If housing is a priority cross Princeton off your list immediately. If it gets any worse, I have never seen it. There are several residential colleges so someone may chime in and say its not that bad, but you will be randomly assigned as a freshman so you will have no control over getting one of the circa 1800 rooms. (Yes, I said 1800s)
Amherst has very nice housing, but no - you are not “required” to live in it. Almost everyone chooses to, but that id a different thing entirely. Amherst had one small group of dingy dorms left over from the 60s, but they are being smashed by a wrecking ball as we speak, and the new dorms opening in the autumn to replace them are spectacular.
Food? Not the greatest variety at Amherst, but it’s fine. By reputation, Bowdoin has the best food in the NESCAC.
@ThankYouforHelp Amherst allows 50 students each semester to live off campus and you have to seek permission to do so with priority given to those with personal or financial needs, then seniors and then juniors. You must also retain some form of the meal plan.
Bates students are not required to live on campus all 4 years. Most do because the dorms and houses are nice, but some seniors choose to live off campus.
Bates’ freshman housing (Smith) used to be overcrowded but what have been 2-room quads for the past 30 years have just been turned into doubles. Same rooms, half the students. What is shown in the floor plan on the housing website is the old configuration for 4. Bates has also just built two brand new dorms so the housing options should be quite nice.
@OnTheBubble that is exactly OP’s point. Sounds like this student wants to be in apartment style housing (no meal plan) starting sophomore year, if possible, so they can do their own cooking and get out of the tiny dorm room with a caf and a microwave.
OP, have you seen Clark? The dorms were OK, and they do give flexibility for upperclass apartment style housing, but in my opinion the entire campus and surrounding area is dingy and underwhelming. We like the academic offering there, but ruled out the school because the campus was 1) tiny 2) very ugly 3) completely open (this is not a positive - unlike Trinity, which is gated in and lovely, Clark is open so random sketchy people walk through all the time/any time. None of the buildings were attractive. They need to invest a bit in the campus there… there are many schools in tough neighborhoods but generally they are gated and closed. Which is preferred to what Clark has.
@OntheBubble Yes, but as I understand it, Amherst rarely has more than a handful of students who want to live off campus, so it’s never a problem getting approved for off-campus housing if that is what you want to do. 50 students is a lot when the graduating class is 450. And off campus students are not required to keep a meal plan if they don’t want to. All students need to register themselves for ACDollars (the pay as you go card for all campus expenses) but you can use it for dining on campus as much or as little as you want to. Plus there are options to live in a co-op on campus and do your own cooking (but unlike off-campus housing, getting into the co-op actually is difficult to get into and there is a lottery for it).
@suzyQ7 Yes I understand but its not going to happen at the NESCAC and similar schools, some not ever during the 4 years. Most have very nice housing even starting freshman year like she described but the cooking is not gonna happen. Typical off-campus housing arrangements are just not allowed. The information is right on the internet. If the girl wants more living flexibility the she needs to look at other types of schools, not ones that are purely residential. I have the pickiest eater in the world and an athlete, and he is more than satisfied with the dining hall. He is elated actually,
It was explained that the OP’s daughter had a bad experience during a summer program at a city school, one known for old buildings and a city known for bad roaches. She will find this is not the case everywhere when she visits and sees the housing options and some of the incredibly impressive dining halls.
Clark is a little odd, agreed, but we found something very genuine about it. The kids were extremely outgoing and happy.
At Hamilton, six-student suites with lounges and kitchenettes are common for first-year students.
I believe at Bowdoin many options after the first year included kitchens. That was the case for my son and he especially enjoyed the many food choices between college and friends.
@ThankYouforHelp It is 50 students total, not per class. Even if its all seniors which is a very likely secenario, this would mean you have to live on campus for a minimum of three years. Right? And you still have to apply for permission and still must pay for campus food. This is not “off campus” living.
A couple of things your daughter may want to consider…
Some schools offer theme houses. If your daughter and her friends can come up with a unifying theme (“The Biking House,” “Vegan House,” etc.,) they can get approval for a house sophomore year or beyond. Some schools have small unthemed houses with full kitchens.
Off-campus housing in some college areas is grungier than on-campus. Many landlord with nice places will not rent to students or will only do it at exorbitant prices. Ask your tour guides what the off-campus options are.
