What have past freshman’s experiences been in each of the dorms (I.e. what kind of group lives there, pros, cons, etc)?
I’m specifically interested in Watson, South, and McKeen, although I’d love to hear feedback on all. The reason for those three is I’d like something more centrally located that doesn’t have tiny rooms, and to be somewhat of a party dorm (although not too much). My roommate doesn’t want to be around alcohol (we’re both sober, although because I like going out I’m fine with it), which is why we’re thinking about the wellness dorm in Watson, however I’m worried it’ll be too quiet for me.
I don’t think my son, a rising sophomore, had a choice but then again I doubt he had a preference either. He was in Conway which is one of the smaller dorms. He seemed to have a healthy social life in the dorm (and outside the dorm). I imagine that a wellness or substance free dorm will have a different vibe than other dorms but the personality of the dorm will only emerge once the new residents arrive I imagine. He was in a triple that I would not describe as large but adequate.
My daughter (rising junior) wanted a large coed dorm and was instead assigned Marquis, the all girls dorm. To her surprise she had a wonderful experience and tons of fun, she and her roommate are still best of friends and are still living together, and she made lots of friends - boys and girls - from different dorms. Her room was huge with a huge closet and the dining hall is on the first floor, so it ended up being a great experience. So bottom line, I wouldn’t worry too much about which dorm - Lafayette kids are for the most part friendly and outgoing and you’ll meet a lot of kids your first few weeks from all over.
My D ended up in Ruef which I think is regarded as one of the dumpier dorms. She had a fantastic year there, met tons of friends, and ended up loving that she had a huge walk-in closet. You can have a great year wherever you are – I think the decision you and your roommate have to make is if you want a wellness community or not.
My rising junior S ended up in Watson (not by choice). Overall he had a great year and made an awesome group of friends. However he did feel pretty disconnected from the party scene on campus. His social life that year was more about going to gym, hanging out, a club sport. His friends in Watson were mostly other guys who had also not chosen wellness. He said that the majority of kids in Watson got pretty close as a big wellness community but he wasn’t part of that larger group He and his roommate were ships that passed in the night. Really nothing in common but they were fine. So while the dorm assignment was not ideal for him, he still had a great year and loves Lafayette.
My daughter, a rising sophomore, was in McKeen. While I would not call it a party dorm (and not too quiet, not too loud), it definitely had plenty of students living there who like to go out to party. Great location on campus. She had freshman friends outside of McKeen too - mostly in Gates, Kamine, and Reuf - so they would go hang out in different locations and get a change of scenery. Everyone was happy enough where they were living. My daughter recently made the comment, “There is something good about every freshman dorm.” Next year she will be living in a triple suite with her freshman year roommate and their best friend who lived in Kamine. It all works out!
I know this is an older thread, but this is something for prospective college students to know about, and it’s something I wish my daughter would have been aware of when making her decision this past April. We were not expecting forced triples to be a thing at Lafayette. Two different tour guides told us they didn’t know of anyone who had been placed in a forced triple. She just moved into Ruef Hall where she was placed into - you guessed it - a forced triple. It is a horrible space and in no way big enough for 3 girls and their stuff. They are saying it is a bigger room, but that is only because they don’t have the walk-in closets Ruef rooms are known for. Instead, they have 3 tiny-and I mean TINY- wardrobes. It was dirty when she moved in, and one of the outlets was pulled out of the wall and thus useless. Who knows if it is even safe. We told the RA and got nowhere with her. And she has seen bugs. Big ones. She doesn’t know what a cockroach looks like, but her description makes me think that is what she is seeing. We had to take a lot of what she wanted to have at college home because there simply wasn’t room. Her refrigerator was delivered today and she can’t even find a spot or a plug for it. It took us 3 tries to get anyone from residence life to talk to us about it. And their answers were unsatisfactory. “Have your student email the director and get put on a waiting list to be moved if something becomes available”. That’s what $70,000 will get you at Lafayette College, apparently.
