<p>I have to agree with everything Traye said…maybe because my D was also assigned to Smyth! At first she was upset, it seemed so small, old and no one else had heard about it. But it’s size, congeniality and great location made it a winner. She’s has made lots of wonderful friends. And she got matched by Delaware to a great room mate too.</p>
<p>My son loved the George Reed dorms, but I’m worried it won’t be great socially. Since the rooms are suites, do the kids clean their own bathroom? My son doesn’t seem to care about cleaning, but with 4 boys it could be disgusting. He also hasn’t found a roomate, should I push him to find one-or do you think the schools matching will be ok?</p>
<p>Does anyone know which Dorms are for Freshman in the fall ?</p>
<p>The only one I know of for sure is Russell - that’s where my son is headed.</p>
<p>In my opinion, you may be just as likely to have a happy roommate match with the school’s selection as you are by finding one yourself among a group of people you don’t know yet - relying on the adage that you never really know someone until you live with him or her. My D and her “random” roommate have not become great friends, but they have had a peaceful living situation. She has shared that some of the students on her floor this year who met and chose each other prior to the year starting have been less fortunate. Most freshman would be making this type of decision for the first time, and haven’t had the experience that helps someone successfully choose a compatible roommate. We’ve all had the experience of initially being very excited about a new friend, then realizing they aren’t who we thought they were. Also, I think if you choose someone, there is a bit more pressure to become buddies. Of course, some of those who chose their roommates are very happy with the outcome and live with those friends in subsequent years. So, it really can go either way. If you feel pressure about choosing a roommate (and being chosen), maybe let the school do the work for you.</p>
<p>My daughter has chosen to go random with her selection. she has met so many great girls through facebook but is just to fearful of living arrangements in such close quarters! She is afraid if she meets someone online and commits to rooming with them, she may realize before the school year even begins that she is really not well matched to her and then be heading into a school year with the gloom hanging over her that they will probably not do well together. Maturity needed, yes for sure. lol! But at least she knows herself well enough to know what she may feel like prior to the start of the year. I’m just praying she gets someone who will match her well. </p>
<p>She filled out the survey questions and it was tough! She’s pretty up the middle on a lot of things… likes to go to parties but not every minute of every day. Does not sleep late but does not stay out late either, Nor would you consider her an early bird. As far as the studying questions, she doesn’t mind noise but doesn’t want music blasting either. Oh if there was only a place to write in your own comments! lol! Well, we just answered the questions best we could, said a little prayer and left it in the hands of fate! lol! hope it all works out for her! :)</p>
<p>Hello, can anyone tell me how are the buses from George Reed? Are they reliable? Are they packed if you have an 8 or 9 am class , would you be forced to wait for the next one? Do most students walk and is it very far in winter or bad weather? Thanks for info</p>
<p>Brownie, as a parent, I don’t know what most kids do - only mine. She is on Laird Campus (near George Reed) and she nearly always walks (even for 9 am class). She has a bike, which she uses sometimes. (There’s a bike store right on Main St if you decide on that.) It’s not that far (and according to DD, the winter isn’t that bad).</p>
<p>What LINYMOM said, although without the bike in S’s case. He usually walks, unless it’s raining hard or very cold, and he says the buses are reliable. It’s his second year on that part of campus, and he’s had absolutely no issues with the distance, which is not that great. Compared to other large state school campuses, UD is very compact.</p>
<p>you’ll meet tons of people anywhere on campus freshman year if you make an effort to meet people in your hall and hang out with people, etc. if you stay in your room all the time it doesn’t matter where you’re staying…</p>
<p>out of the freshman dorms I recommend Harrington if you’re not honors. seconded by Thompson and Lane, then Dickinson/Rodney. east campus is a really great spot for freshman year try to be over there</p>
<p>@PortMom- as far as I’ve heard (and seen), the new freshmen dorms are NOT going to be ready by 2013. More like 2017ish. I lived in Rodney this year, and really the only problems we had was mold in the A/C in the fall semester. We had to vacate our dorms so that they could bleach out the entire complex. I’m not sure where you’re getting the 75% statistic of Rod/Dickinson either because there a ton of freshmen over on the east turf in Harrington, Smyth, Lane, and Thompson. Eventually, the school’s goal is to get all of the freshmen over onto east campus, and make george read an upperclassmen dorm. I’ve also never heard of any forced triples in george read. Most of the freshmen triples were in ray st, which is also suite style I believe. </p>
<p>@brownie58- During class time, the buses run pretty consistently. My friends, who lived in George Read, always made it to class on time. The express bus goes straight down south college by the main hub of classes. However, its not a bad walk or bike ride either. For the most part, as long as you leave 15 minutes before your class starts from anywhere on campus, you should be fine.</p>
<p>And also, just to second all thats been said about the rodjects- Almost my entire floor requested to be put in doubles. That being said, we were all in the same boat and we bonded really quickly. Like to the point where even shutting my door would not keep my floor mates out of my room. Looking back, I would not have wanted to live anywhere else my freshman year. Being put in a single allowed me to find friends who I wanted to live with myself, instead of crossing my fingers for a non-crazy roommate.
