<p>Sorry about the title, don't mean to offend anyone.</p>
<p>I just dropped off my S1 last sunday at Riepe/Warwick for Penn Quest.</p>
<p>I was fully aware of the age of the dorms in the quad and challenges it poses to maintain it. DId not expect luxury. Really.</p>
<p>I was taken aback however by the double room size and cleanliness. The room was so small that the armoire was placed smack in the middle of the room taking up huge amount of space. Also the 2 chest of drawers were left in the middle. We spent time to try re-arrange it. No luck. Definitely no space for the rented fridge!
Also, the mattress was torn and full of clamps of hair (I presume from the previous occupant).</p>
<p>I find it outrageous that the university charges ~$9K per year ! Is this why a lot move off after freshman year ? </p>
<p>Because of the varying ages and architectural quirkiness of the dorms in the Quad, the sizes and shapes of the rooms vary tremendously. The vast majority of Quad residents are able to arrange the furniture to fit their needs adequately, including a fridge (my own kid’s double was rather small, but a couple of hours of creative furniture rearranging more than served the two occupants’ needs for the rest of the academic year, including the fridge).</p>
<p>In terms of the cleanliness and condition of the rooms and furniture, my experience was that the Quad had been fully spiffed up in time for freshmen move-in in late August, although I have no experience with early move-in for the pre-NSO programs. Perhaps it’s a bit more difficult to get things ready in time for that, especially for rooms that have been used for summer high school programs (which I assume was the case with your son’s room). Or, your son’s room may just have been one of the inevitable exceptions (there are about 1,500 people moving into the Quad at the beginning of each academic year). If there’s a problem with the mattress (or any other item in the room), I’d recommend that your son speak to his RA about requesting a replacement (they should be available).</p>
<p>And yes, to your last question, many students find that they can get a lot more room and amenities for the money (and independence!) by moving off campus following freshman or sophomore year, although a significant number of upperclassmen do remain on campus in the high rise dorms (which provide apartment-style living).</p>
<p>45 Percenter is exactly right, they vary. Some of the rooms dorms are a little bigger and a little nicer than others. It is potluck. The main focus is really on the community environment.</p>
<p>They should definitely be able to get a clean room and a better mattress though. He should speak with his RA about it.</p>
<p>Yeah, I think @Much2learn is right. For freshman year it is important to focus on the community. Hill may be better in that respect, but the rooms are even worse. The quad is supposed to be the “quintessential” freshman experience.</p>
<p>I totally agree that the Penn dorms are grossly overpriced. I would move off campus after sophomore year at the latest. You may want to be closer for sophomore year since it is also kind of stressful to look for a place when you first get to Penn and you probably haven’t found a more permanent group of friends yet. Many of the friends I had freshman year disappeared from my social life by sophomore year. But you should definitely move out of the quad freshman year.</p>
<p>My DS is in Riepe as well (McIlhenny), and he also moved in on Sunday for PennQuest. He has a single room and it was pretty nice. I noticed that the hallways were a little dirty (Probably from all of the foot traffic) and the hardwood floors had some paint splattered on them here and there, but overall it wasn’t too bad considering the age. It was nice the walls are not block like a lot of other places…</p>
<p>My D has a single the size of a walk-in closet in Fisher (Hopkinson.) We managed to fit the armoire, desk, bed, and dresser (stacked,) AND the fridge. It’s very tight, but it worked. The lack of cleanliness in your room, however, is definitely unacceptable.</p>
<p>Have him skip the RA and call Housing directly re the mattress. They very likely do have extra mattresses and it’s possible the person who did the room inspection at the end of last year, simply didn’t notice or document the fact that his was torn. The mattresses do get replaced when they tear. Given that it’s move in time now, it won’t be hard for them to send someone over with a mattress and switch his out.</p>
<p>As for the room itself – well he’s stuck with that. The rooms in the Quad are all over the map simply given the shape of the Quad – they are not uniform and it’s luck of the draw. There are huge rooms with fireplaces and there are others that are about the size of a closet or normal size but oddly shaped.</p>
<p>Sorry but I think there is too much frenzy around the Quad and this is what you put up with in return for that “experience.” I realize that’s where most frosh live, but there are better housing options – in terms of size and cleanliness but they are always pooh-poohed when they are brought up here. So he’ll deal with his room in the Quad as kids have for generations.</p>
<p>Last year my daughter was in Hill. Appalled, dismayed and disgusted. The cheapest room in the cheapest dorm and still a rip off. The showers were constantly backed up and full of hair. The bathrooms were dark, dank, moldy and plain scary. The room was so small they couldn’t dress at the same time. There was a shared sink outside her room that was showed signs of animal visits. The bugs were less intimidating. Really. We accepted that the dorms were not going to be palaces but I swear a prisoner could have appealed to Amnesty International about the conditions. She is in an off campus apartment. Student ghetto and only marginally better but at least it is cheaper and more spacious. </p>