Having an apartment with friends can be fun, or it can be isolating on a campus where most kids live in the dorms. Also, is she prepared to deal with the issues of cleaning, party rules, etc. that come up between roommates?
Many schools have a housing lottery, so if students are willing live in a less popular dorm/house they can live as a big group even as early as sophomore year. Seniors often live in suite-style group housing.
If being able to cook is important to her she might want to check out which schools have dorms with full kitchens and what the school’s policies are on meal plans. For instance two of Bates’ large dorms have kitchens with a full oven and stove but Bates bills on-campus students for the unlimited meal plan. If she wanted to be able to cook an occasional meal that might work for her; if she wanted to make all her own meals it wouldn’t.
@sue22 College Data states that Bates requires 4 years on campus. However, on the website it states that a maximum of 125 seniors are picked in a lottery if they want to move off campus, only seniors. I wonder if 125 actually want to. So at a minimum 3 years is required.
My son got in the new dorm. They look pretty amazing.
@OnTheBubble I guess I don’t know why you are fighting me so hard on this.
Over 98 percent of the Amherst student body lives on campus. Only a handful of choose to live off campus per year. Freshmen have to live on campus, but after that, it’s not hard to get permission to move off campus. Yes, off-campus is limited to 50 per year, but you would have no problem being one of those 50 is that is what you want because there is so little demand for it. The overwhelming majority of people there went to a residential LAC because they wanted to live on the campus.
And no - if you live off campus at Amherst you do not have to eat campus food. You can if you want to, but you don’t have to. It’s your option. That’s what ACDollars means. You can choose to spend zero ACDollars in a term if you want to, or you can eat in the dining hall every night if you want to.
Whatever, it’s not worth fighting about anymore.
@OnTheBubble, yes only seniors and restricted to 125. College Data’s wrong. Bates does guarantee on-campus housing for 4 years but it doesn’t require it.
I’ve never heard of a senior denied permission and I do know a couple of younger students who have won permission to go off campus although I’d imagine you’d need a pretty compelling reason. 125 is over 1/4 of the senior class. Seniors have first pick in the housing lottery so most choose to get on-campus dorm suites or houses. This coming year they’ll also have the option to apply with friends for block housing in Smith, 4 or 8 student groups put into doubles on the same floor. (Smith housing is 3 4-story towers, with each floor consisting of 4 doubles with shared bathrooms around a central open area.)
My daughter’s planning to live off campus her senior year, although I can’t fathom why. The off campus houses I’ve seen are rather gross. I think it’s because she wants to be able to guarantee she and her rather large group of friends will be living in the same place. Who knows, the new Smith blocks may change her mind.
It is just for clarification. It is not the same as someone just deciding to move off campus. Isn’t it possible for a student, even a senior, to be prohibited from moving off campus? Yes and there appears to be discretion in the decision.
@Sue22 Well hopefully she will keep the meal plan. Why would any kid want to shop and cook when they have those choices, with no restrictions, in that great space. Especially when thesis time comes around. Kids shop for the first month and then the only thing in the fridge is mustard.
@OnTheBubble wrote:
Maybe not, but, it’s awfully close. Seniors living in one of the “wood-frames” can choose a meal plan option that just requires them to spend their “wes-dollars” at the college run grocery store.
Is this right for Wesleyan that all juniors and senior pay around $16,000 for housing and food no matter which plan?
I don’t have the time to refute PennCAS’ post point by point, but just NO. If you are considering Penn, you will want to form your own much more realistic impression. Penn is in West Philly - it is a high crime area - there is no refuting that. Penn has done a tremendous job with the campus and security. But if you’re not from the Philadelphia area you will want to be sure you know what you’re getting in to. Also,there are not abundant, low-cost, beautiful, off-campus living options 1 or 2 blocks off campus. Penn is a fantastic place and has much to offer, but please take the time to visit, walk the surrounding streets at night, look at the crime statistics, talk to current students and see for yourself what the living options are if that is a major priority for you. It is an urban campus and will have the same issues that Yale, Columbia and similar schools have.
Re #48, Columbia is located in the safest big city in the country (according to some statistics). I’m not sure that its location should be compared to that of schools in other urban areas.
(“The 20 Safest Cities in the World,” Business Insider.)