Basically, you really can’t go wrong at delaware. And OHSO jealous of the incoming freshmen. It really is the best year of your life.</p>
<p>My son asked for the Laird Campus, he thought the dorms were so much nicer and wanted the air conditioning. I’m worried that it won’t be as social as east campus, but maybe that’s not such a bad thing. Recently we met a student that said that all the athletes are housed in Reed, is that true? and is that good or bad?</p>
<p>@crider for the freshman dorms I was told they were due to be completed and ready for fall 13. (too late for my daughter) they were in active construction mode in april when I was there visiting. It didn’t seem unrealistic at that time that the building would be completed in another 15 months from then. Has something changed or have they stopped construction for some reason? It’s of no real issue to me since my daughter will not be housed there but I was just wondering why you felt if might not be done for another 4 years. Being I’m not there I have no idea what the construction site looks like now.</p>
<p>@lefty1- my bad on wording, its the SECOND new freshman dorm thats going to be open in 2017, along with the rest of the construction. the first building opens in 2013. (they’ve been going around saying 2017 on campus so we’ve all been convinced that was the case.) I doubt they would knock down rodney/dickinson before the second one is open though.</p>
<p>@nyc2464- The dorms ARE a lot nicer. From what I’ve heard, you have to go a bit more out of your way to make friends with your floor than east (due to the lack of communal bathrooms), but people still have fun there. Don’t be afraid of knocking on people’s doors and saying hi. And yes, most of the D1 athletes are housed there…which is nice for the girls :)</p>
<p>You don’t even have to knock on doors. When S was in George Read he said most people kept their doors propped open. There was no lack of socializing, not only on each floor, but between floors. For sophomore housing, they had a group of 40 for the Towers. :)</p>
<p>Hi - my daughter got assigned to a single in Rodney which is 9’4 by 8’4 (not including the wardrobe) - so it is very small. I am a bit concerned about the conditions of that dorm especially the “rodney bugs” I see chatter about… What kind of bugs are they talking about - I see this as a reason for my daughter to come home</p>
<p>Can someone tell me how bad the dorms are and what are the “bugs” being talked about?
Thank you</p>
<p>My son requested a double at George Reed and got a single at Rodney. Is Rodney really horrible? What about the “bugs”? Though he didn’t want a single, he’s starting to feel it might be nice. What does everyone think about Rodney and having a single?</p>
<p>** Note that this is just one opinion ***</p>
<p>My DD hated having a single at Rodney. She ended up being sick a lot freshman year so, for that reason, having a single ended up a good thing. But otherwise, she hated it. Most everyone else loved their experience there, despite the train noise. Did not hear one thing about bugs the entire year (this was two years ago - she is now going to be a junior). The location was fine, the dorm room was, well, a dorm room, but the single was a big issue. Absolutely not how she wanted to start college.</p>
<p>Back then, incoming freshmen could not request dorms or roommates. In hindsight, we should have called to see if she could switch to a double - even in Rodney. It’s better how they do it now.</p>
<p>Having said that, moving to Laird for sophomore year was like moving into a resort :)</p>
<p>My D loved Russell in freshman year. Had a blast. Found her triple in Brown a bit of a letdown last year, but eventually got into it. This year she is going to have a single. We’ll see how that goes because she has already decided on an apartment with a friend for senior year.</p>
<p>My D lived in a double in Rodney her freshman year. There are a large number of single rooms in Rodney. Once students make friends they often visit one another on a regular basis to study/socialize etc. so students in singles (unless they wish to isolate themselves from other students) usually do not find this to be a significant issue. The good thing about being in a single is that on those occasions where you really need to have some privacy (i.e. to study alone or just to “chill out”) you can just close your door and not have to worry about interruptions. </p>
<p>My D never had any significant problems with bugs. Rodney is surrounded by a somewhat wooded area so it would be impossible to be completely bug free. I suspect the “Rodney Bugs” thing has taken on a life of its own and is exaggerated. If I recall corectly they do spray the common dorm areas on a regular basis to minimize the potential for infestation and will spray rooms if requested to do so. Unfortunately some students have a habit of not always taking out their food/beverage trash on a regular basis, which of course can predispose to bugs. If you keep your room area clean I doubt you should have any significant problem with bugs.</p>