<p>Hi Everyone, my daughter will most likely go to U Del this fall. All in all she has not been keen on schools with older dorms/hall bathrooms. She's decided that she can deal with it because she really likes the school and it's distance to home. (under two hours instead of most of the air travel schools she's visited and wanted to go to) Her biggest fear is being placed in a small dorm room in a triple. U Del has increased it's freshmen class size the last few years and we were told only overflow housing has triples. Can anyone let me know if this is accurate info? </p>
<p>I told my daughter that she had to go into this assuming she will get the worst dorm room with a triple and then anything she gets better than that will be great. </p>
<p>Also has anyone stayed in George Reed as a freshman and do you think it affected your freshman experience negatively or positively? </p>
<p>thanks so much, I look forward to hearing everyone's opinions! :)</p>
<p>S was in George Read last year. At first he was concerned about it being far away from the main part of campus, but with the bus system it proved not to be a problem at all, plus it’s a nice walk in good weather. The size of his enormous double (and the A/C) more than made up for the distance; we were amazed at how large it was for a freshman room. He had a terrific year there.</p>
<p>UD also did a very good job in his case of matching up a random roommate. They’re rooming together again this year with two other friends in the Towers (on the same part of campus, so they obviously liked it), and the four of them will share an off-campus apt. next year.</p>
<p>My d is trying to figure out the whole living situation as well. We hear Read is very nice. The only downfall is remote location, and rumors that it is not as social as some other frosh dorms. MY d will list Harrington ,Read, and Rodney…not sure of order. She is nervous about room mate situation. She is unable to attend admission days, as we are from Ca., and thinks she will miss the opportunity to hook up with kids.
I guess she will have to rely on Facebook, and try to find a kid there. This is the only thing that concerns her.</p>
<p>My S is a current freshman in UD’s largest freshman class ever. He ended up in a double in Smyth Hall, and at the time he received his assignment, we hadn’t even heard of that dorm. It’s usually an upper class dorm, but they will use it for freshman when class size dictates. It’s actually nicer than Harrington, Thompson, and Lane, which we saw when we took the tour. It’s located on South East campus across the street from Perkins Student Center. It’s a convenient location and he’s been very happy there.</p>
<p>When your daughter fills out the housing questionnaire they will ask her to rate what is most important to her; room type, campus location, specific dorm, or roommate. If she is that scared of a triple, than she should rate room type as #1. It’s not a guarantee, but they do try hard to give the kids what they want. </p>
<p>When we were going through this last year, my S was terrified of ending up in a single all by himself. He rated room type as #1, and is very happy in his double, and with his roommate in Smyth.</p>
<p>socaldad - UD does a really good job matching random roommates. My S did random and he could not be happier with his roommate. From what he tells me, the kids who hooked up at NSO, or through Facebook have not been as happy with their roommates. Too difficult to know what a person is really like from a short encounter at NSO, or a connection made on the internet.</p>
<p>thank you everyone for your quick response and honest answers. I love that you can rank what is important to you as far as a room desire. Glad to hear that doubles do seem to be what is given. In the other two schools my daughter was seriously considering one you simply had to “pay” for your room style. for example larger rooms were more money. the other it was the order you placed your deposit and then many turned into triples. She will most likely do a random room mate selection so to the CA parent I wouldn’t worry about not getting here to meet people. I’m sure it will all work out. </p>
<p>Thanks everyone and please keep the responses coming! :)</p>
<p>My son was accepted at UD, and we found out a lot of info on our last trip. They are building a new freshman dorm (on East campus), but it will not be ready until 2013. It seems that the 2012-13 year will be the last for Rodney and Dickinson. It seems that Rodney is being knocked down and Dickinson will become office space. Those dorms must be in horrible condition if that’s the plan. Unless you are in Honors, which will guarantee Russell (on East campus), you have a 75% chance of being in either Rodney or Dickinson. The other 25% will be primarily Harrington, with the balance going to Reid. They also told us that Reid gets a lot of the forced triples since the rooms are larger. Hope this helps.</p>
