freshman housing and air conditioning

MidwestMom2Kids_ · 11-02-2009, 08:19 AM

Is there a way for a freshman to be sure to get a dorm with air conditioning? (What do people without air conditioning do at the beginning of the school year when it is hot?)

theprez · 11-02-2009, 09:35 PM

you can't request an air conditioned dorm. however, if you get a doctor's signature saying that you have "allergies," you can have an AC unit in your window, which works pretty well. otherwise, you need a lot of fans. most people seem to have AC units.

MidwestMom2Kids_ · 11-02-2009, 10:39 PM

Thanks! Years of zyrtec bills make an "allergies" claim seem perfectly reasonable.

soccerguy315 · 11-02-2009, 11:41 PM

what do people do in dorms without AC when it is hot? They are hot. And it is crappy.

that said, you can get a window AC unit for your room if you have allergies.

Here_to_Help · 11-03-2009, 12:39 AM

And many lounges in the dorms and all non-dorm buildings have AC. The two largest dorms for Freshmen are both air conditioned, so there is a large chance that you will get AC anyway.

sinusrhythm · 11-04-2009, 07:54 AM

The first 2/3 weeks it is really hot. But my son says that 1 or 2 rooms in the corridor have window ACs due to student allergies and stuff and the other kids just crash there if it gets too bad.

shuffler · 11-04-2009, 08:12 AM

And the newer dorms have AC. When you put in your housing preferences, opt for a larger dorm. Check back through this forum, as I know this question was addressed last year.

roxlo · 11-09-2009, 03:00 AM

Ok, listen up.

There is AC in most of the dorms, but if you are like me, you're going to get stuck with the oldest dorm (and of course NO AC).

It is pretty hot at some periods of the year, BUT, even if you don't have an excuse (allergies), all of the RAs that I've talked to in duty of the older dorms (including mine) "look over" - aka not care if you have an AC unit installed without permission.

Another thing that they try to hide is that the "roomate selection quiz" is complete BS, it is just there to make you feel like you are being paired up (source = my RA). Dorms are assigned alphabetically by first name, not by actually matching up people with people that they are compatible with. This is def true in our hall, and especially evident in my quad room - All 4 of our first names start with the same letter. Our neighbors are the letter of the alphabet behind ours.

Squiddy · 11-09-2009, 09:48 AM

Well, here's the thing - if you get permission, facilities will install your AC unit for you, or at least, will bless your installation. The alternative is you do it on the sly, and most likely, your RA won't make a fuss.

But if your installation overloads the wiring and starts a fire, or falls out of the window and lands on a passing tourist, or tears out the entire window before falling and landing on a passing tourist, guess who's responsible for the damage? And, if it reaches that point, do you get the, uh, "honor" of meeting with the Honor Council? Personally, I wouldn't take that chance ...

Most students are going to need to get vaccinations, shot records, etc, anyway, so consider taking the letter with you when you visit your doctor:

http://www.wm.edu/offices/healthcent...ircondform.pdf

The one group that's all-but guaranteed to be in a non-AC dorm are Monroe Scholars, so if you're a Monroe, and don't want to stew the first month of class, I'd suggest you get this letter signed ...

soccerguy315 · 11-09-2009, 11:32 PM

AK
JT
IM
KC
BT
WW

those are the first initials of the 12 people on my freshman hall by room. Your alphabetical order theory seems flawed to me.

roxlo · 11-10-2009, 02:11 PM

I am talking about this year, not years ago. And maybe not every hall does it the same.

Here_to_Help · 11-10-2009, 03:52 PM

They actually leave stuff off of the test so people don't think that it is going to be perfect, as it is impossible to do so. They definitely use the metrics they receive, not some arbitrary assignment process. You can probably ask someone [I'm not sure what department this would be] in the administration about it.

roxlo · 11-10-2009, 05:49 PM

All I can say for sure is that my dorm hall is alphabetical by first name (the entire hall), and I'm stuck with roommates who are complete opposites of me. But it's whatever.

theprez · 11-10-2009, 05:59 PM

i was a freshman last year and this theory does not even hold remotely true.

look, the housing survey is imperfect. there are only a few questions with only a few options for answers. i know plenty of people who are messy or who are complete night owls but claimed otherwise to try to play the system and get the person they wanted. basically, the point of freshman year roommates is that you have to learn to suck it up and compromise because it's what you're going to have to do in life. or prank your roommate in their sleep.

personally, i'd rather the survey stay as it is. i feel like too much detail may just make things messier. this way, if you don't get along, you can blame the system.

roxlo · 11-10-2009, 06:04 PM

What "theory"? Rofl, I'm referring to my specific hall only. This is really trivial anyways. The point of the thread was to find out about air conditioning. The answer is that most RAs don't care, even though it says that you will get in trouble for it. Although truthfully I wouldn't worry about it, a personal fan is enough for the short while it is hot.