Maybe my kids just got lucky with their dorms, or maybe they just don’t care. They have gotten to live with their friends and are so happy with all the opportunities offered at Brown. If I were investing Brown’s money, I wouldn’t put it inthe dorms either. The stregnth of the school has always been the faculty and the emphasis on undergraduate teaching. That is what you are paying for with a Brown education.
I thought all their dorm rooms were spacious. I agree with Iwannabe_Brown that some of the dorms are just ugly, but the off campus apartments are rundown and horrible. I made my oldest promise never to live in an apartment like that again. There are some new very nice apartments near Brown if you want to spend the $$. I would have chosen those but my kids think those apartments are too elitist.
The dorm rooms are all clean when you move in. Its up to your kid to keep it that way.
@stemmmm I agree with you in general for sure and do not care a bit about kids having a lot of space, etc. (I am fine with them piling 3 kids into double rooms and making triples, etc.) However when the ventilation in the bathroom is so bad that the entire bathroom is soaked after a shower, I’m not sure what the kids can do about that. It’s the basic maintenance issues like corner of a carpet that gets damp after rain and never really dries out because of a mysterious leak somewhere in the walls that I think people are more upset about. I think they are trying to do some more badly needed renovations of that sort though.
http://www.browndailyherald.com/2014/10/21/hillestad-15-257-thayer-elitist-enclave/
http://www.browndailyherald.com/2015/09/22/simon-16-this-side-of-thayerdise/
CalDreamin - I would be upset with that too. My kids lived in renovated dorms first year, and decent dorms after that. They never experienced anything like what you are describing in the 5 years combined of dorm housing. I’m not doubting that it exists, I’m saying there is a lot of variation.
My daughter has been fortunate in the luck of the draw in that her freshman double (actually, two rooms separated by an open wall), sophomore double (three big windows, large sunny room) and junior suite (four good sized singles plus a common room) have all been extremely comfortable and spacious. She and her roommates have always managed to make their rooms very inviting and homey. The common bathrooms were clean and well maintained. But yes, the hallways were dingy, desperately needed paint, and not particularly clean. I do hope the university diverts some funds toward making the common spaces brighter and more cheerful and modern. In the meantime, it seems that most students feel that the resources outside the dorms more than compensate for what’s lacking within.
As a practical matter, housing in Providence is pretty affordable. Brown’s cost of attendance includes $14k for room and board. While the “elitist” private dorm on Thayer Street costs somewhere around $1000/month, sharing a nice apartment costs $6-700/month on College Hill and the East Side. So a junior or senior can choose to move off campus, live better, and save a lot of money.
I and other alums have been disgusted by the dorms for years. (a turn off at reunions too.) It’s not the lay out of the rooms etc, It’s just basic maintenance. the carpets never get cleaned, and seems like decades between replacements, the walls need painting etc. Some basic maintenance would go a long way. Brown’s housing office was a few years ago a very entrenched system with many union and I hate to sound racist, but basically “can’t fire me” group of people. I had heard it had changed about 3 years ago, but guess not. One of the best years was 1976 when all of maintenance was on strike, and Brown students were given the option of picking up paint and supplies and repainting their own rooms with University supplied paint. Probably 50 % of rooms got painted. As an alum who had a student at Brown (and stays in the dorms for reunions) dorm upkeep should be a priority after financial aid. I will add that each year we went up to move in our student, I brought scrubbing materials to clean the floors and other areas in the room.
So I just wanted to update everyone (and I appreciate all the comments!) My son did get into a suite with his friends for his senior year! And Brown actually did away with the suite fee this year. Don’t know if this discussion had anything to do with it, but I am elated. Thanks everyone!
Can’t tell if you’re being serious or not - suite fees were a topic of debate when I was there in 05-09.
Suite fees may have been debated for awhile, but only this year has the extra fee been dropped. Not likely that CC played any role (!) but it makes sense that the prolonged pushback helped.
