Motherdear

Dorm assignments came out today. Daughter got SINGLE in G-L! Time to decorate.

Out of curiousity which were the sub-free halls this year? Are they the same every year?

Sottilde

Well, I'm in Davis 203, and I believe that should be sub free..

hagar7

What's G-L like? Spacious? More luxurious? Better social scene? Everyone seems to want to be there.

dobiesk8r

My daughter has a single in G-L. Are there sinks in this dorm?

And yes, for some reason this seems to be THE dorm to be in, which pleases her immensely.

beautyistruth

okay. I'm a sophomore at W&L, and I will tell you the truth about the G-L (Graham-Lees) vs BDG (that's Baker Davis Gilliam, the 3 smaller dorms). G-L is huge. HUGE. Unfortunately, that's the size of the building, not room size. Since G-L was originally several smaller dorms, the rooms are unevenly sized. For instance, I had a friend on the first floor whose room was just big enough for a bed and his desk (but he had to move his chair into the closet before you could get in the door). Meanwhile, two of my best friends had a double that was three times the size of my single in Gilliam. Basically, corner rooms are the best, rooms next to the corner are the worst.

Everyone says G-L is the best because it's the biggest, and so you get the most partyers there, so it's the dorm that never sleeps. This is true, but it means that whether you party or not, you won't sleep either (dorms that looks onto the quad are the worst. There are always massively drunk and belligerent boys being incredibly loud in the quad at all hours of the night).

This is the main reason why I loved living in the BDG quad. I could still go hang out in G-L without fear of being too loud, but when I wanted to sleep, my hall was blessedly quiet. It was a good deal all around.

As to sub-free halls, half of Gilliam (higher numbers) are sub-free, and parts of Baker & Davis, as well as a few halls in G-L, but it doesn't matter. My sub-free hall was the only one that could really be called "sub-free" and there were still about half of us (including the DC) who went out most nights and drank. Most sub-free halls were little different from the others.

Also, BDG have sinks in the rooms. G-L does not. Gaines is a suite setup, they have their own bathrooms. No one else does. In G-L & BDG, boys are on the bottom two floors, girls are on the top two. Gaines is mostly sophomore housing, this does not apply.

Basically, no matter where you live you come out with fairly intense freshman dorm pride. Hope this helps!

dobiesk8r

Thanks for the info, beautyistruth!

Motherdear

"My daughter has a single in G-L. Are there sinks in this dorm?

And yes, for some reason this seems to be THE dorm to be in, which pleases her immensely"

My D most definitely wanted GL over all others.

beautyistruth

there are NO sinks in G-L rooms.

hagar7

I got a double in GL. Don't see what all the fuss is all about. Maybe i guess I'm not such a party freak and would like some quiet hours. I went sub free in G-L. Lets see.

HereWeGo

She's right about the freshman hall pride! I lived in a girl's hall in BDG and absolutely loved it. We had a sub-free boy's hall below us and they were the greatest guys. I think it's rare that someone really won't like their freshman hall (unless you live in Gaines, I hear it's pretty lonely). I was disappointed when I first learned I wasn't living in GL, but I totally forgot that by my first night, when I went out to check out the frat parties with a whole group of my BDG hall-mates. Personally, I'd advise anyone to request BDG over GL ~ I think BDG halls bond more, and you will appreciate a fer quiet hours each night, believe me!

Esquette

My son got a G-L single, first floor. Just what we wanted. Not on the quad, thank goodness it seems.

It's next to a corner room and they say the size is 10x11. Is this the tiny room mentioned above? If so, any tricks to know before coming? He's adaptable, so he'll deal with it!

beautyistruth

lofting your bed creates a LOT of room, although it can be unfortunate (i know a guy who fell out of his lofted bed and broke his nose) but it's generally a good idea. make sure the university does it, though, otherwise they can be wobbly and a little scary.

hagar7

How much does the university charge to do it? Is it exorbitantly high?

beautyistruth

I don't remember there being any cost, but I think my bed was lofted when I got there. as far as I know, it's free, but sometimes it takes awhile for them to get around to doing it.

jggduke

I've heard that the school charges $175 to loft your bed, but I can't remember where I heard it, so it may not be true.