<p>hello.
I got into Vassar class of 2012 recently.yeah!
I am so ready to move in this coming August.
so can anybody give me some information about the residence halls?
I looked on the website,and I am sure that all buildings have their own adventages and characters.
but which house is better based on your experiences?</p>
<p>thank you very much!!</p>
<p>kenziejenny:</p>
<p>Congrats on getting accepted at Vassar. It's a great place! My daughter is a freshman and is very happy.</p>
<p>There are some good summaries of dorms on the Vassar forum; search the forum for "dorms". Copied below is a post from littleathiest dated 12/28/07 that I think is pretty good.</p>
<p>I'm a current freshman, so here's my take on house stereotypes....</p>
<p>Lathrop: the stereotypical "party" dorm, Lathrop is known for being loud and a bit worn out in appearance. It's on the residential quad and quite convinient to ACDC. I personally don't find Lathrop to be quite as crazy as people make it out to be (my bf lives there, so I'm there rather often), but that's just my opinion. Lathrop is the host of "The Seven Sins" party which occurs annually.</p>
<p>Josselyn (Joss): located just off the main residential quad, it faces a huge grassy lawn. I've heard the dorm described as "rebellious" before due to the lack of involvement of its members in Serenading (don't know if that's true though because I didn't attend the event). The dorm is also known for a particularly successful intermural sports team and having residents who are "sex-obsessed" (although I'm unconvinced that this is more true in Joss than in any other dorm on campus). It has recently refurbished bathrooms and a new parlor complete with pool and ping-pong tables. This past semester, Joss was a co-host of the Harvest Ball, an annual semi-formal dance.</p>
<p>Strong: the all-female dorm on campus, Strong is known for being very quiet and clean. It's located on the Quad and is quite convinient to both Main and ACDC. Strong co-hosted a "Mods and Rockers" themed dance this past semester.</p>
<p>Cushing: known as the "Harry Potter" dorm, architecturally-speaking, Cushing is, debatably, the most attractive dorm on campus. It's also the most isolated from the other dorms in that it is furthest from the residential quad, although it's very convinient to the Psychology, Education, and Anthropology buildings. Due to its isoalted nature, Cushing residents are known as being "anti-social." Cushing traditionally hosts Scantily Clad.</p>
<p>Noyes: Noyes is traditionally known as the "weird" dorm, both architecturally and people-wise (although I'd question this). It's convinient to ACDC and has a grassy circle in front of it where the Ultimate Frisbee team practices (and which frequently floods with heavy rain). The dorm is the only one open year-round, and is thus where students who don't go home for Winter Break or stay on over the summer live. Up until a couple of years ago, most international students were housed in Noyes; however, this practice has changed. This past semester, Noyes co-hosted the Mods and Rockers dance.</p>
<p>Main: The dorm rooms of Main are situated above the student center, a variety of academic offices, and the Retreat. It's also a national historic landmark and located in the center of campus, which means that it's probably the most convinient dorm to live in. Due to its large size, Main is known for a large amount of house spirit (and has won at the Brewer Games and Serenading for several years running). It's also known for showers which never get properly warm (once again, due to size) and a complex floor layout. Main hosted the Moulin Rogue Dance this past semester.</p>
<p>Jewett: Jewett was renovated in 2005, so is thus the newest dorm on campus (complete with lofted beds). Its inner appearance has been described as a hotel due to its small room size and overall feel. This has caused some Vassar students to believe that the dorm lacks "the character" of the other houses. The outer architecture has been frequently described as "phallus-like" due to the tower part of the dorm, which has nine floors (and, thankfully for its residents, an elevator). It's located on the main residential quad and is convinient to ACDC. Jewett is also known for its oversensitive fire alarms which go off more than in any other dorm.</p>
<p>Davison: Closed for renovation in the 2008-2009 school year, Davison is stereotypically known as the "family" dorm due to its particularly friendly residents. It's located on the residential quad and Joss Beach. The dorm is also known for being one of the more quiet ones to live in, which could be due to the fact that the first two floors contain both Quiet and Wellness corridors. Davison co-hosts the Harvest Ball annually.</p>
<p>Raymond: Located on both Joss Beach and the Quad, Raymond is, to the best of my knowledge, very similar to Davison in that it's relatively quiet, hosts few loud parties, and is known for its friendly residents. It also has a reputation of having residents who are "a little bit weird" (although I'm not entirely sure what that means). Raymond hosts the Halloween events on campus.</p>
<p>Ferry: a cooperative living house, Ferry is the home of about twenty students at Vassar. In order to live in Ferry, one must submit an application and be accepted into the house. It is Vegan and requires its residents to contribute to such chores as keeping the house clean and cooking for it. It is centrally located and was recently rennovated (I think).</p>
<p>NOTE: I got one piece of information wrong on here... Jewett hosts the Seven Sins Party, not Lathrop (although they did sponser a floor)</p>
<p>Can you request a specific dorm or is there no student input in terms of which dorm you get?</p>
<p>No student input except for Strong and wellness floors. I don't know what the deal with wellness is next year; I know that some of the wellness/quiet floors were in Davison this year, which is being renovated next year.</p>
<p>Speaking of the Davison renovations... welcome to being screwed for housing over the next couple years. Basically no singles for sophomores (except student fellows, which are sort of like RAs except that they can't get you in trouble) and freshmen are getting baby doubles and probably lots of triples. Get excited. </p>
<p>I live in Joss. I love the building - big rooms, great bathrooms - but have a problem with the somewhat unfriendly character of a lot of the people here. I've been considering switching houses next year, but I'll probably stay in Joss because I'm kind of emotionally attached to the bathrooms. If I moved, I would probably move to Cushing because it's more convenient to the dance building, where I might as well live... And I wouldn't say Joss is sex-obsessed. Just a little, uh, weirdly incestual. You know.</p>
<p>ofcounsel and littleathiest,
This is a lot of help.
