<p>I just recieved my housing form yesterday. I want to live in the central campus/ green street area because it's close to the academic buildings and gym (I'm an athlete). I also wish to live in a smaller ( but not tiny) house with about 40-50ish students. I thought that Hubbard and Washburn would be great. Does anybody have any insight on either house? Also, If I were to specificly request them on my housing form, what is the likelihood of them honoring my request?</p>
<p>Skyler, I believe you have a nearly 100% chance of being assigned to the AREA you request (i.e., Green Street) but not to a specifically requested house. My daughter is an athlete in a Green Street house (not Hubbard or Washburn), and she has been extremely happy there. She has had several team-mates in her house. I've had the impression from her experience that Smith does try to match room-mates' lifestyles and interests. If you keep early-worm hours, it might be a good thing to note on the room-mate questionnaire because that will really help you to get off on the right foot if you and your room-mate keep similar schedules. As far as dining goes, my daughter doesn't have a dining hall in her house but she doesn't mind going elsewhere, not having known anything different. As a rising sophomore, she has been assigned a single for next year, and her three best friends in her house are also in singles all on the same hall in a row, so if having a single is important to you, you might want to check out the numbers of singles in each house. Good luck! Green Street is a very nice area.</p>
<p>Hubbard and Washburn are my favorites too! My sister is currently deciding between Smith and two other colleges, so she has not received the forms yet. Are you allowed to request a certain size range within each location? If so, you could request a house on Green Street with fewer than 60 residents. The only options would be Hubbard and Washburn (unless Center Campus and Green Street must be requested together).</p>
<p>Mine wanted as close to town as possible (and near the Friends Meeting), and she got it - Baldwin House. They mismatched the roommates entirely, which worked out great, 'cause she ended up with a giant corner single! Remember that the Smith campus is just not that big, and the housing is terrific virtually everywhere. The only warning on Green Street (not Center Campus) is that there will be heavy construction going on for several years as they build the new Engineering/Science building.</p>
<p>Fwiw, it doesn't hurt to request a specific house. No guarantees...but particularly if you have a decent reason or interesting reason, they may heed it. My D requested a house on Green St. with at least 50 students...she wanted larger. Hubbard has been a good fit for her.</p>
<p>I know of someone who requested a specific house and got it.</p>
<p>Same here. I requested for Albright and got it. :) Hubbard's GREAT!!!! I go to their dining room regularly (because their meals are similiar to my mom's) and it's just great.</p>
<p>i thought i'd pass this along... my D reports that roommate assignments pretty much ignored match preferences for many 1st years last year. she claimed if you mentioned you hated country music, you would be matched with someone who loves it. late-nighters were matched with early-to-bed types. i don't know if this info turns into useful strategy for new students, perhaps others here in the forum can expand observations. In D's case, she and her roommate were a classic mismatch, but they survived the shaky beginnings and have become solid 'sisters'. maybe that's the whole point.</p>
<p>first the house thing, then the roommate thing. I put on my form that I wanted to live in Jordan, and got a Quad house nearby. I'm not the typical quad type, but neither were many of the people who lived in Cushing with me...all sorts of majors, hobbies, sports played, sexual orientations, etc. I think it was good for me to live in a very social house for my first year. Then I moved to a co-op, and that's been wonderful too. </p>
<p>my initial roommate first year was an internation student from Asia who basically never adapted to Smith's time zone! She'd stay up all night talking on the phone to friends back home or doing work, crash around 4am, wake up (with a very loud alarm clock! and a frequently-utilized snooze button!) for her 8am classes, then come back and sleep during most of the day. </p>
<p>After about a month, my closest friend in the house had a problem, because her roommate did not want my friend's girlfriend to ever visit their room. We made a switch, I lived with my friend (not always the best situation, but ours worked out wonderfully), and have had great roommates ever after. In the fall I was in Washington DC, and split a very tiny studio with a girl who became one of my best friends. I'm a rising senior, though, and am excited about having a single for the whole year.</p>