I understand your feelings Ksr1962. The reason for the forced triples is simple - the Class of 2022 is oversubscribed. The yield for this class was 759 prior to summer melt, while admissions was looking for a yield between 690-700. It is a simple matter of numbers, and the available resources will certainly be taxed, not only this year, but for the coming years. It’s a bubble that simply doesn’t go away. Interest in the College and what it has to offer (and it has much to offer), has never been greater. While it is a nice “problem” for Lafayette to have, it doesn’t offer much consolation to a parent paying full price. For what it is worth, there are plans to build three new residence halls, although those plans are currently in the approval phase with the city of Easton. These plans don’t alleviate your current situation. You have my sincere sympathies.
To the OP. I can emphasize as well. I have junior at laf who is loving his experience. So we really have very positive feelings about the college. However, I have thought the dorms at laf that I have seen are not very nice compared to the dorms my daughter at Bucknell had. He is going to be in a triple as a junior for heavens sake! I would not want that for myself. The college really needs to bring residential facilities up a notch if they are expecting people to pay $70k a year. All that being said, I have kept my mouth shut about these feelings so as not to negatively influence my sons perception and he has been perfectly happy with his living situation. I am assuming New dorms will come about as part of the outgrowth of the capital campaign but that is not likely to be terribly helpful in the near term.
@Ksr1962 Did Lafayette give you a housing discount for the forced triple? At the very least, housing should repair the outlets for your D.
I do think the college attempts to be responsive to issues. I would recommend to continue (either your daughter or you, as the one paying the bill) to request the repair of broken items. I am not sure, but I think RA’s get a single. So your girl can shoot for that for next year if she can hang with the situation at present.
I will add that my husband and I were very unhappy with our oldest’s experience freshman year. She is now a senior and is so immensely happy she ended up where she is. We paid 70K for her also (she is at another college) and were constantly complaining about issues we perceived as negative. It was very hard on her to listen to our complaints about her college as she was trying to get settled. Please give it some time to see if it all works out.
Lafayette does not give housing discounts to students in forced triples because they feel there is adequate space in the rooms they choose to triple up. Nor do they give students who suffer through forced-triple-living for a year a better number in the housing lottery for the following year. Unheard of, honestly. Believe me, I asked! The broken outlet was finally repaired over a week after the work order was submitted.
Does anyone here know if athletes are placed into forced triples?
seriously? all of this talk of forced triples is edging Lafayette off of S19’s list…
At many schools, small triples are the norm for frosh. Always have been. The kids seem to mind much less than their parents. They accept that their room is for sleeping and the rest of the campus is for life!
@homerdog I would not let one parent’s unhappiness with his/her child being in a forced triple dissuade you from Lafayette (assuming the school is otherwise a good fit). While it is not an ideal situation this sort of thing is going on at tons of colleges. The kids seem to manage and there is a reasonable chance the room can be de-tripled by next semester.
Honestly this has been going on as long as I can remember – back when I was in college in the late 70’s I remember two rooms in my hall of the dorm having forced triples.
Also it’s very true that often the kids mind far less than the parents. I would say housing for most kids is one of the least important criteria for whether a particular college ends up being a good fit or not.
Since I’ve been at Lafayette for a month now, I just wanted to add to @Ksr1982’s post: as someone previously mentioned the forced triples are a result of over enrollment. I can’t speak to your daughter’s experience in a triple, but most of the people I know in triples actually don’t mind it. The dorms that are triples are usually some of the biggest on campus, granted not designed to be triples, and are ways bigger than actual triples at some other schools.
@homerdog I agree. I just got Lafayette back on my D’s list, but a forced triple is an absolute deal breaker. Ugh. She is a introvert and would have a break down at being shoe horned into a triple. Also, as I have been very vocal in other posts, repeated forced triples demonstrate a poorly run school. Either learn how to manage yield or build a new dorm. It’s not that hard.