Off she goes!

<p>Oh and Willet's has the Mephistos Lounge (aka common room) which is pretty awesome...big tv in there too...and I too heard that they were tring to tone down the party reputation Willet's has...someone mentioned that Hollowell was gaining more of the partying reputation but that may have been just because of the recent "bust" that happened (I think details on it are on another thread somewhere here).</p>

<p>interesteddad and achat--you should know that when I went to RTT there were definately a bunch of people who mentioned how helpful you two have been...it's funny when something as abstract as a person on a forum like this makes it into an everyday conversation. I don't know how you two do it, but thanks for taking the time to dispense advice and share information!</p>

<p>"nteresteddad and achat--you should know that when I went to RTT there were definately a bunch of people who mentioned how helpful you two have been...it's funny when something as abstract as a person on a forum like this makes it into an everyday conversation. I don't know how you two do it, but thanks for taking the time to dispense advice and share information!"</p>

<p>ditto..the other day my gc asked me what i thought helped me get into swat, and the first thing that came into my head was the great advice from you guys :)</p>

<p>speaking of different dorms, does anybody know which buildings have halls that are smokefree? i would prefer a smokefree hall, but not if it's in a terrible building..thanks</p>

<p>You could ask for a smoke free room (meaning roommate does not smoke) but I doubt you will find a hall that is smoke free. I could be wrong, though. Interesteddad would know...</p>

<p>All the dorms, except Hallowell, are nonsmoking. People tend to respect that rule, except when it comes to pot (and even that is rare in the dorms).</p>

<p>achat, on the roommate questionairre one of the things to check is "i prefer a smokefree hall". before that it asks whether you smoke and then whether you want a roomate who smokes, so i put no for both of those questions. i was about to check that i wanted a smokefree hall but then i figured there probably arent too many of those and they're probably in the worst buildings, so i figured i would ask. </p>

<p>gilead, the paper says that there isnt any smoking in the common spaces in any of the buildings, but that people can smoke in their rooms. this might not seem like a big deal but cigarette smoke really really bothers me.</p>

<p>Same here..although I've gotten over most of my asthma issues from many many years ago, smoke still is very annoying. I think there probably will be at least a little smoking everywhere, but I suspect it can be avoidable...</p>

<p>I am pretty sure that Gilead is right, and all the dorms, except Hallowell, are nonsmoking. You can emphasize your desire for non-smoking environment in the "extra comments" space. Because there is an official "smoking dorm", all "out-of-the-closet" smokers tend to end up there. The problem with housing questionnaire is that it relies on people giving honest responses. If someone marks herself as a non-smoker because she does not want her parents find out that she smokes, there is not much that the housing coordinator can do.</p>

<p>There are only two dorms with freshman rooms for next year that allow smoking anywhere in the dorm:</p>

<p>Hollowell
3rd floor of Wharton East</p>

<p>These two dorms allow smoking, but only in the student's room with the door closed.</p>

<p>Every other dorm available to freshmen (Dana, the other floors of Wharton, Parrish, Mertz, Willets, Alice Paul, and Mary Lyon) are non-smoking period. </p>

<p>So, if you want smoke-free, I'd check the "smoke-free" box. One of the first steps in the room assignment process is creating a stack of smokers. These are going to be assigned to Hollowell or Wharton East as much as possible.</p>

<p>Note: Palmer, Robersts, and Strathhaven also allow smoking in the rooms, but there are no freshmen in these.</p>

<p>Interesteddad, that explains why I don't know about smoke-free dorm. My son does not smoke (he wouldn't hide it from me) but all his friends do...</p>

<p>Here are some links with info on the dorms:</p>

<p>This one has a picture and a description of every dorm except Alice Paul (aka The New Dorm). The number of freshman rooms listed may be out of date because there are no frosh rooms listed in Pittinger for next year. (Note: this page may contain the only known picture of Willets in existence!):</p>

<p><a href="http://www.sccs.swarthmore.edu/users/03/dbing/history/dorms.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.sccs.swarthmore.edu/users/03/dbing/history/dorms.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>This one lists all the available rooms on campus for the housing lottery. Freshman rooms are indicated with an (N) for "new student":</p>

<p><a href="http://www.swarthmore.edu/Admin/housing/lottery/roomlist04-05.htm%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.swarthmore.edu/Admin/housing/lottery/roomlist04-05.htm&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>This one leads to floor-plans for every dorm:</p>

<p><a href="http://www.swarthmore.edu/Admin/housing/plans.htm%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.swarthmore.edu/Admin/housing/plans.htm&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>wow thanks interesteddad, thats really helpful. i have another question - are the bathrooms in non single sex halls coed? your first link said the ones in mary lyon are, but didnt mention it for any of the dorms...i dont mind living in the same hall as guys, but sharing a bathroom might be kind of awkward..thanks</p>

<p>The bathrooms are single-sex. In ML they have semi-private bathrooms, so it probably is not an issue.</p>

<p>Lisa:</p>

<p>For the most part, Swat dorms have separate male and female bathrooms. For example, Dana, Hollowell, Mertz, Wharton, and Willets all have two bathrooms on each hall -- one men, one womans. Not an issue in Parrish because one wing is all male, one all female.</p>

<p>Mary Lyons and Roberts appear to have a private baths shared by two rooms and both of the rooms in each pair is designated as female or male. </p>

<p>The exceptions are the older house-like dorms (Woolman, Pittenger, Palmer, maybe Worth). Many of these have just four to six rooms on a floor and it appears they may share a coed bath in many cases. </p>