Thank you very much !
It sounds like there are tons of interesting activities going on in each dorm.
I guess I will be happy no matter which building I live in.
and what are wellness/quiet floors?</p>
<p>Wellness floors are floors on which alcohol/smoking/drugs are not allowed. Quiet floors are floors which are supposed to be relatively quiet (no blasting music, crazy parties, etc.) 24 hours a day. </p>
<p>And yes, it really doesn't matter which dorm you live in all that much. They all have their pluses and minuses what with location, type of event hosted, loudness, cleanliness, newness, etc. Also, another nice thing about the Vassar dorms is that all dorm events on campus are open to everyone.</p>
<p>To current Vassar students - if you were an incoming freshman and could choose - what would be your top three houses to live in and why?</p>
<p>i’m an incoming freshman so i’m definitely no expert, but from what current students have told me…</p>
<p>jewett is nice and in good condition (even though it has small rooms), cushing is nice because it has a sort of cozy, Hogwarty feel to it architecturally, and i’d guess davison will be nice because it was just renovated.</p>
<p>another question: what do you think the pros and cons are of having a triple freshman year? i’m leaning choosing to have one but i know not many people do and i wonder why…</p>
<p>I spent two weeks at an academic program at Vassar and stayed at Jewett. It sucked and the food sucked. The campus is really dirty and small and not all that.</p>
<p>Really? I couldn’t disagree more. Vassar is one of the most beautiful places I’ve seen. It’s got great history, architecture, and the grounds are gorgeous. We had a great lunch - the cook improvised a wonderful veggie wrap for me. It’s a small college - that’s one of its strengths. People go there precisely because it’s not a sprawling mega-university. Each to his own, I suppose.</p>
<p>So. Helpful. For the past few years I’ve wanted to live in Ferry but now I just want to try them all. Like an appetizer sampler. And I had a dream last night that I moved into a one room triple in Main. It was nice.</p>
<p>If I were going in to Vassar now with my one and a half years of experience, my top three choices would be Raymond, Main, and Davison. I’m currently living in Strong and on the house team, which I love, but I personally wouldn’t chose it as a freshman (they now have a 1-10 scale of how willing you would be to live in Strong as a freshman, which I think is great). Raymond is kind of our sibling dorm, the co-ed Strong. People I know there are super nice, and it’s got a homey feel to it. Plus, convenient location. Main is the most convenient of all dorms for sure. I live in a one room triple in Main my freshman year and loved it. I also considered requesting a triple before I got to Vassar, but ultimately decided to leave it up to the ResLife gods. Turns out I ended up in one anyway. Pros of our triple were that conflicts seemed to work themselves out much easier with three people figuring things out. If you don’t get along with one of your roommates, you might bond (or bond over it) with your other roommate. That being said, we had no real conflicts and all got along fine. Main is a very big dorm, and I can imagine that it would feel a little overwhelming in a different part of the building - I was in “the pit”, a disconected wing of the second floor. Davison is newly renovated, and has had the reputation of being a family dorm. There are also a LOT of freshman in it this year…which could be a pro or con, I suppose. That being said, I would love to be in any dorm except Lathrop =)</p>
<p>I would chose to live in </p>
<p>Davison- my current dorm. It was just renovated and is really great on the inside. We have a great finished basement, an elevator (for laundry!), and really long hallways that are not sectioned off by huge brown doors like the other quad dorms. this way we get to meet everyone on our halls. and we’re the “family” dorm and everyone is really welcoming and nice.</p>
<p>Joss- the joss rooms are definitely more unique than the davison rooms which is nice. there are singles, doubles, triples, quads, two room doubles…lots of choices. and the rooms tend to be on the larger side which is nice. and the bathrooms were renovated so those are brand new. people in joss are really cool</p>
<p>Main- main is huge which is nice. it’s nice to have a huge community to make friends from. its really convenient to the retreat if you need to grab something to eat. and the rooms are also big and have really tall ceilings and have interesting layouts. and there are some 4 room suites which are cool. and if you live in main you’ll have an easier chance of getting them as an upperclassman</p>