<p>My b/g twins are sophomore at Delaware. Their incoming year, freshmen were not given the opportunity to chose a roommate so they both had random placements. They were both put in Rodney and I want to assure all the nervous parents here that even though Rodney is old, if you asked my kids, they would not wanted to have lived ANYWHERE else. Because most freshmen were (are?) placed there, they had absolutely NO problems meeting people. In fact, my daughter is living with a girl from her floor this year and NEXT year when she moves off campus, 8 of the girls from her freshmen floor are living together. It’s sort of a badge of honor to survive Rodney (aka the Rodjects). And even though the dorms are extremely old, they DO have air conditioning which was nice in the fall and spring. My kids LOVED it there and hopefully, if your child ends up there, they will too.</p>
<p>jayne makes a good point. Chances are, no matter where your kids end up, they’ll be happy. It’s about the people they meet much more than the quality of the rooms. </p>
<p>My daughter went to a school with residential colleges, and was placed in one of the ‘undesirable’ ones. She was disappointed…until she got there and immediately bonded with people. Now that’s she graduated, she thinks it was absolutely the best one.</p>
<p>My d is a freshman and in Dickinson. She said she loves the location even though her window overlooks the train and it runs through every day. Both Rodney and Dickinson are all freshman so it is great for the social life. She met her roommate on facebook and they will be rooming together again next year. She is part of a group of over 30 freshmen who put in for a floor in the towers.</p>
<p>My DD lived in Rodney last year. Tons of singles. No idea how you get that though. My DD didn’t get to choose (and would have never chosen a single).</p>
<p>broncos1997 - yes they are available. Rodney has many singles, and I believe most dorms have at least a few. You can request a single when filling out the Housing Preference form, though it’s not a guarantee you’ll end up in one.</p>
<p>I did not know that, thanks! Although since I’m going to be in honors, does anyone know if I’ll have the option of getting a room in Rodney should I decide I’d like a single, or am I forced to stay in Russell?</p>
<p>Broncos - Try not to feel “forced” to live in Russell. Its a friendly environment and in a great location. The “beach” and the Russell dining hall are both very nice, and its close walking distance from the library and many classrooms. Perkins Student Center is just a few feet away, which is great if you are involved with clubs that meet there or just want an alternative to your dorm for hanging out, studying, food etc. The Russell dorms are not new, but they were recently renovated and the bathrooms are new and spotless. And, although there are plenty of regrettable things that happen in Russell, it has the reputation of being a bit tamer than some of the other all-freshman dorms. Not sure if the reputation for tameness is deserved … two students on my D’s floor have left UD indefinitely for drug/alcohol related infractions.</p>
<p>Sorry, I did not mean to say it in that way. I just feel that all things considered, I would be better suited for having my own room. Although, now that I think about it, maybe it would be beneficial to have a roommate for freshman year and maybe try for a single afterwards (when apparently I’ll have more flexibility). Outside of that, I definitely would love to live in Russell.</p>
<p>Just a little feedback about Rodney which does have a reputation of being not the nicest of dorms. When my daughter, who is now a Freshman, toured the school she was all about living in Laird campus. New dorms, clean, seemed like utopia with the exception of the longer distance to the main campus. This was her first choice but she also wanted a single so she ranked the single ahead of the location. Rodney was her last choice. Well, she got Rodney and the single she asked for. She had a great attitude about it all and said she was going to go with an open mind. We are now almost done with Freshamn year and she LOVED Rodney. Almost everyone in Rodney is in a single so no one is left out. They keep their doors open when thet want company but when they need privacy they can close the door. Best of both worlds. The bathrooms are not that bad, typical dorm bathrooms and while the building is original it really isn’t that bad. She has said now that she is very happy she wasn’t in Laird campus as it would not have worked out as well with her schedule, athletics and classes. I have heard this is true of many others that didn’t want to be in Rodney and ended up loving it. Very social dorm and fun. Food isn’t the best from what she says but you can eat at other locations. In the end, they make the best of what they get and my daughter was really happy with the single (a very small single at that).</p>
<p>Ours lived in Dickinson, and said that year out of the four at Udel was by far the best year of the entire 4. The friendships formed in a “typical” dorm can not be duplicated on Laird. Rodney and Dickinson doors are always open and inviting at a time when most critical for meeting people, where as on Laird not as much. When anyone asks about best place to pick freshman year, without hesitation Rodney or Dickinson is the reply.</p>