<p>I don't think that any of the current freshman dorms fall into this category. They all appear to have single-sex bathrooms, one way or another. But, you could always just add a note to the comments section of the housing form if you have a preference.</p>

<p>None of the coed halls that you would end up on as a freshman have coed bathrooms. Pittenger and Palmer used to house freshmen and had coed bathrooms, but freshmen are no longer put in those dorms.</p>

<p>Funny story-- I arrived for preseason fall freshman year and lived in Willets. The RA hadn't gotten around to labeling the bathrooms, so I just figured they were coed. Imagine my surprise when I found out (<em>after taking a shower at the same time as my male RA</em>) that the bathroom I was using was actually the <em>Men's</em> bathroom.</p>

<p>Whoops.</p>

<p>Searchingavalon how did things go for your d? Did you survive her college experience?<br>
andi</p>

<p>Andi, thanks for asking. D had a wonderful time; I've been a little teary-eyed since we got back. (I offered to homeschool her for college and told her, as one of my selling points, that as she was the only admit to my college, if she accepted I'd have a 100% selectivity rate, which is higher even than Harvard's. But she said no.)</p>

<p>I was a little late for the parents' forum and took my seat just as Jim Bock was reeling off the list of the accomplishments of the admitted class. Just about the first thing I heard him list was something my daughter had done, and that was quite a thrill for me. (She was thrilled to hear the same thing when he enumerated that same list of accomplishments at the students' panel discussion.) Most of what everybody said at the parents' panel did reinforce the fact that my daughter had chosen her college well, so that did make me happy. </p>

<p>In general, they were interested in dispelling two overlapping myths--that the academics would be too rigorous for some of the kids, and that the need to study would be so paramount that the students would do nothing BUT study. In answer to the first, Dean Bock said, "Our only mistakes are the students we do not admit, not the ones we do." In answer to the second, some current students listed their many activities. (They did all admit, however, that few kids got 8 hours of sleep each night.) But they also made it clear that the love of learning was pervasive through the school, citing the example of one teacher even getting together with a handful of kids each week in the summer to talk about what they had been reading. "Learning across differences" is the phrase someone used that sticks in my mind, emphasizing the education, the diversity, and the community.</p>

<p>D's report of her two-day visit was glowing. She wasn't going to be able to make the Classics open-house, and was impressed that when she passed the office of the Head of the Classics department, and saw that the door was open, she went in and explained the situation and asked if the Professor would be able to speak to her right then. They had a wonderful talk. She went to a few other open houses, and heard at least one special lecture (which also had a small group and large group discussion), but decided not to sit in on any classes, as she had sat in on so many during her overnight in October. She spent a good deal of time socializing. I thought it was great that all the students were interested in meeting people and making friends and making plans to have breakfast together. She reported that she never saw anybody standing or sitting alone. She also mentioned that someone told her that people make friends with kids from all the different years in school--lst year students are friends with juniors, etc. So, even though it's a small school, with each admitted class the other kids have a chance to make nearly 400 potential new friends.</p>

<p>Her only complaint was that not all of the activities were represented at the activities fair, but understood that all in all that was not a big deal, and may have had something to do with the fact that the cold rain drove the activities fair inside, and perhaps there just wasn't room for more tables. Even without 100% full representation though, she still found about half a dozen tables that she was interested in. (Earlier in the day, I had stopped by those same tables and was most impressed with how poised and polite the students were when speaking with an adult, even after I gulped at the sex education materials.) She also went to a special debate demonstration and loved it. </p>

<p>One of the last things we did was skim over the authors represented in two large bookcases in the bookstore filled with books written by faculty, staff, and alumnae. She was delighted to find that one of the premier people in her intended field was a Swarthmore graduate. I was thrilled to see that Michael Meeropol (one of the Rosenberg boys) had gone to Swarthmore; I just felt that if he expected it, those many decades ago, to be a warm and welcoming place, then I couldn't go wrong in handing over my daughter to that same place.</p>

<p><a href="I%20offered%20to%20homeschool%20her%20for%20college%20and%20told%20her,%20as%20one%20of%20my%20selling%20points,%20that%20as%20she%20was%20the%20only%20admit%20to%20my%20college,%20if%20she%20accepted%20I'd%20have%20a%20100%%20selectivity%20rate,%20which%20is%20higher%20even%20than%20Harvard's.%20But%20she%20said%20no.">quote</a>

[/quote]
</p>

<p>lol !!! That would be the ultimate legacy admit! I suspect you'd probably want to apply for a sabbatical after a few weeks though!!!!!</p>

<p>I'm glad to hear it went well. Swarthmore sound wonderful!!!!!!!!!!</p>

<p>
[quote]
I was a little late for the parents' forum and took my seat just as Jim Bock was reeling off the list of the accomplishments of the admitted class.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>I was sending out those thought waves, searchingavalon.</p>

<p>Jim Bock's presentation was one of the many highlights of our day as spec parents, although as he was reeling off the impressive accomplishments I kept thinking "One of them plugs into PlayStation 18 hours a day..."</p>

<p>Beautiful campus, even in the dripping rain. We ran into The Kid at the train station; he deigned to say "yo" before striding off to join the group of new friends he was riding back with. Unlike searchingavalon's daughter, he doesn't exactly "glow" about anything, but he had a great time...and he is decided. The smoke has blown white; he's going to be a Swattie, and we are thrilled.</p>

<p>Stacysmom [--I just found out yesterday that that was the name of a song], I caught the waves! And I'm so glad that your son has reached a decision, and that he has decided on Swarthmore.</p>