<p>I just got my room assignment and I'm in a double in David Kemp. I'm kind of worried for a couple reasons. First off, I think the dorm only houses like 30 or so freshmen and I'm pretty sure there are only 6 other freshmen on my floor. Second of all, the halls are totally tiny. I feel like the social life is gonna be awful. Part of me almost wishes I got Mary Lion or something. I don't know. I really wanted Wharton or Willets but sigh...</p>
<p>Somebody please try to make me feel better.</p>
<p>It's new and close to everything else on campus: shouldn't be a problem. Mary Lyons is a real hike.</p>
<p>Swat is a small enough school that you don't only socialize with people in your dorm. </p>
<p>When S was a soph, he liked being able to take freshmen on his floor under his wing & they became good friends. You won't only make friends with other freshmen.</p>
<p>raiderade-Try to relax about this! :) DK is a wonderful new, clean dorm. Freshmen at Swat don't only mix with freshmen. My S believes he is going to be in one of only two sophomore rooms in one of the dorms and he has no qualms about it. He is looking forward to helping out the freshmen! You will meet and make friends in your activities, too! I have one son who graduated from Swat and one there now, and they definitely made/met many of their friends in campus groups. </p>
<p>You may have wanted Wharton, but trust me, (based on my family's past experience) I don't think you really wanted Willets or ML. ;) Many, many people would LOVE to be in your position.</p>
<p>Haha whoops meant Lyon. </p>
<p>Thanks for the help guys! I am starting to feel a little bit better now. Hopefully I won't be socially stunted. Haha.</p>
<p>How's Parrish?</p>
<p>Ah, raderaide. David Kemp is lovely. When I first saw it, I thought it was an art gallery. I don't quite know about the social life since I didn't live there, but just count yourself very lucky. During Sophomore lottery (where the sophs pick rooms for next year), the DK doubles were the absolute first to go. That said, it was the only non-Willets on-campus housing left (besides Woolman) when it got to the 2014-ers, but still, you've got it good :)</p>
<p>I've heard that Parrish is nice in that it's extremely accessible to everything on campus, and the dorms aren't bad either. I've heard that it's relatively quiet compared to, oh say Willets, but this is all hearsay as I haven't actually been up there. Just beware of the triples - they're the size of doubles, but with an extra person in it. Very cramped.</p>
<p>Oh luckily I'm in a Parrish double. I unfortunately don't remember how it was though. Any more views on Parrish?</p>
<p>I lived in DK for a year (its first year, actually!) and in Parrish for two years, as a freshman and a senior. </p>
<p>DK is a nice, run-of-the-mill on-campus dorm; it doesn't really have a prevailing culture or "feel" like Willets, Parrish, ML, Dana, perhaps because it's relatively new. I loved my year there. For what it's worth, I think that smaller halls of freshmen (only 6 other frosh? I'm guessing you're on first floor) can sometimes bond better than bigger halls. But having fewer folks on the hall can also encourage inter-hall interaction, which is good! Don't be afraid to visit the other floors, and to get to know folks in other dorms that you meet through classes and activities. You'll have a great year. </p>
<p>Parrish has an unusual character and feel, with little variation from year to year. It's worth noting that I was on third floor both years, where this character is somewhat stronger. Parrish is populated almost exclusively by freshmen and seniors (and occasional juniors, especially on the men's side and on the fourth floor). The upperclassmen are there because it's centrally located and ostensibly quiet; there may be a few small groups that know each other and are quietly sociable, but the hall life is generally not vibrant. However, depending on the group of freshmen that are placed there, Parrish can be a rockin' good time. My freshman year, our cohort was super-friendly, and we had a lot of great hall bonding. We still went to parties, hung out with the guys from the other side, etc. My senior year, our freshmen were a lot quieter, but they still seemed to have a good time. I loved my time in Parrish!</p>
<p>That's encouraging etselec. I'm on the third floor of Parrish. How big are the doubles, generally?</p>
<p>There's only one freshman double on third (it's you and 2 triples, so 8 freshmen total). We called it the "train car" room--it's not small, but it's long and narrow so your options for furniture arrangement are limited, and there's really not much space for extra stuff. If you feel like you'll want a lot of storage space, bed risers and/or stacking crates would be the way to go. It's a great room!</p>
<p>I don't know anything about the dorm "culture" (and, frankly, it's probaby too new to even have an identity yet), but I would say that getting Kemp as a freshman is a bonus. Should be a pretty nice place to live.</p>
<p>I just lived in david kemp 1st floor as a freshman this past year and i have to say it was great. Although it may seem sort of sterile, it has hall life if you become friends with the kids in the dorm, and all of my other friends in other dorms always frequent DK/AP and comment on how nice it is and how they also want to live there. Consider yourself lucky! There are much, much worse places to live and DK is one of the best</p>