<p>My d is interested in WPI but has heard there is a housing crunch. What are the dorms like? Which are the best for first-years? What else does she need to know?</p>
<p>You can read about them here: [Residential</a> Services: Residence Halls - WPI](<a href=“http://www.wpi.edu/offices/rso/residence-halls.html]Residential”>http://www.wpi.edu/offices/rso/residence-halls.html)</p>
<p>The dorms themselves are a mixed bag: a few cool new ones (East Hall is fairly new, LEED certified, air-conditioned), but most are older. They are OK, pretty comparable to most other schools we looked at, but WPI is not on any list of schools that have “palatial dorms”.
Most of the freshmen live on the quad in Daniels (which also houses the cafeteria) or Morgan (right next door to Daniels). My son expressed a preference for a smaller dorm so he ended up in a triple in Institute Hall which is downhill, on the edge of campus. He liked it there, but kids seem to like whatever dorm they are in.
There is sufficient housing (and housing is guaranteed for freshmen), but if they keep growing their freshman classes they will eventually have a problem. Last year’s class of just over 1,000 was their biggest ever.</p>
<p>However, they did say that everyone who ever wanted campus housing got it, even if they had to come off a waitlist. The lottery was held in February for next year’s students (other than incoming freshmen), and they had beds leftover! Some kids move into frats and sororities as sophomores. There are lots of 2 and 3 family houses surrounding the campus and lots of these are rented out to students. Residence Services has a list of off-campus units for students that are interested in that option.
The staff members at Residence Services are very helpful and responsive.</p>
<p>Thanks for this great info. East isn’t for freshmen, right? Was your son okay in a triple? I can’t see my daughter loving that…she has a lot of stuff!</p>
<p>My D was in a triple this year in Morgan, since she indicated that she wanted a 'large co-ed dorm". The ‘large dorms’ are Riley, Morgan, and Daniels, which are all only 3-4 floors, and are small compared to most other colleges. She liked the fact that she was on the quad and the dining center was in the same building.</p>
<p>She has lots of clothes and shoes and general stuff. She learned the beauty of the thing hangars sold at BBB that let you put 4 or 5 items on one hangar. Her room mates called her closet “Narnia”, since she would go into it and pull out clothes. </p>
<p>Next year, she is living in her sorority house in a huge room with one other girl. She is looking forward to the extra space.</p>
<p>Wonderful, thanks! How does she like wpi otherwise?</p>
<p>She loves everything about the school, and couldn’t imagine being anywhere else.</p>
<p>Yes, freshmen don’t get placed into East. </p>
<p>The triples in Institute Hall are a decent size and if you keep two of the beds bunked, then there is adequate floor room. And the rooms on the end of the corridor are bigger. But no one in my son’s room wanted to sleep on a top bunk, so they un-bunked the beds. Then the floor space got pretty tight. But he really liked being in this smaller dorm, in spite of having to go uphill to everything!
The kids he knows up in Morgan/Daniels really liked being up there as well. It seems to be the center of activity.
Storage space wasn’t a problem, the armoires they provide were huge, and since the ceilings were high you could put bulky items on top of it (don’t know if that applies elsewhere). Also, use storage bags, or even “space bags” to store items under the bed.<br>
My son drew a good number in the lottery, so next year he is in the second newest dorm (Founders), where he will have a single that is part of a suite that he will share with his friends. He is really happy about that!</p>
<p>DD is a sophomore. She and her friends got 2 apartments (in a building with a total of 3 apartments) about 10 minutes walk of campus. They cook and eat meals together and it has been working out very well for them. They make use of the ride home system after dark so they are safe. She really enjoys WPI.</p>