What hall is the best for freshmen? I’m wondering the opinion of current students who have stayed there
Raoul.
New, large enough for a critical mass of kids, built to facilitate all sorts of interactions, yet has great spaces in which to study.
– from the parent of a current junior, who’s been a freshman orientation leader the past two years
@AsleepAtTheWheel You know, Emory students (and prospectives) always fall for the marketing scheme and put some premium on “newness” (and that is why these schools basically overspend on constructing them. if you build them, students will come even if they are relatively boring. Raoul is built to do what you said but I find that certain larger dorms have trouble achieving their aims and getting buy-in of the students to said theme. Older dorms like Complex and Harris, when it was for freshmen, had a reputation for being fun and sociable and having some character, even), the reality is that Hamilton, LSM, and Raoul pretty much are similar in terms of quality and the sizes of course match the population. I would say that some of the older dorms like Turman actually have better programming, and when you take into account community, Dobbs and Alabama can certainly take the cake. They have been renovated to be solid enough and still have the “closeness” and events to make them enjoyable places to live. Something about most of the newer dorms seem just lacking in character/unifying experience. And this partly comes from inability to sell each theme and ultimately having freshman cohorts come in simply aiming for living in the absolute newest dorm regardless of how closely they actually compared to others. The programming differences are generally ignored sadly.
@JaguarsFan98 I think this deserves a more nuanced answer than can be given by a couple of us. Carefully consider what you need in your first year experience. If you want to be close to folks in your reshall, then the 3 smaller dorms may be better. If you have certain academic or other interests, then you should take into account the theme of the dorm, because each frosh dorm is themed. Think beyond “new and shiny” if you can. It can be over-rated. If you are really only worried about that (basically replicating the comfort of home as closely as possible), narrow down to LSM, Raoul, Hamilton, or Turman (pretty much equal) and then make the decision based on other things
Although I see where @bernie12 you’re coming from I’d disagree. I lived in LSM during my freshman year and I knew people in Turman or the other “small/older” halls. To be frank, no one really cares about the “programming”. Honestly living in one of the “newer” dorms is way nicer than the older ones and dorm “community” isn’t a big factor at all. Sure you might make friends at your dorms but in reality I rarely see people making close friends because of the “community” of the dorm. I’d take LSM, Raoul anyday over any of the dorms.
@thecoolboy1234 : I just said that (I recognize folks do not care about the programming, but maybe they should though I would argue a) that there is something about the student body that makes them ignore programming completely or b) the programming is not strong or visible enough. I am inclined to argue the latter and not be so cynical for once) lol. But I am saying the new style of dorms are roughly equivalent style wise and architecturally (LSM and Raoul have about the same size rooms as other tier 1s but some may have, say, a suite which is a rather minor bonus). Some are just older or have a different size. Like LSM and Raoul are NOT superior to say, Hamilton. Hamilton is just smaller (not even the rooms are that much different). Those three are not particularly superior to Turman or Fevans (when it was for freshmen). I am simply arguing that undergraduates should be less shallow (believe me, I was one of these folks) and recognize this. You could get pretty nice accommodations at Emory without being in the absolute newest dorm. It is ridiculous to suggest otherwise. The premium put on being the newest is unjustified primarily because, among the “tier 1” (the ones near the DUC) dorms, they really have irrelevant differences mostly dictated by size. Like of course Hamilton won’t have a giant lounge like LSM because it is a lot smaller. But the study spaces and lounge spaces in T and H are proportional to the amount of students and geographic size. If you want to live nicely, basically anywhere near the DUC in a tier 1 dorm should more than suffice. LSM and Raoul are merely “shinier” but when it comes down to the design and most of the look (minus say, their, well-marketed lounge areas), it is functionally the same and aesthetically similar to its predecessors in the same vicinity. I guess their primary advantage is more places to be or study? But this comes from size in which case, the renovated Harris would then become comparable to those two.
Also, when it comes to Dobbs, that has always been an exception to the community thing you just shot down. And when McTrimble (terrible dorms infrastructure wise) was around, they also had it and it did have an influence on friend networks. You would basically be correct for most of the newer dorms though. They just don’t have that type of character or vibe.
@bernie12 Ah yes, your reasoning does make complete sense. I’d argue that the former of your two scenarios is more accurate rather than the later but thats a whole different story for another time. To begin with, all of Emory’s dorms are nice compared to state schools (although that is sort of a given). Its just for the most part, (aside from Dobbs) I’d reckon that most people would prefer living in LSM, Raoul or the other “tier 1” dorms including myself. Perhaps its because I only lived in LSM I may be bias but after visiting my friend’s dorms such as Turman or Hamilton I’d still take LSM. Nothing bad about the rest just preference I guess it all comes down to. And if none of the dorms really have a community (once again aside from Dobbs) why not just go with the “fancier” or newer buildings. And this is not even accounting for the study spaces/lounges just the rooms itself.
All of them are renovated and almost look exactly the same on the inside except Complex. Post-renovation, even Alabama (they have something going on too, but it ain’t a Dobbs) and Harris (used to be freshmen, also had character and community. Was the party dorm) could be considered somewhat fancy while also maintaining the historical (not as bland) exterior architecture. As for the freshman dorms overall, 4/7, if one counts Complex as one unit) are the newest “fancy” ones. I call them equivalent. The hair-splitting over which is the newest and nicest is kind of (okay really) petty when choosing between those 4. The first of my two hypotheses may be true but no doubt reslife and campus life do a pretty poor job promoting engagement with the programs. If they truly valued the themes and the programming provided through them, they would market them well enough and make them a big enough deal to the point students do care. I don’t know any school, even more intellectual ones, where it it didn’t require a LOT of effort from campus life and the housing authorities to keep students engaged and creating character per reshall. Emory is rather haphazard for a place with themed halls for the freshman housing. If they aren’t going to be serious with it, then one cannot expect students to. There are likely more programs or events (could be theme related or just fun) they could create that would draw attention or participation from those who otherwise cared less about the themes. Maybe if they were more effective at programming (as in ones that ultimately become a classic good enough to draw students from the others) and making the reshalls have some character, prospective students would not put so much effort into worrying about how “new” the newest dorms are. There would be more of a draw to them than the bland, shiny features they provide. All the hairsplitting is representative of how relatively weak the programming is despite having themes.
Also, in all realness, with the enrollment increases Emory saw over the last decade, it is time for them to make those a better experience and then focus on upperclassmen (especially sophomore) housing. This is especially considering the fact that they had to basically break up the freshman quad by ceding off Fevans to sophomores and Greeks. The lopsided planning for the enrollment growth (which they wanted) is finally taking a toll. That freshman village was actually part of a campus master plan and Fevans was supposed to remain a part of it.