<p>dima (or morgan/other freshmen), i got the housing app today in the mail. two things: one, i see that getting a double is a couple thousand cheaper a year than a single, and ive always envisioned having a roommate at least one year in college, so im seriously considering the double. and secondly, ive heard from a few freshmen i know there now that graham-lees is the best dorm. is this the case? if it is, can one get a double room in graham lees? thank you.</p>
<p>Please answer. My child wants to know as well. Also, if you get a single, will you still be able to meet enough people to go through rush in the spring. Is it different for fraternities vs. sororities.</p>
<p>I was recently at W&L for the honor scholars competition, and I, too, heard that Grahams-Lee is the best, most social dorm. I personally stayed in Gilliam, and it was sort of old and not that great. It was nice, however, that each room had a sink, thus decreasing students' dependence on the hall bathrooms...</p>
<p>I also went on a campus tour and saw the beautiful fraternity and sorority houses. Supposedly, housing is much nicer in these houses than in the dorms...personal chefs and everything.</p>
<p>Having a double/single has very little effect on your social life or on rush, so don't worry about getting a single. The only worries about having a single are claustrophobia (singles are tiny) and cost (my reason for picking a double).</p>
<p>In my opinion, Graham-Lees is the worst housing on campus. The hallways go up and down at random times and twist and turn. The rooms are all random sizes, some of the doubles in GL are GIGANTIC. Some of them are pretty small. Some of the singles in GL are absolutely miniscule. It's really luck of the draw there, which I find really peculiar. There's a story that says that W&L and VMI had a bet riding on a football game a long time ago, with the loser having to design a new dorm for the winner. Well, W&L won the bet . . . but VMI got revenge with GL. Apparently, the story is not true - but it makes sense.</p>
<p>The BDG Quad (Baker, Davis and Gilliam dorms) is much better. The rooms are all the same size, and the hallways are straight. Also, all the rooms in BDG have sinks - the rooms in GL don't. Finally, and this is important for girls as they live on the third or fourth floor - when you enter a BDG dorm, you start on the first or second floor (second floor where I live - Gilliam, the best dorm on campus in my opinion), when in GL, you enter below the first floor - making it quite a climb for girls living on the fourth floor, especially moving in/out. Finally, the health center is below the quad (below Gilliam) so if you live in Gilliam, you dont have to walk outside to get there plus the quad itself is just cool, people sunbathe and throw frisbees, lacrosse balls there in the spring.</p>
<p>Some freshmen are lucky enough to live in Gaines. It is suite-style housing and has climate control (it's normally upper-classmen housing). Plus you get a living room which you share with three suitemates and you only share your bathroom and shower with three others, as opposed to about 14 in the dorms. The downside to Gaines is that you're isolated from most of the freshman class.</p>
<p>So there you go. I happen to live in Gilliam and absolutely love it. I try to stay out of GL if I can because its just way too confusing and I keep getting lost (although GL residents claim its really simple). I think the only reason people say Graham-Lees is the best dorm to live in is because its the biggest freshman dorm, so the most people live there and thus if everyone says "my dorm is the best," youll hear Graham Lees the loudest. Ask a dorm counselor who lived in GL freshmen year and now lives in the quad, BDG is much nicer.</p>
<p>Hahaha, that's funny.</p>
<p>Oh, and the hallways in Gaines creep me out . . . they're too white</p>
<p>It's nice to have a college expert on these boards Dima, I've appreciated your info a lot as I've gone through my college selection process with W&L.</p>
<p>No problem, although do understand that I'm quite biased towards my dorm (Gilliam)</p>
<p>Understood. One question...is the lack of central a/c in the freshman dorms noticable with the climate of Lex?</p>
<p>well, I was visiting during july (and it was a pretyyyy hot day) and went to one of the dorms w/out ac and it was not a problem at all. but maybe one of the current students can add something?</p>
<p>It gets hot - bring a fan, my roomie has one of those sharper image type vertical fans. I just keep the window and door open and let the draft take care of everything.</p>
<p>The heating works really well in the winter though.</p>
<p>What are everyone's thoughts on the substance free housing option?</p>
<p>sounds kind of weak to me; i dont understand the advantage of isolating yourself with a lot of other people who share the same views. please explain dima.</p>
<p>The hall next to mine is a sub free hall. They're great guys, the just don't go out much. I actually hang out with them a lot more than with my hall, cause my hall is never around - when they're not working they're partying. </p>
<p>If you don't drink and aren't big on parties, and want a hall where youll be able to have good friends and socialize with all the time - go sub free. Just don't expect the guys (or girls) to go out partying with you.</p>
<p>This doesn't really apply to housing, but, since you briefly mentioned VMI earlier in the discussion, it reminded me of a question that I had wanted to ask. Since VMI and W&L are so close together in such a small town, I just wondered how students from the two schools get along. Is there much interaction? If so, is it friendly or more rival-like?</p>
<p>It really depends, some people never interact with cadets, they see them running across campus and thats it. Others practically live with them.</p>
<p>Personally, I'm in the middle. Although we kick some of them out when they come to parties, we've let the cool ones stay. Our club hockey team (which I'm on) sometimes has cadets play for us (their team is in a different league). A couple of my friends dated cadets earlier in the year and you often see them at religious services. There is not too much interaction though, they live a very regimented life with little free time, and most nights have a curfew of 2300.</p>
<p>Oh, and there's the Lee-Jackson lacrosse classic in the spring.</p>
<p>Does anyone know if there is there enough space in a single rooms for a futon or a small couch?
Thanks.</p>
<p>Only if you loft your bed high enough to fit it under.</p>
<p>As a resident of Davis, I second everything Dima said.</p>
<p>how is the student health center in the bottom of davis hall in comparison to Doremus gym? what is offered at both and what are the differences?</p>