Freshman Residence Halls: pros and cons

Colleges and Universities A-Z Brown University
1

<p>Hey Class of 2011! Just wanted to congratulate you all on being accepted. I figured you guys would start wondering about freshman dorms soon (when you receive your notifications). So here’s a broad description of the perks and downside to each dorm:</p>

<p>Andrews Hall (where I lived)
-perks: the only dorm with SINKS, spacious rooms, nice kitchen on 0 floor, amazing media and reading rooms on 1st floor, close to the V-Dub and the Gate, has an elevator, great views from window, control your own HEAT
-downside: a tad bit far from the main green</p>

<p>Morris-Champlin, Emery-Woolley
-perks: an elevator, V-Dub inside building, close to the Gate, fitness center
-downside: rooms are pretty small, and the view isn’t great from the window</p>

<p>New Pembroke
-perks: semi-private bathrooms (not really), decent sized rooms
-downside: kinda far from campus, very tight hallways, no elevators</p>

<p>Hope College
-perks: LOCATION on main green, tend to be the largest freshman rooms, tight-knit community (people keep their doors open for traffic flow :D), beautiful window views
-downside: one bathroom per floor (so might need to go down a floor to shower), bad cell phone reception, a good walk to any dining halls, no elevators</p>

<p>Littlefield Hall
-perks: LOCATION on Lincoln Field, decent-sized rooms, beautiful kitchen, nice lounges, close to the Ratty
-downside: must move out every semester for athlete housing, no elevator</p>

<p>Keeney Quad
-perks: A LOT OF PEOPLE, close to the Ratty and Health Services
-downside: A LOT OF PEOPLE (can get loud), no elevators, really small rooms, lighting in hallways sucks</p>

<p>Wayland House (never been inside, sorry!)
-perks: right by the Ratty, tight-knit community
-downside: right on Wriston Quad, which can make it noisy at times</p>

<p>Perkins Hall
-perks: REALLY TIGHT-KNIT COMMUNITY, a really nice lounge (best out of all dorms), close to the music facilities, nice view of Providence from the roof (if you can get up there!)
-downside: the FARTHEST freshman dorm from the main green and dining halls, no elevators</p>

2

<p>My son was in Keeney this past year and had a HUGE room-twice the size of my college dorm back in the day. Not all are small.</p>

3

<p>well I'm talking about Keeney rooms in general. There are a number of doubles, triples and quads that are quite large, but those are reserved for upperclassmen during the lottery. Perhaps he got one of these doubles by chance. Overall, Hope has rooms ranging from 12 x 15 to 16 x 17 to even larger, making it the most prized dorm size-wise.</p>

4

<p>I didn't know we would get to choose our dorm rooms!</p>

<p>Do we get sent emails? Or is this information mailed to us! I've been on vacation and have just got back; can someone get me up to speed? thanks.</p>

5

<p>I lived in Keeney as a freshman and my room measured 16x17 and I was in a room athta was only, by chance, about 2 feet larger than those of others in my unit, who typically were 16x14 or 15.</p>

<p>You don't get to choose dorms,GOINGTOSPACE, but you will receive your assignment soon.</p>

<p>Keeney is also the most social dorm, which may be implied by "LOTS OF PEOPLE" but probably should be explicitly expressed.</p>

6

<p>I agree with modestmelody. The Keeney atmosphere is great to meet new people and extremely convenient for making friends. They do, however, tend to be loud at times, and that mixed with the general "cramped" feel might be unsuitable for people who don't like being in that type of living environment. I think, also, that what makes the room in Keeney look so much smaller is that they are oddly-shaped. But I definitely got to see that 16x17 room in Keeney; you must have been extremely lucky!!</p>

7

<p>Can we get some more info on Pembroke, please? Thanks :).</p>

8

<p>Hey can someone splurge some more info on Everett, it's in Keeney. Or are all Keeney dorms alike?</p>

9

<p>hey ecco1vln (or anyone else) what's the social scene like in andrews?</p>

10

<p>I lived on Pembroke my freshman year and will be living there again this semester. It tends to get the reputation of being "quieter" than the rest of campus, but I think it is as sociable as Keeney. The social scene of any dorm differs from year to year depending on who ends up living near you. A lot of people end up socializing within their unit, but pembroke also allows you to easily make friends from all over pembroke via the Gate. The Gate is a late night eatery/hangout place that is conveniently located in the middle of pembroke in the lower levels of Alumni Hall. It's a great place to meet people, and it's open until 2am. Pembroke is also located right next to Thayer St. which has lots of places to eat at if you get sick of the dining halls, and next to the V-dub there is Meeting Street Cafe which has gigantic cookies and yummy desserts (you'll also get a discount if you show them your brown id). Yes, campus is a little further away than some of the other dorms, but if you've never lived anywhere else, than you'll hardly notice. And the V-dub is closed on the weekends, but you can wait until the Gate opens, eat out on Thayer or walk the 10 min to the Ratty. Bascially Pembroke is an awesome place to live and don't let anyone else tell you otherwise.</p>

11

<p>Is Pembroke the same as New Pembroke?</p>

12

<p>Pembroke refers to the northern side of campus, New Pembroke is a dorm on Pembroke (it's right along Thayer St.)</p>

13

<p>Andrews (composed of two units only-- East and West) is quite big. On average the dorm itself is in the middle when it comes to noise level. I had no problems studying in my room. A lot of people made close friends within the dorm, but I usually ventured outside of Andrews to visit friends. The lounges and media room are especially good for studying, playing poker, and hanging out with people. Many times you can just pop your head into the media to see who's there and what they're watching. I've been in homier dorms but there is still an element of cohesiveness in Andrews. I would say you should meet people and make friends with students all over campus. Sticking to people in your dorm is great,but a change of atmosphere to hang out is awesome too. I had a wonderful experience in Andrews, so have fun and meet tons of people!!</p>

14

<p>keeney rooms are, for the most part (there are a few weird ones on the top floor or other places), literally identical.</p>