<p>
</p>
<p>Correct. At my daughter’s school, the freshmen all live in doubles while the upperclass students mostly have singles. Also, they only put freshmen in the larger traditional dorms with plenty of “hall” life. So, my daughter’s group of 16 or so freshmen on her hall bonded in a pack – meals, trips to NYC, whatever. The upperclass students had their circles of friends. Most of the interaction was just in casual, impromptu hanging out in the dorm lounges – watching Monday Night Football on the big screen TV, whatever. That’s where all the inside dirt about majors, course selection, professors, etc. was passed from generation to generation.</p>
<p>As the year progressed, the freshmen would increasingly go to the upperclass students’ parties and events from time to time, thus broadening their own circle of acquaintances on campus. This gave the freshmen some options as the inevitable splintering of the initial freshmen herd takes place spring semester. By the end of the year, the seniors were planning social events on the hall that included everyone and mixed the older circle of friends and the freshmen circle of friends together because, by then, they were all just “Swatties”.</p>
<p>I think the downside, if any, would be for the upperclass students. However, they all benefitted from their elders when they were freshmen and, therefore, the ethos seems to be a willingness to live with freshmen and pass along some accumulated wisdom. I know that, as a sophmore, my daughter and her roommate have helped a couple of newbies on their hall through some rough patches, if only by lending an ear and some encouragement. For upperclass students who are not so inclined, there are small dorm options where no freshmen are assigned – typically dorms or old houses where there could not be a critical mass of freshmen or sufficient hall life outside of an already established group of friends.</p>