<p>I was accepted as a transfer to Vanderbilt University and was assigned housing to the Carmichael Towers, but I don't know much about it. Compared to the other housing halls and dormitories, how social are the Carmichael Towers? </p>
<p>I heard that most of the transfers end up in Kissam. Is there any truth to this? If so, which one of the six halls are they mostly in, or are they evenly distributed among the six? Which of the Kissam Halls are social/non-social?</p>
<p>Do you think it would be better for me to live among fellow transfers or should I stick with the Carmichael Towers?</p>
<p>Also, how are the living amenities of the Carmichael towers and the other halls?</p>
<p>Towers has food and laundry. We were at an alum event lately with some current students and when both my children mentioned they had each lived in Towers for 3 years the reaction was “lucky!”</p>
<p>In years past, most transfers have ended up in Kissam. However, I think a large number are also in Towers. I’m sure you could ask Housing if you would like to know the ratio.</p>
<p>That being said, Towers is the better place to be. Kissam would be hit or miss as regards to which halls are social/non-social. They are also further from most parts of campus (although they are closer to Wilson and dining options). Towers is one of the better locations due to its proximity to West End and Rand (Peabody is a bit far). There is a Munchie Mart (small convenience store) in the basement of Towers East. There is also a Quizno’s and BBQ joint in Towers West, making food easily accessible. Towers has elevators, Kissam does not. Towers is a very social dorm, especially Towers West. Some floors of Towers East will not be very sociable, but that’s just the luck of the draw.</p>
<p>dtotheaustin09,
Excellent summary with only a small correction - the basement Quizno’s has closed. D announced this to me after reading it on Inside Vandy last week. She lived on lots of Quizno’s while living in Towers, but will no longer eat it after being overexposed! Wasn’t there some guy who used to rap or make up songs or something unique in the Quizno’s? I seem to remember being shown some kind of YouTube video about him while D was in school.</p>
<p>Wow, that is very sad news! I just read about it for myself on Inside Vandy. Seems that the Quizno’s in Highland Quad is no longer as well. Hopefully Dining comes up with something to fill the void. I had lots of meals and some good times due to Quizno’s. Tom (the franchise owner) is who you are referring to and yes he was quite the character. Just search for “crazy Quizno’s manager” on youtube and his video should pop up. I wonder if he had a falling out with the University…he was always present at campus events and even MCed some of them.</p>
<p>When my D transferred 2 years ago, she was in Vandy-Barnard. There were quite a few transfers there (and she was thrilled to get that assignment rather than Kissam!). She was in Towers for one semester last year (study abroad the other) - she wasn’t thrilled with it, but was again happy that she wasn’t in Kissam.</p>
<p>I have not seen Kissam rooms in person, so I can’t say whether or not they are all that bad. Some students seem to consider it the least attractive dorm. You may not think it’s that bad, though.</p>
<p>My d lived in Kissam her freshman year. She found doing laundry inconvenient - but most of her classes were in Wilson Hall (next door) that year, and everywhere else was close enough to be covered in 15 minutes or less. The dorm itself (Curry) was fine, though not as nicely appointed as the newer dorms. The A/C was always sufficient. She was able to fit all her possessions comfortably in the smallish single.</p>
<p>I lived in Kissam my freshman year, before they remodeled all the dorms, and I liked it just fine. My hall was very sociable which made it nice. The dorms aren’t that bad - desk, dresser/mirror, lofted bed if you want. All the lobbies have flat screen TVs and some have study rooms. Hemingway has a Munchie Mart. You’re also close to many restaurants and of course Wilson Hall. Rand isn’t too terribly far either. Kissam gets its stigma because it is tucked away at one corner of campus and it is comprised of all single rooms.</p>
<p>In my opinion, Towers has the best singles of all the dorms on campus. </p>
<p>*Please keep in mind that Towers 3/4 and Towers 1 floors 6+ are suites. Towers 1 floors -6 and Towers 2 are all singles w/ doubles on the corners…So if you’re talking with someone about Towers, you might not be talking about the same thing.</p>
<p>In terms of the sociability of the singles floors, it’s really hit or miss. Most, if not all, transfers in Towers end up getting the rooms right across from the elevators, which is good and bad. Bad in that there will be some nights where you’ll want to sleep and be awoken by some drunken idiot yelling while getting on/off the elevator. Good in that if you keep your door open some of the more social kids will come and say hi. When I was a transfer and lived in Towers, I was semi-content with the floor. It was easily the least social floor I’ve ever lived in, but that’s probably a better reflection of the sociability of my previous floors than an indictment on the towers floor. I felt like half of my floor was social and wanted to get to know the other kids on the floor, whereas the other half just kept to themselves. </p>
<p>As previously mentioned, the Towers location is pretty nice/convenient.</p>
<p>As for Kissam…Kissam, from my limited experiences, wasn’t bad. It might not be one of the better dorms on campus, but it’s definitely livable and you could do a lot worse. When I was at Towers, I knew a few kids that lived in Kissam the year before and while they said Towers was an upgrade, they didn’t really have anything bad to say about Kissam and said that Kissams reputation is overblown.</p>