<p>My bonus-D will be a freshman this fall and is worried about which residential college she will be assigned. It was my understanding that all of the RCs have something that makes them desirable. When she attended Bulldog days in April she was told by current students, there were two or three RCs that no one wants to be in. Is this true? Why? Once you are assigned to a RC can you switch after a semester or two? What is your honest opinion of the RCs?</p>
<p>D is in one of the less desirable colleges (they are Ezra Stiles and Morse). They're considered that way because the architecture is not attractive compared to the beauty of, say, Branford or Davenport (unless you're a fan of modernism). They have a large number of singles (although that will change as they're renovated in the coming years), something D appreciates, although many prefer the suites which are the norm in other colleges. All I can say is that her sophomore room looked to me like a palace in terms of square footage, and her room next year is even larger. </p>
<p>She was a bit disappointed when she first found out, but all that disappeared the minute she hit campus. She had fabulous freshman housing (which is on Old Campus for all but two of the colleges): a 6-person suite, all singles, and an enormous common room. In the end it doesn't matter where you wind up being assigned: almost everyone comes to love, and is fiercely loyal to, her college. If you're not, you can switch beginning in your sophomore year.</p>
<p>Thank you, Booklady for the explanation. Is it just the physical exterior that makes these two RCs not as desirable? Do they all have the same or similar amenities (showers, wiring, room furniture, heating, security, etc)? Do many kids switch out of these RCs after freshman year? Where do the kids stay if their RC is being renovated?</p>
<p>I guarantee that your D will be assigned to the best residential college at Yale. Just ask her in seven months.</p>
<p>Heh. Hunt is right. To answer your other questions, the amenities vary between the colleges that have been renovated and those that haven't (and those who are current students can speak to this better than I). But they all have the basics, and even in D's as-yet-unrenovated college there's plenty of heat and clean bathrooms, and the security is the same all over campus. D's college has large built-in desks with shelves in most of the rooms, and walk-in closets. As I said, it seems like a palace to me, compared to the dorms I lived in at another Ivy. And as D said the first time we went to visit her, "on any other campus, this housing would be considered terrific. It's only because it's at Yale that it suffers by comparison."</p>
<p>I believe only about 20 or so students switch colleges each year, but again, a current student probably has more accurate numbers. When a college is being renovated, students stay in 'Swing Space', which is housing more like a hotel, and includes kitchenettes. It's right near Morse and Stiles.</p>
<p>What are advantages and disadvantages of being placed the first year on Old Campus w/ the majority of other freshmen versus going straight to your residential college?</p>
<p>Only TD and Silliman frosh go to their colleges. The other ten are in the OC (plus a handful of upper classmen housing spillovers from some other colleges). The OC has lots going on and it has a flavor all its own. Advantage is that you get to hang w/tons of other freshmen. Advantage to being in the college is you get to hang with the upperclassmen in the college.</p>
<p>(I was in JE and we had the McClelland annex -- I lived on the Old Campus three of my four years -- I loved it)</p>
<p>Each college is its own beast... its hard to say that one is better than another, it's a lot of personal preference. I'm lucky to be in the college that i happen to think is the best (Berkeley) :-)</p>
<p>I think the problem with Morse and Stiles is attitude... when they were built, hundreds of students transferred into them because they have so many singles, and because they wanted a break from the traditional yale architecture. They do need renovation (which they'll be getting within the next three years), but i think if people dropped the negative attitude, they'd be as desirable as anywhere else. I think they just haven't embraced their differences like other colleges have. </p>
<p>And to further inform this post, there are lots of other colleges that people consider "undesirable" for one reason or another. Calhoun isn't exactly coveted for its quality suites, and people in TD complain that they're SO far (ie, three blocks outside old campus). In my opinion, people whine too much if they're not put in Berkeley, Branford, Davenport, Pierson, Saybrook, or Trumbull. Yale housing is spectacular... probably the best feature of campus life. I think the colleges that haven't embraced their differences have an attitude problem.</p>
<p>I am somewhat confused about what the frosh that are on Old Campus can and can not do in their residential colleges. Since they dont actually live in the college do they have access to the facilities (dinning hall, lounges, etc) of the college? Do they interact with the upperclassmen in their college?</p>
<p>^^Yes and Yes. They have the same access as upperclassmen; they just don't sleep in the college.</p>
<p>My D, now graduated, was in Stiles, and none of her quite large group of friends ever even considered moving out. In fact, she had a friend who transferred IN to Stiles from one of the lovely Gothic colleges. I don't think the location was an issue at all...the two colleges are very near the library, across the street from the big Payne Whitney Gym, and the closest colleges of all to the shops & bookstore on Broadway.</p>
<p>In any event, the beauty of the college system isn't the architecture, it's the nearly familial bond that develops as a result. </p>
<p>Also, the renovation plans for Morse & Stiles sound quite spectacular. Truthfully, they have always been a little skimpy on communal space compared to some of the older colleges but the renovation apparently will fix that.</p>
<p>Freshmen usually eat in their residential college dining hall like anyone else, unless they're eating in commons or meeting friends somewhere else. They have access to their college's facilities and regularly participate in college-wide activities, study breaks, and parties. They participate in intramural sports with members of their college. They have "big sibs," upper class students in the college who are supposed to connect them to the college. They just don't live in the college itself, and don't meet that many older people in the college until sophomore year.</p>