AliP

Can anyone give me an idea of the type of dorm rooms for Freshman at Brandeis? I am a homebody and housing is an important factor in my final school decision. I have heard that it is very crowded at Brandeis but would appreciate hearing from a current student or someone who has recently visited.

soze

You're kidding, right?
What's with you kids these days?

If you've been accepted, I suggest you call Brandeis right away and turn down their offer. That way, they can take somebody off the waiting list to whom housing is not an "important factor" in their college selection and who appreciates things that actually matter (like academics, etc.).

Thirty years from now, when you are looking at your diploma hanging on your wall, I don't believe you will be thinking back to the fact that your freshman dorm room was kind of small, or that you were tripled-up as a sophomore.

harrygoldstien

^ true

Just_Browsing

That was a totally inappropriate response soze. She (he?) was just asking for some information. The reality is that housing can seriously affect your life over four years. Would you buy a house or rent an apartment for four years without having some sort of sense of what the living condition would be like?

If you live at a school for four years, its a good idea to know what it will be like.

She didn't ask to be shot down.

unbelievablem

well - first thing you should know is that housing priority is given based on when you get in your housing deposit -- ie the sooner you decide to go to brandeis, the better room you are likely to get and less likely to get a forced ("lofted") triple. (NO guarentees).

freshman live in one of two quads -- North or Massell -- both traditional corridor style -- mostly double rooms along a hallway. some designed triple. some forced "lofted" triples (ie three people in room designed for 2 people).
greater variety exists after freshman year for types of housing -- suites, castle, apartments, etc.

i've been on a lot of college tours having gone thru college process with 2 kids - i would say brandeis' rooms are fairly average, fairly typical, for freshman college dorm rooms -- there are a few colleges out there that i recall thinking "wow" that's a nice sized room, or "what a nice building" -- but for the most part, i've usually found a dorm is a dorm.

also just in general -- you describe yourself as a "homebody" -- i hope that doesn't mean you plan on not leaving that dorm room much. no matter what college you attend, there is just so much more to college life than just classes and hanging out in one's dorm room -- i really hope you will take advantage of that. your experience at college will probably be far more influenced by the friends you make there than the layout of the room you live in. find a great group of friends and you won't mind as much if you crowd together in a less than great dorm room to socialize. so i would urge you to focus on fit more than housing -- what college will most likely make you feel at home and among people you want to be around.

soze

Not quite. He/she stated that housing was an "important factor" in their college selection. I simply stated that in that case they should move aside and give their (valuable) spot up to someone who would appreciate its value more than he/she does.

Given that this person is apparently more concerned with superficial comforts than an actual education, my response was total appropriate.

bizymom

Well, that is actually an oversimplified view of the admissions process. Its not as if every accepted student who turns down a spot is replaced by someone on the waiting list -- colleges accept well more than the number of freshman they want to attend with the expectation that many will choose other schools (of course the percentages all depend on the selectivity of the school and the preference students tend to have for it -- but even the Ivies don't expect each acceptance to yield an enrolled student).

If the OP decides not to attend Brandeis because of the dorms he/she would not be the first to decide against the school (or some other school) based on aesthetics or living arrangements -- and the admissions office knows full well that this type of thing happens. And they give all admitted students (not ED of course) until the same date (sometime in May, isn't it?) to decide whether or not to accept the offer of admission.

Some will turn them down because they get into a more prestigious school, some because they get more aid at another school, some because they prefer another school's geographic location, some because they prefer a school for intangible reasons they can't articulate. You are entitled to your opinion as to what is a proper basis for an admitted student to make that decision. But I hope the OP doesn't allow his/herself to be made to feel guilty over what he/she decides is the proper basis to make that decision.

Newzbugg

On the other hand, if it were my son/daughter, I would not encourage him/her to apply without first checking out the dorms, considering how important they are to him/her. Why pay the fees, write the essays, etc., when you can find out ahead of time that the college doesn't suit you just by looking at the dorms?

AliP

My mother and I were buying bread at the Italian market and after waiting in a very long line, a man up front allowed another customer into the line. When a riot nearly ensued the man said, in a heavy Italian accent, "Inna no madda", to which an older man replied, "Inna no madda to you. But itta madda to me". So, for those of you who were kind enough to provide relevant information-Grazie. To those of you who find the question irrelevant, well, "Itta madda to me". Ciao. Ali

AliP

I am amazed that most people would consider it perfectly normal for a student to be concerned about "social life and partying" on campus but not be equally concerned about where they rest their heads at night. I am paying a large sum of money to live at school and I find some of the conditions that I've seen and read about simply deplorable. There were several articles in The Crimson this fall about roaches in the dorms, *******s in the dorms and other unsafe and unhygienic conditions. Administrators realize that students choose schools for many reasons unrelated to academics otherwise they would not mark millions of dollars for state of the art gyms and those sort of "non-academic" projects. I care little about gyms and even less about the party scene but I do care about the room that I will occupy and will consider that space in my decision to spend my money. If all other things are equal, housing will be my tipping point.

AliP

*********s was not an obscenity-it was a word for "robber" that I believe is also used in a different context on a competing website. Weird.

Newzbugg

AliP, you have the right to be concerned about the dorms. It makes sense. My son cares a lot about the food at the cafeteria, and about cafeteria hours. But you can find out about these things BEFORE you spend your time and money applying...

SilverClover

Freshman dorms are freshman dorms...

They're bigger here than what most of my friend have. Even my friend's friend from Duke spending the weekend here said we were spoiled in terms of space. I was especially spoiled- I got in the newest renovated dorm in the quad with bigger rooms (North is a smidge bigger than Massell- not enough to really make a huge difference though) with an amazing view of Boston.

The rooms aren't glamorous or anything, but you can certainly make it so on your own.

rebelliousduck

The largest, nicest room can become very claustrophobic very quickly if you don't get along with your roomate or if his or her neatness standards don't conform to yours. Little or nothing one can do to determine the luck of the draw.

But ultimately, it goes back to what Newzbugg posted: you should have done your research on those matters important to you before you applied.

Just_Browsing

Excuse me, but I'm re-reading this thread here... can anyone point out to me where Ali said she was a senior?