<p>Based on having seen the dorm areas on a couple visits to campus and after reading the descriptive information that's available on line, I'm thinking that George Read (North or South) would be a great dorm for my Freshman year; I'm considering making that my top choice on my housing selection, followed by Russell, and then by Harrington.<br>
I'm a non-drinker/non-smoker, will be pretty serious about my studies, and am pretty straight and (relatively) mature person in general.<br>
Can anyone offer any advice / perspective?</p>
<p>my friend from UD told me that George Read is perfect if you are serious about your studies and need a quiet area. its also a lot better since its newer</p>
<p>S lives in George Read and loves it. While there’s certainly some partying that goes on, there are also quiet study lounges, and he’s had no problem having both a good social life and time and space to work. The rooms are huge, mostly two doubles connected by a large bathroom, and the hallways are carpeted. I was stunned by how nice it was the first time I saw it.</p>
<p>Thanks, Booklady. Can you offer a sense of how your S feels about George Read’s relative proximity to the main campus? For example, does he typically walk down to the Trabant area, or take the shuttle? I’m trying to get a practical sense of how “distant” the Independance area is from the main area of the campus, from a travel-time perspective (i.e. walking to/from class buildings, library, etc.) Thanks!</p>
<p>rross - It is totally walkable, especially for classes in the Trabant area. Much longer walk down to the greens though. My DD, who is a freshman now, wants to live up in that area next year. She has already stated, though, that she definitely wants a bike.</p>
<p>S often takes the bus, particularly if the weather’s bad or he’s in a hurry (such as for a 9 am class!) The buses have been very reliable. But as LINYMOM says, it’s certainly walkable if you have the time, maybe 10 minutes to Trabant and 15+ to the Green?</p>
<p>S and all his dorm friends are planning on staying up there next year - a huge block of them have applied to live either in the Towers or one of the other north campus dorms. It’s a very popular area.</p>
<p>I live in GRS right now, freshman year you don’t get to pick your dorms. Art majors and athletes all live here, and the rest are a huge variety of majors. It’s a typical freshman dorm, some people say it’s more antisocial than other dorms because we don’t have a common bathroom, but that’s the tradeoff of living in such a nice dorm. Trust me, compared to every other freshman dorm, this is paradise. Walks aren’t bad, there are two bus stops right outside the dorms but it’s typically a 10-15 minute walk to main campus. There is also a Superfresh and Rite Aid up the road that takes about 10 minutes to walk too.</p>
<p>cxrinx- Freshman are allowed to submit preferences.</p>
<p>I have been told that Freshmen will be able to start requesting specific dorms for next year, which is a nice plus - - not to mention they can also request specific roommates!</p>
<p>As far as North Campus is concerned, keep a few things in mind… </p>
<p>(1) If you don’t take the shuttle bus & walk over the bridge and into campus, you are walking thru a part of the town that seems to have a bit more “crime” than walking from dorms more on the campus themselves. I receive daily “crime reports”, and have seen a few bulletins about muggings, etc. Let me asure you that the UofD is no better or worse on average crime-wise, but that should be something to be aware of & a consideration.</p>
<p>(2) There seems to be more of a college “atmosphere” on the main portion of campus, with activities & Main Street going on all the time. I’m not familiar with how things are up there, but, as freshmen, would it offer as much opportunity to get involved?</p>
<p>(3) When we were looking, we were told that North Campus (not sure if it was Laird or other, or if it’s true for all North campus dorms) dorm room doors are “spring-loaded” to close automatically. As a result , most students are behind closed doors while in their rooms. A lot of the fun of living in a dorm is not to close yourself off in your room behind a closed door. In our Main Campus dorms, many students would simply open their doors (also for a cross-breeze) & they could see/interact with people walking by, who could also see in & interact with those in the rooms. It made for a sense of “community”. We were told (and found out during the one week of Band camp that our son was temporarily housed in North Campus) that the North Campus dorm rooms, as a result, seem a bit quieter & “closed-off/isolated”. Maybe not ideal for freshmen.</p>
<p>Anyway, those are just a few views that might not have been considered. Take them for what they’re worth…</p>
<p>The other distant dorm is Dickinson, which on the map is on the other side of the railroad track, and Elkton Road, plus it appears to be a long walk to the tunnel near Rodney and Amstel Ave. The tour did not take us that far. What is it like to live in Dickinson?</p>
<p>i can tell you that- i stayed with my friend who lives in Dickinson for a few days. Its extremely social. Mostly everyone leaves their doors open, kids are walking around in sweats all day, girls no makeup, everyone’s really comfortable with each other. the only annoying part is it was raining most of the time I was there and it kind of sucked walking to the rodney dining hall. its not THAT far but it seemed it bc it was raining. oh and also, you’re walking up hill to the dorms, which can be annoying if you dont like hills lol. but everything else is pretty good. roomwise, its a college dorm! its small, crappy, but people make it their own and they look good and comfy.</p>
<p>My son lives in Dickinson this year (is moving to North central next year - - right at Main St.), and I can vouch for just how small the dorm rooms are!! And it is a far walk to much of main campus and “on the other side of the tracks”… But everyone makes do, and the cramped quarters even brings them together more in a “me against the world (dorm room)” sense…</p>
<p>If you remember that you likely will not spend much time in your dorm room itself other than to sleep & maybe study, it’s not so bad.</p>
<p>I haven’t read through this entire thread, but seeing as I just finished my first year at Delaware, I figured I should provide some insight when it comes to freshman living. For non-honors students, such as myself, the best halls according to myself would have to be Thompson and Lane Halls. They’re on East campus, which is much closer to everything, such as Perkins student center and the turf. I lived in Thompson and I loved it because of its proximity to so much, and because of how social the people were. My door was rarely ever closed, and because of Thompson and Lane being their own buildings, the buildings as a whole really come together, as the different floors of my building would frequently hang out together. </p>
<p>George Read is a completely different experience, seeing as it’s the only freshman buildings up on North campus, and therefore you won’t have a chance to start off closer to the main part of campus, but the rooms are bigger and you essentially have your own bathroom, which is nice.</p>