<p>S is considering WPI very seriously but I am really concerned about the housing situation. I am hearing that doubles are now triples, triples are now quads,etc. How tough is this? I can't imagine that there is much room for one's belongings, let alone setting up four computers in one room. Or having room to do anything in the room, for that matter. Do freshmen have any chance of getting a normal double?? Any thoughts or feedback on this would be greatly appreciated! Decision day is looming : )</p>
<p>The quads in Riley definetely don’t provide adaquate space imo. However, the triples in Morgan are a comfortable size for three people.
Do you live somewhat close? Can you come for a visit? Just ask students if they wouldnt mind letting you in to see what some rooms look like. Then walk down the halls and take a peek into rooms with the door open.</p>
<p>We did a resident halls tour last week during the Closer Look Day. There are only a few quads, and they did seem to be very large. The triples are also large, in the dorms that have them. I found out when we submitted our deposit that your housing priorty is determined by the date that you send in your $500 enrollment deposit, which I assume that if you send it in earlier rather than later, you have a better chance of getting a double than a triple or quad.</p>
<p>My DD is in a Morgan triple. She hasn’t complained about the room. In fact, she is having a lot of fun with two roommates. It is the typical setup of a desk below and her bed on top.</p>
<p>One thing she did to conserve on size was to add a TV tuner card to her desktop PC (she also has a netbook to carry around) so that she doesn’t need a TV and a PC monitor taking up space.</p>
<p>The girls also coordinated on who brought what, so they ended up with only one microwave, etc.</p>
<p>The statistic I heard at one of the Open Houses was that 60% of the freshman live in triples or quads.
Should be interesting for our S who is an only child ;-)</p>
Has the situation improved in the last few years with addition of more housing ?
And if you do send in an early deposit, what is best to select ?
My daughter is a freshman this year. She is in a triple with roommates she met on the WPI Facebook page. They seem to have found a place for everything. The biggest complaint is the dorms are very hot without A/C and the unusually warm weather in the northeast. It is cramped and WPI was my least favorite freshman dorms, though none were stellar. However, my daughter had no problem overlooking the dorm situation since she really liked a lot of things about the school.
My daughter has friends at other schools in much nicer dorms-suites with large living areas, etc. That was not available at any school she looked at. She felt they all had small dorms and was very accepting of that fact.
Btw, my daughter is in Daniels. I liked Riley. Even though they were quads, they seemed roomy and the building was older with a lot of character. Daughter liked the idea of not having to walk outside for the cafeteria. And being so close to the Rec. Center since she is an athlete and will have some morning practices. She was accepted EA but didn’t deposit until sometime in April.
Thanks for that. Any info from upperclass students about staying on campus vs moving off ?
I am willing to spend the extra cost to stay on campus that makes my athlete/engineering student better
able to cope with the demands of practice and classes. But is it possible to get into decent on campus housing
if you choose to stay as a sophmore and beyond ?
If you look at residential services website, there is a description of each dorm, and some pictures. Freshman dorms are Morgan, Daniels, Reilly, and I think Stoddard. They advertise that every student who wants housing can get it. Maybe someone with an older student can chime in.
The quads in Riley are really big, especially if you are careful about how the furniture is arranged. The triples are also reasonably sized but the doubles are tiny, like closet sized. The room sizes and styles vary significantly in Riley, and there are issues with the fire alarm going off in the middle of the night. The triples in Morgan and Daniels are much smaller.
I am in a quad, which I like because there is more room to move around. But we all have very different schedules, so the only time really that all four of us are in the room together is between about 10 PM and 6 AM, and one of my roommates is a stealth roommate… she goes to parties or sleeps over with others, so she is rarely actually in the room. The quad is really spacious with a stealth roommate.
It seems like most upperclassmen move off campus, but not very far. Right across the street there are quite a few little apartment buildings that look like they cater to college students.
During my Freshman year, I was in Morgan. The triples were reasonably large; not spacious, but I had sufficient space. On-campus housing is really only an issue for freshman year. Upperclassmen who stay on housing have options such as Founders Hall and East Hall if they want more space or can stay off campus (either in an apartment or in a fraternity). Living off campus works out to be considerably cheaper, especially if you cook your own meals.
@blevine Upperckassmen have many choices for housing if they choose to stay on campus. Off campus housing is not a problem for students as many off campus apartments are as close / closer than some of the dorms. My D is a senior and this is her 2nd year in an apartment. She is directly across the street from the main entrance to the school. She and her house mates are all athletes / engineers and there is no hindrance to being off campus.