<p>So I am really the quiet type, and was extremely obvious about it on my housing form. I also said I go to bed early and don't like the huge party scene - and I was placed in the basement of Willets. I assume Willets is what you make of it, but can anyone give any words of encouragement? Am I in serious trouble here or are the descriptions I've read misleading? Is it truly bad to be in Willets, specifically the basement?</p>
<p>Willets was my daughter's first choice in the lottery sophmore year. It sells out incredibly fast in the sophmore lottery. It's become very popular. </p>
<p>She liked Willets a lot. It's probably the best dorm at Swarthmore for meeting a lot of people and expanding your circle of friends. Pretty much all sophmores and first-years.</p>
<p>The housing office has tamped down the party reputation by seeding in entire floors of "quiet" students. You are probably part of that social engineering, along with others on your hall. Willets can vary from floor to floor. My daughter's floor wasn't particularly crazy, but one floor above was. Her roommate went to bed very early -- usually around midnight. She would just stick her head out the door and tell people to pipe down if people were talking in the hall. No big deal.</p>
<p>My daughter never tried to study in Willets, but then again she never tried to study in any dorm. It's right next to the library, so it was off to McCabe with friends every night after dinner. Go back to Willets and there's always people hanging out. There is a ton of lounge space so it's conducive to that.</p>
<p>As a practical matter... I would recommend anyone living in a college dorm to get a supply of disposable foam ear plugs. They are cheap, comfortable, and just the ticket for undisturbed sleep!</p>
<p>S lived in Willets basement sophomore year & really liked it there. He was never the type to go to the library to study, but didn't have any trouble getting work done in his dorm room. I don't know if the basment's any quieter than the rest of the building, but he never complained that it was too noisy or socially active.</p>
<p>A lot of my quieter friends were placed in Willets basement freshman year, and they turned out being totally okay with it, even though they really didn't originally want to be there. So it seems like the basement might be a constant choice for Housing to place quieter kids, and the 3rd floor is going to be filled with relatively quiet sophomore friends of mine, so not all of Willets is loud and obnoxious! I'd wait until you're there to make a judgement call - as you said, it really is what you make of it. :)</p>
<p>My daughter says that the "party dorm" at Swarthmore is a moving target from year to year, often determined by placement of RAs and blocking groups which in turn drives lottery selections. For example, last year Wharton had a couple of floors of hard-core partiers.</p>
<p>Rising seniors knew in advance (it's a small school, word gets around) and chose accordingly in the housing lottery. Next year could be completely different.</p>
<p>Willets is a "social" dorm because it's mostly doubles and filled with first year and sophmore students. However, I think housing really tries to put a mix of quieter and more social students in each first year dorm, rather than ending up achieving critical mass and spontaneous combustion in any one dorm.</p>
<p>I was shocked to hear it, but my daughter said that each dorm (or floor) agrees on a quiet hour at night -- meaning no more loud stereos or partying after the agreed upon hour. She said that the dorms she's been in "more or less" honor it.</p>
<p>My S ('09) lived in Willets fresh and soph years: First year on second floor, second yr in basement. He liked it; it was quiet enough that he could take naps during the afternoons his first yr. Only thing about the basement: there was a lot of mold in the rm and he (we) had to buy a room dehumidifier to keep the smells at bay. That machine was popular - they gave it a name and it made the rounds to others in the basement. Hopefully, they've dealt with that problem. There are pros and cons to every living situation. At least Willets is central. My D ('12) is in ML which feels like Siberia.</p>
<p>I loved Willets and it's basement. It's proximity to McCabe is wonderful. The parties are great. Late night noise was never a problem because I didn't see anyone go to bed before 2 or 3 each morning anyway. Just beware of Willets Cat.</p>