<p>I haven’t seen any dorms at William and Mary. I’m wondering if I would be able to fit a small TV (on the wall) and some sort of game system into the dorm without crowding it for the room mate?</p>
<p>I do not believe the dorms allow things attached to the walls. Read resident life section on the website carefully. My daughter lived in Botetorte freshman year. She brought a portable TV and it sat on top edge of her desk. She brought Wii for a few months but seldom used the games or even cut on the TV. Too many other things to do.</p>
<p>I’d just add that yes, you generally can fit a small flat-screen tv in your room, like a 20" LCD, but momray is correct, you can’t hang it on a wall, and it’ll usually need to be stacked on a refrigerator, or fit in a bookcase, that kind of thing. Depends on the dorm, and specific room. If you want TV, the dorms are wired with cable, so you’ll need one with a tuner - residence life has the up-to-date info, there, could be different these days.</p>
<p>Anyway, the important thing is that these “major” appliances should usually be limited to “1” each, generally, that’s all you have room for, and all you’ll need. So, together with your roommate(s), decide who’ll bring the refrigerator, who’ll bring a tv, game system, etc. Other possible shared items - AC unit, microwave, vacuum cleaner, mop, ironing board, etc.</p>
<p>And it would probably make sense for roommates to consider getting one good wireless multifunction printer / copier and a handful of ink cartridges, (which are the real cost), instead of two cheaper ones which will save that precious horizontal space. </p>
<p>Of course, you have to consider year two, and the possibility you won’t want the same roommate. So, consider that before just going “half” with someone.</p>
<p>The residence life website has “video tours” of each dorm. They used to have pictures too, but it looks like they were removed in the website update.
[William</a> & Mary - Freshman Halls](<a href=“http://www.wm.edu/offices/residencelife/oncampus/residencehalls/freshman/index.php]William”>Freshman Halls | William & Mary)</p>
<p>What residence halls should I be hoping for? I’ve heard DuPont and Yates are clearly the best, and both are pretty close to the rec center, which would be a daily visit for me.</p>
<p>My first-hand experience is 25-30 years out-of-date but second-hand is pretty recent as my son is a junior at W&M. </p>
<p>DuPont and Yates are the largest freshman dorms so odds are good that you will be in one of them. I was in DuPont (3rd East) as a freshman, 1979-80, the last year of all single-sex dorms. Dupont was guys, Yates was girls. Perhaps the incident in which several of my hallmates pushed a soda machine off the 3rd floor balcony in a drunken end-of-first semester classes “celebration” contributed to the decision to mix in the behavior modifying presence of women. I wonder if the rectangular impression it made int the ground is still there. Anyway, a lot of parties/functions between Yates and DuPont my freshman year. My freshman GF lived in Yates so I was there a lot. At the time, Yates was the more beat up of the two - the story as I remember it was that Yates had been built in the early '60s as a “temporary” building, not intending to be up for more than a few years. Why the college would build a “temporary” building was never explained and I did not give it much credibility. I just assumed that it was a poorly built building.</p>
<p>My son was in one of the Botetourt Complex buildings. It is a bit of a maze and made me feel claustrophobic, but he didn’t seem to mind. It was not air-conditioned, but with his allergies, he was allowed to have a window unit. He has been in A/C dorms ever since so the window unit has sat in a corner of my sister’s garage for two years and probably will next year as well, unless my daughter needs it wherever she decides to go (my sister lives in Williamsburg so her house is my son’s summer storage facility).</p>
<p>Congratulations on your acceptance! You will love it!</p>
<p>Why bring a TV or gaming system to college? Aren’t you there to learn and socialize?</p>
<p>I’m in Barrett Hall this year and love it! Its a bit different from other Frosh dorms because of its old campus location. Its the one that is always showed on tours. It has a really pretty lobby and nice lounges. People say it reminds them of a Hotel.</p>
<p>And from what I’ve seen, a lot of socialization happens around the TV, or around the xbox (for guys).</p>
