huge common room and balcony (much larger than the new dorm common rooms, which don't even have windows to the outside let alone a balcony). I know many students who went from new freshman dorm to old sophomore suite, and now it's easier for freshmen in older dorms to get into those suites.</p>
<p>The better lottery number I think is bogus information according to reslife. She told us something to the effect of "life is not fair". Do you have a better chance of getting a single in a newer sophmore dorm? If there are 2 singles and 2 doubles you only have a 1/3 chance in the older sophmore dorm.</p>
<p>
[quote]
The better lottery number I think is bogus information according to reslife. She told us something to the effect of "life is not fair". Do you have a better chance of getting a single in a newer sophmore dorm? If there are 2 singles and 2 doubles you only have a 1/3 chance in the older sophmore dorm.
[/quote]
You decide that with your roommates, so if you really want a single in an old suite, you have to decide that with your friends. There are way more 4 person suites with singles than 6 person suites, so the chances of getting a 4 is pretty high.</p>
<p>Old dorms are actually really nice - They're not run-down at all. All of the facilities work well (even the AC/heat), and your daughter will come to love it.</p>
<p>Like "runnersmom", our S requested an old dorm based on what he learned from from several of the student tour guides on our visits to WUSTL. He is now a frosh in Lee and loves it. Lots of comraderie and lots of fun. He too says it feels very much like a family and wouldn't trade it for anything else, including a new dorm.</p>
<p>Amazon, it isn't about pool tables (or lack of) or games or couches, etc. Please try to look beyond that -- the people are what make it special. It is likely that years from now your best friends and possibly your roommates will be the kids you met as a freshman at Beaumont.</p>
<p>I'm not obsessing about the dorm. Daughter is having a great time so far and has made lots of friends but I just think it should be more equitable. If half of the dorms are much nicer with elevators, etc. they should at least put the same amount of furniture and pool tables in the old dorms.</p>
<p>The problem is that there is not the space for those kind of amenities (pool tables, etc) in the older dorms. I do agree Amazon, that at least they could provide nicer, or at least as nice as, furniture in those older dorms. I guess they do not want to invest in anything for dorms/apartments that will be torn down in the near future. Last year, our oldest lived in an oncampus apartment, one that I think it is slated for teardown in the near future. The couch was broken, the kitchen and bathroom were disgusting and I was so disheartened when we left her there, thinking how nice the remodeled apartments were and even most of the dorms. I felt so bad that she got stuck with that living environment. To my surprise, she never complained. She had a great year and now has some good stories to tell of their adventures living in that building. As a parent, I wanted more for her but she thrived where she was and once again I have to say, it is the people and not the dorm.</p>
<p>Correct me if I'm wrong, but equity is created by how much you pay for the various dorms - you pay less for the old dorms and you pay more for singles anywhere.</p>