@watchingthemsoar: I totally agree with you. Son’s freshman year dorm was gross, but I let is slide. Dropped him off for sophomore year recently and was disgusted. I’m not used to extravagance – live on a modest social worker salary. But wow, could they at least spring for new carpeting in the hallways at the start of the year? My S was one of the first to move into the building, so it had no chance yet to get dirty. But, stairwells were dusty, carpet in hallway was stained, walls were dirty…and the room? Filthy carpeting, dangerous looking windows, bathroom I wouldn’t use, etc. Certainly wouldn’t even pass inspection for Section 8 housing.
Is my S upset? No, not at all. For me, though, it shows a lack of respect from the college. How about a $50 welcoming plant by the front door of the building? A balloon? A carpet cleaner? Anything at all to show that the roughly $9k a year we pay is appreciated.
Just because a student can put up with almost any sort of living arrangement doesn’t mean they should. I’m not asking for brand new, but even the smallest sign that they respect students enough to try to give them pleasant surroundings would be nice. When students move into such worn and depressing dorms, they have little incentive to respect their surroundings. Creates a vicious cycle.
Well said. I agree 100 %. We dropped a son off at Brandeis last weekend–not known for a beautiful campus–and the dorms were FAR cleaner and more welcoming than our daughter’s at Brown.
Wow, this really sounds worse than usual. I strongly advise you to write to the head of residential life and President Paxson. Get as many parents as possible to complain. Nothing will happen if parents don’t speak up. Pictures would be even better. (Almost afraid to ask which dorms - Grad center? MInden?)
So this thread had me primed to anticipate squalor for my kid, especially because he is in the Keeney Quad, which is the primary freshman dorm. I was very pleasantly surprised. Hallway is a little dark, but his double room was fine. Two built-in closets, two windows - it was certainly better than the cinder block NESCAC box I called home in the 80s.
Just helped move my daughter (a senior) in to Young Orchard. It’s a nice suite. Four private singles with a large living room with new carpet and furniture, and a decent kitchen and bathroom. She’s excited to be living with her three close friends. They decorated well with some wall tapestries, posters and lighting. Not luxurious, but it looked clean and comfortable to me.
Things are looking up for Brown dorms! My son just moved into Keeney, and he has a bright and clean double, with the added perk of a wall that separates his space from his roommate’s area - not quite a suite, but close enough. I’ve heard feedback from other parents that most of the Pembroke dorms were renovated over the summer - so lots of happy frosh this year. Maybe the complaints were finally heeded.
Wow, VERY impressed with my daughter’s dorm at Brown! She had been at Summer at Brown a year ago, stayed in Grad Center and I had thought it was pretty yucky, although she was perfectly happy with it.
She’s in a different dorm, a freshmen dorm this fall, and it is very nice. REALLY very nice.
@newengland100 thank you for your post. You said it all so well. You are so right. It is a matter of respect. So sorry to hear that even your son’s freshman dorm was in this state, as it seems many of the freshman dorms (my son’s included) are relatively decent. I think this is largely due to the fact that during ADOCH, the kids are hosted by freshmen in freshman dorms. In our case it went way downhill following freshman year. But you are right, just because the kids don’t care the condition of their living situation, doesn’t mean they should have to live that way, especially in a place like Brown. I guess that was my original complaint anyway - the press about all the things Brown is spending money on, when the dorms are suffering so much neglect. Maybe @fireandrain is right, and parents should start complaining, and include photos. Glad to hear some of the dorms were renovated over the summer. Glad the suite fee has been waived. Maybe things are looking up. My son has one semester left, but I will check back on this, express my concerns, and will be interested to hear if things continue to improve.
Interesting article in the Brown Daily Herald about the challenges (read: mice!) in the current dorms for older students.
http://www.browndailyherald.com/2017/10/22/savello-18-reslife-fails-upperclassmen/
I hated the grad center when I lived there 30 years ago. And that was without a rodent problem. This is bad, and Brown needs to address it.