<p>I was wondering if anyone knows anything about changing dorms - in particular, if you request a quiet or substance free dorm, and you have concerns if that’s right for you, or alternatively, if you do not request a quiet or substance free dorm and now think you should have, can you make a switch and what is involved? Also, which dorms would be the quiet or substance free ones?</p>
<p>you gave no context for your query, so i’m going to assume that you are an incoming freshman.</p>
<p>first of all, last year there were no sub-free halls for freshmen since there was little interest. apparently, students who requested sub-free were placed with fellow sub-free roommates, and were also placed in clusters of sub-free rooms. these clusters were part of non sub-free halls. i’m not sure how that worked out, since i was not a freshman last year. there are sub-free halls for upper classmen, which sometimes guarantees decent housing for those who are willing to sign the contract, even when housing is in short supply.</p>
<p>in terms of requesting either sub-free or not and then regretting it, my advice is to request sub-free if you have any inkling that living with a non sub-free person will be a problem. it’s one thing to go out and find parties (who needs to drink in their own rooms anyway?), but i can imagine that feeling like somebody who does not respect your ideally sub-free space is sharing the same room with you might be frustrating. sub-free does not equal loser or quiet at all, it just means…sub-free. so i would recommend it if you have any question in your mind.</p>
<p>changing roommates can be a problem for first year students, but i knew a few people who did manage to make a switch of some sort. don’t hold your breath, though, since it all depends on what rooms are open for various reasons such as students withdrawing. since middlebury is in the midst of a housing crunch, be prepared to be stuck with who you get and just learn to make the most of it.</p>
<p>I was a freshman at Middlebury last year and I requested sub-free housing. There wasn’t enough interest in sub-free housing to justify entirely sub-free dorms or halls, but people interested in sub-free were put together as roommates and were generally grouped together on one floor or on one side of a floor. Smoking is no longer allowed indoors, and since freshmen are underage, freshmen dorms should theoretically be sub-free anyway. There are sub-free housing options for upperclassmen; next year I’m living on an entirely sub-free hall in which we have all signed a contract. There is also a sub-free social house that you can join, which is devoted to providing sub-free parties and events as an alternative to the other social houses. The sub-free life also depends on what dorm you’re in as a freshman; some dorms and halls are better than others. If you really, really can’t stand it and all other options have been exhausted, then it’s not unheard of for people to move dorms or rooms, but it’s pretty rare.</p>