@swimmer726 - Sounds like your son had the same experience as my daughter! Maybe they know each other! When she first got the assignment to the Low Rise she was really upset. Who wouldn't want a new dorm a little closer to Central Campus? Like others on this post she got almost the exact opposite of what she requested but decided to stick it out because she wanted to show she could handle any college housing situation. She's glad she did, especially since they all bonded and then all ended up together in a new dorm for next year. Like I have already said - sophomore housing is a real nightmare for many students and it gets worse from there so make the best of the freshman housing situation - it will work out.
@cormom15 I bet our kids do know each other. My son was in low rise 6, unit 1. He had a great time! Next year he's in a fraternity house, so he luckily got to miss the sophomore housing lottery. Our kids' class was just too big and they had too many forced triples and that made sophomore housing more tight. They're kids and will figure it out!
@swimmer726 My daughter was also in Unit 1 and is friends with several of the guys who pledged a frat so I believe they do know each other! Small world!
My point to all of the students worrying about dorm assignments is that it will all work out so try not to have preconceived notions about what dorm experience may be the best because it will all boil down to what you make out of where you are placed.
I agree with cormom15: stop worrying about where you are living! It's all about the people you meet and if you go into freshman year with a positive attitude, it will be a positive experience. My S said he heard that some of the kids in the "higher rated" dorms were not as happy as he and his suitemates in Low Rise 6. I wouldn't try to switch or trade at this point, just go with it! I really haven't heard of anyone who got his/her first choice, but it is what it is. Just be glad you're going to Cornell and you'll be happy if you choose to be.
Fact: the Townhouses have kitchen facilities.
Question: In real life, have you experienced or observed that students there cook a lot? Just trying to get my arms around how much kitchen stuff my daughter (and her roommates) should bring. Don't want to buy lots of stuff and schlep it up to Ithaca if, in practice, most TH residents barely use the kitchen. I realize that, ultimately, it depends on the students themselves. But I'd be interested in any anecdotes people could share.
I have a single in Dickson!
But I also have a question on the beds. In general what are the mattresses like? I've heard horror stories about flimsy mattresses in colleges making it very difficult to sleep, so I thought I'd check the state of Cornell's before deciding what type of mattress pad to buy (or if one is necessary at all).
I am a parent, so I don't have first-hand knowledge about this. However, the mattresses looked fine - they were thick enough. My S used a Walmart foam pad, covered with a twin XL mattress pad and said that was fine. He's not a complainer and has no trouble sleeping, so I don't know if this is accurate. However, it looked thick enough to me!
I lived in dickson freshman yr. The mattresses were perfectly fine, and came with a mattress pad, although I'm not sure if they do anymore. It'd be best to send them a quick email (dickson@cornell.edu)
if anyone wants to switch from west campus to townhouses i will pay you! the townhouses are really nice and have kitchens and if you are a transfer like I am there are a bunch of transfers living there this year! PM me if interested!!!
@lowdenf23c: Townhouses
I lived in LR#6 my freshman year but I knew a few from the townhouses. ("a few" is probably because living in the TH sorta requires a little bit more effort to socialize. My friend was often too lazy to leave the house because everytime our friends decided to meet up, it would NEVER be at the TH's so he would always be the one to leave his TH)
I believe all freshmen are required to participate in a dining hall meal plan and as such, most of those meals will be spent on dinner. For example, if you're on the 10 a week meal plan, most students would have 2-3 lunches at Oakenshields a week (schedule dependent) and 5 dinners a week at North Campus RPCC/Appel and the remaining would be brunch/dinner on the weekends. That leaves all of breakfast and maybe two dinners/lunches on the weekends.
If you're on 14 meals a week, most people have trouble using all of them up (breakfast seemed to get skipped a lot amongst my friends on the weekends from sleeping in.)
The plans also come with Big Red Bucks and I spent these for lunches at one of the many locations on busy days (no time to hit the dining hall on main campus) and also on breakfast items (bread n jam) from the Bear Necessities "convenience store" in RPCC. I think with the 500 BRB's the "budget" was conservatively $25/week to spend on lunches and snacks/drinks (if you're staying on campus for some of the breaks, the dining halls arent open)
So as far as cooking goes, if you're on a meal plan, it's definitely not required to stock the kitchen with kitchen ware. It will probably be useful to bring something to boil water with (I used an electric kettle) for tea/hot chocolate/instant noodles, a bowl, a cup/bottle for drinking in the room and a set of knife/fork/spoon.
Basically, if you're on at least a 10 meal plan, you won't need any sort of kitchen ware aside from the few items I mentioned. If you are skeptical, the Wal-mart/Target in the area will probably help with preventing the schleping of stuff to Ithaca.
