<p>A few days ago I received my packet on dorms for next year. Where are people thinking of living and what are some suggestions of what to pick/ how to fill out the form to get a best match?</p>
<p>Hey alissaivers,</p>
<p>Before I begin, please look over one of my previous posts for some quick information on the residence halls available to freshman at Lafayette.</p>
<p>As for the roommate matching sheet, it is pretty much a bunch of phooey. The only thing that really matters is your gender (duh!) and whether you smoke or not. I have the residence hall assignment questionnaire from last year in front of me, and I can honestly tell you that the "YES/NO/NO PREFERENCE" section serves no purpose. Just put "NO PREFERENCE" for all of them, or else you are limiting yourself to rooming with some weirdo who is an overly emotional neat freak (trust me on that!).</p>
<p>I guess if you are thinking of getting into Keefe First-Year Wellness or Watson Hall in the Wellness section, check "YES" to the "Who is committed to a wellness lifestyle" question. The time you go to bed doesn't matter. I put the earliest choice for that question, and my roomie is a total insomniac. The question about requiring more than eight hours of sleep serves no purpose. Your music preferences and intended major are not taken into consideration. I actually put in the music section "Anything but country music". Guess what...my roomie only listens to country. My roomie is majoring in Biochem...I really dislike the "hard" sciences, so we really can't relate on that level, either.</p>
<p>I am not saying that I totally hate my roomie...he is a good kid, but he can get on my nerves at times. I continually count my blessings...it could be worse! I know a few people who have NOTHING in common with their roomie.</p>
<p>I'm sorry to break it to you this way, but that is how it works. Don't spend more than a minute with the crap about your roomie. Do take time, however, rating the residence halls. Remember, the earlier you send in your enrollment deposit, the better chance you have of getting your top choice.</p>
<p>On that uplifting note, good luck rating your residence hall preferences (I think the Office of Residence Life actually listens to that...)</p>
<p>J</p>
<p>So Candy, why does the school bother with the "match sheet" if they ignore the data? Is it to make the new firstyear and the parnets feel good? Also why aren't there more ticked off freshman complaining once they learn about the scam? I would think it would be an issue for some opinion piece in the student paper or student government. Or do students think what the hell it's too late now and I got punked?</p>
<p>Hello Dana,</p>
<p>I am sorry if I came off a little too harsh in my last post about the roomie matching sheet. Maybe the virus I am dealing with right now is getting to my head!</p>
<p>I did not intend to come off as if I knew of some conspiracy. It just seems to me, from my own experience and from speaking to friends, that there is usually no rhyme nor reason as to how people are matched up. As I said in my last post, your response to the "smoking question" is taken very seriously by the Office of Residence Life. I know that I would go crazy if my roomie always came back to the room smelling like an ashtray!</p>
<p>However, I still stand by my remarks about the insignificance of some of the questions on that "matching sheet". Everyone likes different kinds of music, and the chance that you end up with a roommate that has your taste in music seems very unlikely. Why does is even matter what music you like? It is not like you and your roomie are going to be blasting your music at the same time. Whenever we both have our music on, we either keep it very low or plug in headphones so as not to disturb each other.</p>
<p>I guess what I wished to get across was that you shouldn't fret about completing the roomie "matching sheet", because in the end, you will get a roomie you either get along with or don't. The reason most freshman don't complain about having a "bad" roomie is because they realize it doesn't really matter. Nowhere does it say that roommates have to become the best of friends...all the matters is that you maintain a level of respect for each other.</p>
<p>I am sorry if I mislead anyone regarding this issue. Now that I am thinking with a clearer head (I spent all of today sleeping off whatever virus I caught!), I hope my comments make a little more sense to everyone.</p>
<p>Take care,</p>
<p>J</p>
<p>in filling out this form there is the "building request line"- I'm thinking of either South Hall, because the number of students and the large number of freshman + carpet & a/c, or McKeen also because of the # of people and freshman but + its proximity to farion college center. What would u suggest? I'm looking for the largest amount of freshman, in a good location, with nice sized dorms....</p>
<p>~alissa</p>
<p>Alissa,</p>
<p>I'm glad you are spending some time considering your options as to where to live on campus next year. If you haven't already, make sure to check out one of my previous posts (I believe it is in the "I'll Answer Your Lafayette Questions" thread), where I give short descriptions of each residence hall.</p>
<p>So, it seems you are looking to choose the best overall dorm (decent location, nice-sized rooms, lots of freshmen). South College is a good choice overall. It does have A/C (a BIG plus during the first few weeks of the fall semester and the last few weeks of the spring semester) and carpeting. The rooms are LARGE. The only gripes I had with South were that, at least for our year, residents in South had to leave their rooms during the winter break to make room for interim session residents and then move back in for the next semester. That seemed to me to be quite an inconvenience! I understand, though, that Lafayette tries to rotate which residence halls need to move out each year...which buildings does your residence hall questionnaire specify as having residents move out during the winter break???</p>
<p>South might seem the best bet (even with that whole "moving out and back in" thing), but there is one other gripe I had...South is known as the party dorm. All the stories of drunk and rowdy kids come out of South, so please keep that in mind. If you don't think you can handle a good deal of noise Friday/Saturday nights, then you might be more comfortable in another residence hall. FYI, South holds about 100 freshman out of the 220 spots available.</p>
<p>Right next to South is Ruef Hall. Even though you did not mention Ruef, I think it is a very good choice for first-year students. Even though there is no A/C (most dorms don't have A/C!) and no carpeting (just buy an area rug!), I still highly recommend it. The rooms are just as big as those in South. Everyone who lives there seems to love it, as it fosters great first-year relationships. Also, each room has two walk-in closets which are great for privacy when getting dressed. 110 out of the 143 available spots are reserved for freshman. It takes no more than three minutes to walk from Ruef to any spot on campus (remember that Lafayette's campus isn't that big!).</p>
<p>You mentioned McKeen Hall in your post...right now, renovation to the interior is underway, so I am sure it will be nice to live in. I am surprised that they think they can finish the renovation in time for you guys, but I guess that is what they have planned. Before the renovation, it was probably the worst dorm on campus in terms of cleanliness, but I am sure that will be taken care of during the renovation. Also, you were quick to point out that it is within ten steps of Farinon (FOOD!), so that is a definite plus. The rooms are medium-sized (still very liveable), and the building holds 90 first-year students out of the 182 available spots.</p>
<p>Finally, I think you should consider Watson Hall. It houses 64 freshman out of 130 available spots (14 of those 64 spots are "Wellness"). The rooms are quite large, but there is no carpeting nor A/C. Keep in mind, though, that many students get window A/C units installed by the school in buildings that don't have A/C through some sort of medical need (usually allergies). Watson is a bit far from the action (it is on a corner of the campus), but it is still within 4-5 walking minutes of every building. Just like South, residents in Watson Hall were required to move out during the winter break, but that may have changed for your year.</p>
<p>Well, I guess it is time for you to weigh your options and make some decisions...good luck!</p>
<p>J</p>
<p>Per the college website:
Interim Session
South College and Watson Halls will be used to house students during the 2007 Interim Session. Residents of these buildings will be required to remove their possessions during the semester break.
link:
<a href="http://ww2.lafayette.edu/%7Ereslife/Lottery%20Packet%202006-2007.pdf%5B/url%5D">http://ww2.lafayette.edu/%7Ereslife/Lottery%20Packet%202006-2007.pdf</a></p>
<p>yea I read that too.....but I still put south hall as my choice bc I really dont mind moving out over break, I would probably bring all my clothes home anyway and that would be like half of my stuff.</p>