Ive been doing a lot of research on the dorms. Seems a lot are interested in the newer Douithit Hills. This however seems to be a pretty good walk from most everything unless you are a business major (which my daughter is not), she will be education so I assume Tillman will be where her classes will be mainly.
That being said after narrowing it down I feel like Holmes of McCabe would be a better fit for my daughter.
bigger than the shoeboxes / suite set up
closer to her classes and food and the stadium
However, in all the threads I dont see a ton about these two buildings. Is there a reason for that? Anyone have pros and cons for these two?
I was a student when Holmes and McCabe were built and I lived in one for a few weeks over the summer. My during-the-year dorm was Clemson House, which was torn down to make space for all of those buildings up on the hill - it’s near where Douthit Hills is. Holmes/McCabe were perfectly reasonable, generic suite-style dorms. I wouldn’t worry too much about the walk - we never found it to be a problem to get from Clemson House to classes all over campus. Some of the apartments, like Lightsey, were a hike but most dorms were reasonable. Most freshmen have classes all over campus unless they come in with a ton of credits. There is also no guarantee that classes will be in the building that goes with their major since lecture halls are shared - I took several non-physics classes in Kinard, and my freshman biology class was in Brackett, for instance. This may have changed, but I doubt that most freshman will mostly be in one building.
There may be preferences, but it can be hard for a freshman to know before they get there what they will like better - What will be more convenient to where they prefer to eat? Where will they prefer to study? How will they spend their spare time, and what will be convenient to that? I lived in the same dorm for all 4 years, but I worked on campus 2 summers and lived in Holmes/McCabe, the shoeboxes, and the high rises as part of my job - every location has it’s pros and cons. The shoeboxes were older, for instance, but had a sink in the room while the high rises didn’t. Bathrooms down the hall are a pain, but also they get cleaned by somebody else. Housing that is more outlying is closer to parking but farther from classes. It’s really just about what trade-off you prefer. Hopefully somebody can give you some specifics, since I’ve never been in the newer dorms.
You’re welcome. I was in the band, and there was nowhere that you could live on campus that was convenient to the Brooks Center…and I was there 3-5 days/week for 4 years. My freshman year, I’d sometimes eat with my lab partners after chem lab. We could either eat at the dining hall convenient to them or the one convenient to me, but somebody was going to be going out of their way compared to what was the quickest walk back to their room.
My daughter lived in Douthit and lived it, she chose it because she knew nothing about clemson, last minute application, wanted to do CUBS, anc without a llc she would’ve chosen a room last. She didn’t mind the walk (most of her freshman classes were not in the business school but she didn’t mind walking), rooms nice and spacious, I liked the wet core hallway bathrooms (plus their room was right next to a handicapped bathroom). The food hub (not a dining hall, limited on weekends) has delicious food (she’s celiac, so salads/bbq/sushi worked out great for her, plus freshens for smoothies. She didn’t have a car but Douthit residents don’t need to move cars on game days.
Holmes and McCabe are suite style dorms. Two per room, all four share a bathroom. Gressette is on the same side of campus and newer than shoeboxes. Dining hall is right beneath the building, co-Ed with wet core hall bathroom like Douthit. The campus is walkable, and you can get from one end to the other in 20 minutes.
Edited to add- room selection is based on application date. So, be sure to not get heart set on one dorm unless you child applied early.
Thanks for this info I hadnt seen much about Gressette so I will take a look at that one too. Daughter applied 8/18 so we should be somewhat close to the top of the line I hope anyways!
I hope anyways!