<p>Trying to decide which type of dorm to specify on the housing form. I've read all the threads about the modern versus traditional dorms. Everyone says that the modern dorms are like hotels but are less social and less of a "community" than the traditional dorms. I've been told that the traditional dorms are over 40 years old and according to WashU, they are planning on replacing them over the next 5-10 years with modern dorms. So, the question is, are the traditional dorms gross? Are they in poor repair and falling apart or are they well kept? When we went on our campus tour, they didn't show us the traditional dorms. Were they afraid to let us see them?</p>
<p>Son is a resident advisor at Lee/Beaumont House (traditional). He also lived in a modern dorm his first 2 years of college. He says the traditional dorms are much more social than modern dorms. Yes, traditional dorms are older and a bit beat-up, but not gross. The dorm seems clean. Son chose to stay in traditional dorm for his senior year (he had a choice between modern or traditional). Hope this helps.</p>
<p>My freshman daughter lives in Lee-Beaumont (traditional) and is requesting traditional dorm housing again for next year. She has friends living in modern dorms and they want to move into tradtional dorms next year too.</p>
<p>Leslielou, </p>
<p>Does D live in Beaumont or Lee? Son is resident advisor at Beaumont House
(2nd floor). He wants to be a resident advisor during his senior year too--same dorm as this year. So I think he likes the traditional dorm experience.</p>
<p>So far, no fans of the modern dorms for freshman?</p>
<p>The traditional dorms are by no means gross. The reason it may seem this way is because the modern dorms blow you away with how incredibly luxurious they are (think common rooms with grandiose pillars, large TVs, leather couches, and fireplaces). I currently live in a traditional dorm and am applying to live in one next year. Although I'll admit it's the "least-new" of the dorms here, I find it the same as (if not nicer) than the dorms of other colleges I visited in the past.</p>
<p>My S is a freshman in Koenig, pronounced Kaynig (half of Liggett-Koenig or LK) which is one of the modern dorms and is plenty social. I think this dorm is great, and more importantly so does my S who is moving over to the Liggett half of the building next year. They have common areas full of leather furniture, a TV room with a plasma screen and a huge leather sectional that is right next to the laundry room, and also the kids sit on the floor in the hall and hang out. PM me if you want some pics of the common areas and didn't take a campus tour (I'm pretty sure Wash U is using this dorm on the tour now so if you toured you may have already seen it).</p>
<p>This year my S was in a forced triple due to last year's overbooking, but it actually worked fine, he had great roommates and the room was supposed to be a handicapped room so they had a huge bathroom to the 3 of them and the whole space actually worked OK. Having been in a forced triple he got a good lottery number, so he and two friends will share a room in Liggett next year that has 3 small single rooms and a small common area.</p>
<p>I'm also in Koenig, in a triple (not force, an actual triple) and I've found that the idea that moderns are less social is incredibly false. My floor friends are my best friends, we all hang out together, the doors are always open, and we spend a lot of time sitting in our hallway together doing homework, talking, and generally having a great time. A huge amount of us are moving over to Liggett together next year, and I just adore the entire res-college.</p>
<p>i loved my modern dorm freshman year. it was just as social as the others. it always depends on the people on your floor. sophomore year suites are more isolated no matter which option, and again it depends on the people you live with. you get to pick after freshman year, so if your roommates are never around and you are, its going to feel unsocial in your suite no matter what type of dorm you're in.</p>
<p>My husband has a colleague who says that his freshman daughter is in a room that contains four single rooms, with a central living area. Does this sound like any dorms you know of at WashU? If so, does this suite type room has a bathroom in the room? I thought I read some where that freshmen could not have single rooms. Any information would be appreciated.</p>
<p>Most of the freshman dorms do not have a suite layout. They are either traditional (rooms off a corridor) or modern (2 doubles with a bathroom between the rooms). Due to the housing situation last year, some freshmen ended up in dorms that are normally sophomoe dorms, which do have suite layouts. Yes there is a bathroom in the suite. As far as I know there are some single rooms available for freshmen.</p>
<p>i went to the olin spotlight weekend and my room host was in a 4 person single room attached to a central living area and bathroom. i think she said that this type of suite is for upper classmen only. she's a freshman and got lucky since washu overenrolled last year so she was bumped to a nicer dorm. midwest parent, these are considered modern dorms.</p>
<p>Thank you ST2 and mich_GIRL88 - maybe next year! They sound so nice - you have roommates, but also have your own a space.</p>
<p>My son was at Danforth his freshman year, a modern dorm,( two doubles connected by a bathroom) and it was pretty social as evidenced by the number of outings and extra activities that he and his floormates were able to do and the friendships that he was able to develop. They would go skiing together, go to formal dances together, go to church together, etc. The students and the RA decided to keep their doors open whenever someone was in the room to avoid the "hotel-like" feel of the floor.
His sophomore year he was at Park, in a two doubles suite. There were two bedrooms, with a common room and a bathroom in the suite, which he shared with three others.
This year he is still at Park, this time in a four singles suite. It is similar to the one they had sophomore year, but this time each of them have their own bedroom. He has made new friends with the other ECs that he is involved in but he still goes out and do things with his floormates freshman year.</p>
<p>So, yes, modern dorms can be social, too.</p>
<p>Btw, S1 said they will be renovating Park over the summer and two floors will be for incoming freshmen in the fall.</p>
<p>For those of you who have experienced a triple, was the experience OK? My D is thinking of a modern triple to save money. It sounds like some rooms are designed to be triples, but even those not are fine as well. Does forced triple mean the room was not designed as a triple, or the people didn't sign up to be in a triple? ALso, are there any room diagrams on line to look at? </p>
<p>Thanks again to all the helpful people on this board!</p>
<p>Newmom, here is the web address for the washu dorm diagrams</p>
<p><a href="http://reslife.wustl.edu/housing_selection/options3.html%5B/url%5D">http://reslife.wustl.edu/housing_selection/options3.html</a> </p>
<p>I take it that your D has made the decision to go to WashU?
Congratulations!!</p>
<p>Other than sharing a room with 2 other people, the modern triples are very nice (and huge). There aren't many modern triples though, and the traditional triples are decently crowded spaces (slightly larger than a double, but not enough to compensate for the extra person). The only modern triples I know of are on Koenig 4 - <a href="http://reslife.wustl.edu/housing_selection/pdfloors/koenig.pdf%5B/url%5D">http://reslife.wustl.edu/housing_selection/pdfloors/koenig.pdf</a> .</p>
<p>When my D visited her host was in a triple in Dardick. She was impressed with the room and listed a modern triple as her first choice to keep cost down. Does anyone know if there are triples in substance free floors?</p>
<p>I think last year freshmen were placed in upperclass triples (3 seperate bedrooms). But, I believe the norm for entering freshmen are doubles (2 to a room). You can also ask for a single room (no roommate). There are triples in the traditional dorms (meaning 3 beds in one room). Some modern dorms offer a substance-free floor. Beaumont House is a substance free dorm (all 3 floors), but it is a traditional dorm.</p>