You open your mailbox to find a letter from Dartmouth's Office of Residential Life. In nervous anticipation you tear it open, only to find a cryptic room assignment that says, "204 Mid-Fayerweather, 250 sq. feet." Don't you want a better idea of what to expect?
From East Wheelock to the Fayerweathers to the River cluster, each dorm is different compared to the next. Some undoubtedly have a better location and setup, but each dorm has its own special atmosphere.
East Wheelock
Often referred to as the "Super Cluster" or the "Hotel," the East Wheelock Cluster provides students with a comfortable living environment and a variety of programming events.
East Wheelock rooms are set up like suites. Most rooms are quads and some are doubles. All are spacious. Very spacious. The rooms of the quads center around a living-room, and suites have a full private bath.
The cluster, which consists of Andres, Zimmerman, Morton and the recently constructed McCulloch Hall, offers spacious TV lounges, and, more importantly a snack bar and a printer -- both of which save residents from evening and late-night walks across campus.
East Wheelock is a unique cluster -- its purpose is to offer students a different, more intellectual, residential option. And that it does. The programming budget, which is larger than most clusters, sponsors dinner discussions with guest professors, pizza and ice-crea study breaks, student entertainment shows and cluster movie nights.
East Wheelock does, however, have an enormous drawback: paper-thin walls and doors. For example, the door that separates the bathroom from the bedroom next door is so thin it must as well not even be there. Though there's a dividing door and wall, in reality, living in the bedroom next to the bathroom is like living with your head next to the toilet bowl. Setting a big fan or stereo next to the door might be your best bet in blocking out the noise.
Mass Row
Highly coveted for its central location, Mass Row conveniently stands between Thayer Dining Hall, Baker Library, the Green and many of your classrooms.
The cluster consists of North, Mid and South Mass. Mid-Mass, marked by its stately white pillars, is especially luxurious because of its two-room triples and one-room doubles, each with full private baths. The rooms in North and South Mass are mostly carpeted singles and large two-room doubles.
The Fayerweathers
The Fayers offer students the atmosphere of living in an old, beautiful dorm. The rooms, mostly consisting of two-room triples or two-room doubles, are quite large. Mid and South Fayer have half bathrooms as well.
Perhaps one of the biggest advantages of living in the Fayerweathers is the short distance to early morning language classes, which take place mostly in Dartmouth Hall, situated just a few short yards away.
An underground tunnel connects North, Mid and South Fayer, which is handy in the winter because it saves students from walking outside when visiting friends.
There's more. The Fayerweathers also have a great TV lounge and kitchen, which is a fun place to watch the Simpsons and the X-Files on Sunday evenings. Located on the ground and basement level are also study lounges, but studiers beware, they often become social chit-chat rooms.
RipWoodSmith
Composed of Ripley, Woodward and Smith Halls, this cluster is undergoing extensive renovations this summer and will welcome students in the fall with a fresh coat of paint, new carpeting and new furniture.
Behind RipWoodSmith is the Bema, the big empty meeting place. Students can capitalize on this clearing in the woods by lying on a towel to study, playing catch with a friend or just walking around and enjoy living in rural New Hampshire.
RipWoodSmith is conveniently situated near the gym and Alpha Delta and Chi Heorot fraternities. The floors are coed by hall, and prior to the renovations the hallways were narrow and dark, but hopefully the environment has improved with the refurbishments.
Topliff-New Hamp
Located between the Hopkins Center and the gym, these two dorms have varied living atmospheres.
Topliff mainly consists of singles for seniors, but freshman live in the doubles in the corners. Due to the high concentration of seniors and single rooms, Topliff has a reputation for being one of the least social dorms on campus.
New Hampshire Hall is often one of upperclassmen's first housing picks because of its big two-room doubles and triples. New Hamp has a great two-story lounge with a television that is almost always in use, and its large hallways are ideal for indoor soccer.
Finally, New Hamp houses one of the larger storage centers on campus, which is handy at the end of the school year when you don't want to lug your stuff to another dorm.
Russell Sage-Butterfield
Russell Sage and Butterfield Halls are perhaps most liked for their convenient location next to Baker and the Rockefeller Center.
More importantly to some, however, is the short distance to Webster Avenue, more commonly know as Frat Row. This short walk is especially convenient on cold winter nights.
Russell Sage offers corner room triples equipped with private half bathrooms and fireplaces. Butterfield, composed of singles and doubles, is the College's substance and alcohol-free housing. These two dorms are connected by the Hyphen, a recreational space where a-cappella groups occasionally perform.
Hitchcock Hall
Hitchcock's L-shaped architectural design stands on prime real estate between Baker and Thayer Hall. It's proximity to Webster Avenue is a reason why many students find Hitchcock a great place to meet up before going out at night.
Most rooms here are tight on space; the two and three room triples that are somewhat cramped, although corner rooms are more spacious and have half baths.
Hitchcock houses an oddly-designed two-story study lounge and tends to be one of the most social dorms on campus.
The Choates
The dead goat of architectural design, the Choates provide cramped one-room doubles for freshmen. Nonetheless, living in the Choates turns out to be very fun for many students.
The Choates are somewhat physically removed from campus, a distance that seems to serve in creating a strong living community. Many students still revel at their glory days of Choate-bonding.
Brown, Bissell, Cohen and Little Halls and are mostly coed by floor. Second-story glass hallways lead to TV lounges and kitchens and connect the different buildings.
The Choates are also home to the Women's Resource Center and lies close to the Shabazz Hall, Hillel and Webster Avenue.
The River
The red-brick buildings of French, McLane and Hinman compose "the River," which is about a seven-minute walk to the center of campus unless you have a bike.
Some people jokingly refer to the River dorms as Dartmouth's Foreign Study Program in Vermont. And while those assigned to the River may be the object of mockery from their more centrally-located peers, the River offers arguably the most intimate and social hall bonding experiences of any dorm.
Despite this, more than one Dartmouth student is bitter at having lived there. Freshman occupy cramped yet carpeted two-room doubles or more luxurious three-room doubles with a large common room.
What the River dorms do offer is a rock-climbing gym, outdoor volleyball courts and a few basketball hoops. If you are involved in water sports, such as crew, practice is quite close. Another small perk of living in the River is the close location to Feldburg Library. Most Dartmouth undergrads never make it down here to study so you'll have a productive study environment in a great library. Additionally, the German Center is right next door.
Wheeler-Richardson
The oldest dorms on campus, these beautiful residence halls are located just east of Baker and south of Fairchild Science Center, which houses Kresge Library, conveniently located for science and geography students.
Freshmen placed in Wheeler Hall inhabit either a tiny one-room, L-shaped double or a spacious two-room triple with a half-bath and carpeted-floor.
In Richardson, there are four one-room triples, the only ones on campus, which make for cramped living. Either way, most rooms have working fireplaces, which chilly residents often put to good use during the winter.
The Gold Coast
Consisting of Gile, Lord and Streeter Halls, the Gold Coast received its name during the Depression when it was believed that it housed the College's wealthier students.
The rooms of the Gold Coast were renovated last summer, and now sport new furniture and carpeting.
Located on Tuck Drive, the Gold Coast offers students a library at both ends of the street (Baker and Feldburg).
The halls are coed by floor, except for Gile, which is coed by room. Certain rooms have half-baths and fireplaces, giving them an old-time charm that characterizes most of the College's residence halls.