<p>The purpose for the temporary building was to have a place where the worker’s building the other buildings could live. When they finished construction the admins considered making Yates a tad bit bigger and more livable and viola, another dorm! </p>
<p>And as for the why you would need a game system/TV, chances are you will have downtime and you dont feel like leaving your room. Besides socializing in someone’s room can include playing video games</p>
<p>-WM class of 2013</p>
<p>endicott, that response offends me and is just dumb. Would you rather the original poster not ever watch tv or play video games? Come on now. Plus, both tv and video games are very social.</p>
<p>Yeah I mean I don’t plan to play/watch for extended periods of time, just for taking breaks and such. My sisters both took TVs to their dorms but ended up selling them after a few weeks because they never watched them, but I can’t leave my xbox behind haha!</p>
<p>Jkwhat, congratulations !!! Are you going to any of the admitted students’ days?</p>
<p>my freshman dorm had 3 games systems (PS2, Cube, Original Nintendo) in the lounge hooked up to the TV. They were often in use.</p>
<p>I lived in a triple overcrowd in Monroe. We had a 27" TV (not a flat pannel, it was as deep as it was wide) an a Wii. It was a bit cramped, but I think that was more because of the couch and the fact that we were overcrowding.</p>
<p>I think it’s crazy to spend big bucks for college and waste even a minute of it watching TV. There are so many better things to do. I would never let my kid take a gaming system or TV to college. Too many people are way to dependent on these time waster/toys.</p>
<p>What about at night before bed? What about when you’re getting ready in the morning? What about when you have friends over and they want to watch a movie/ballgame? What about the super bowl? What about election night? What about when you’re sick or tired and aren’t going to leave the room for a while? Would you expect your kid to read their evolutionary biology textbook with a 102 degree fever? </p>
<p>This is a dumb argument.</p>
<p>You’ve got room to bring a TV, but you should coordinate with your roommate because you don’t need more than one. Game systems don’t shut people away, as some might think, but are usually a very popular social activity especially in male dorms early in the year. It’s a great icebreaker activity just like ultimate frisbee or late night Wawa excursions (which I can all but guarantee will happen during orientation). Besides, Williamsburg experiences quite a bit of rain in the late summer and early fall. W&M students read enough books as it is.</p>
<p>In Endicott’s defense, although I disagree, I don’t think it is an argument. I think it’s more of a personal preference. Television can waste a lot of time, but I really won’t be watching it all that much. I’ll probably bring one just to watch sporting events and news. If it gets in the way of my college experience at all, rather than adding to it, I can return it.</p>
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<p>You aren’t serious, right?</p>
<p>How many people do you know that don’t watch a TV at all in 1 week, much less 4 years?</p>
<p>On another note…</p>
<p>I’m a perspective transfer and in the case that I get on-campus housing <em>crossed fingers</em>, I’m curious as to what you guys know about where transfer students are placed. They said that they have 50 spots for a transfer group of…say…around 200. I’m guessing these spots are reserved in specific dorms and I’m assuming they aren’t freshman dorms. The other spots that open up I’m assuming are just spots left by students leaving W&M.</p>
<p>Also, in case I’m given any sort of preferance option, what are the best upperclass dorms? I’m looking for something probably closer to the middle of campus: not in old campus but not too far away from it. </p>
<p>Then again, my perspective may be out of wack since the friend I stayed with when I visited lived in Hunt.</p>
<p>emma, I’m a prospective transfer as well, and looked into the dorm situation. These are the spots that are available for transfer students: [William</a> & Mary - On-Line Room Selection](<a href=“http://www.wm.edu/offices/residencelife/rsp/undergraduate/online/index.php#spaces]William”>http://www.wm.edu/offices/residencelife/rsp/undergraduate/online/index.php#spaces). Looks to be only 20 spots for girls and 15 for guys. I’m hoping to get on-campus housing too, but I’m worried since there are so few!</p>