I hear that Hamilton makes you stay on-campus all four years, and I’m wondering if that means I will have a roommate for most of those years. Is it difficult to get a single dorm at Hamilton? What about as a freshman? Realistically, could I have a single dorm for all four years? I’ve heard some colleges have some mix of single/double wherein each person has their own bedroom but there is a communal kitchen/bathroom for the six or so students. Does Hamilton have anything like this? What about dividers between double rooms? Are these common?
Sorry for asking so many questions; any answers will be helpful.
It is very difficult to get a single at Hamilton, especially as a freshman. From what I understand over 2/3 of Haverford students live in single dorms, including freshman. Academically they are very comparable to Hamilton, just a good deal smaller.
Lots of suites at Hamilton come with four singles for every double, and some halls/floors offer nearly all singles, so Hamilton overall has plenty of single rooms available. That said, Hamilton seems to have created a philosophy – based at least partly, I believe, on the work of their own sociologists – with respect to the benefits of paired living for first-year students in particular. As to the wisdom of this as a policy for all (or nearly all) incoming students, well that’s another matter.
As a freshman, you’ll probably be in a double in Dunham (which has singles, but those are usually given to transfers, I believe). Those doubles are split though, and they really aren’t that bad. It’s pretty much like having your own room (there’s a door that separates the two rooms). And there’s a communal, all-gender bathroom in the hallway. At least when I lived in it, I liked it way better than the traditional double, where your roommate’s bed is directly across from yours and such. As for Dunham’s reputation as a loud dorm, it’s really only bad on the weekends (Thursday night to Saturday night). I will say though that if you don’t like partying, you probably won’t like Dunham (or really, Hamilton’s weekend/night life in general).
After freshman year, most students usually have singles within bigger suites. So, I wouldn’t worry about it too much.
Incoming students return a questionnaire and then settle into one of Dunham, Keehn, Major, North, South (REAL), Wertimer, or Wallace Johnson. The latter two of these options appear much like large houses and accommodate a cozy 45 and 20 students, respectively. Wellness housing exists as an option for all students.