While the overhaul of residential life projected in the College's planning reports will take some time to come to fruition, incoming freshmen should expect to see some changes from previous years.
First-year students will benefit from the Advising 360 program, new training for undergraduate advisors and a greater focus on "integrative learning," associate director of residential education Jeff DeWitt said.
Advising 360, a program piloted in the Choates residential cluster last year, connects students with faculty academic mentors in their freshman fall. The trial program will continue this year with a new group of freshman students while expanding to follow the Class of 2016 group into their sophomore year. This year's dorm has not yet been selected.
"I think they could more carefully match you up with a mentor who has expertise and experience in a field in which you are interested," said Robert Scales '16, who lived in the Choates last year. "I want you to have somebody who has knowledge in your specific area but is also encouraging you to take classes across the academic spectrum."
UGAs will receive updated training as a response to several bias incidents that occurred last year, DeWitt said. UGAs may be trained to facilitate discussions about approaching people with different backgrounds.
"Integrative learning" initiatives will implement the College's goal of "creating a more holistic and rich educational experience" grounded in residential life, as outlined in the College's strategic planning documents, released in March.
This may include an initiative that allows students who live together to also take classes together.
As in previous years, affinity housing is not open to freshmen. All first-year students are placed in one of five residence clusters Russell Sage, McLaughlin, East Wheelock, the Choates and the River.
Undergraduate housing director Rachael Class-Giguere cautioned students not to be too critical of the cluster in which they are placed.
"It's the people they meet that's going to make their experience," she said. "It's not the aesthetics of the room."
Even the much-maligned River cluster has its benefits. Class-Giguere noted that "some of the tightest communities formed there."
Curtis King '16, who lived in the River last year, called the isolation of the residence hall an advantage.
"I liked that it was usually quiet," he said. "Plus I liked walking through the cemetery that was really nice."
Students sometimes joke that the newest residential cluster available to freshmen, McLaughlin, should be nicknamed "Hotel McLaughlin" for its high ceilings, spacious rooms and single occupant bathrooms.
Nick Shallow '16 said that while the praise was deserved, freshmen students should be prepared for a long walk to the Class of 1953 Commons.
"It is too far away from FoCo," Shallow said. "I ended up eating at Novack more than I would have liked. It's grim stuff."
While the Choates do not offer McLaughlin's luxurious amenities, the cluster fosters a close community, Noah Rickerich '16 said.
One cluster that does not incite many complaints is Russell Sage.
"I loved it it was the best housing in the world," said Mariel Wallace '16, who lived in Fahey residence hall. "The common spaces allowed you to get really close to your floor, so pretty much all my close friends lived on the floor or in the building."
Susanna Kalaris '16 said Russell Sage's wide hallways encouraged socializing with neighbors.
"We were in the smaller half of the hall, so we could kind of wander into rooms as we pleased," she said. "We made our own little floor."
Some students will also have the opportunity to live in East Wheelock, a substance-free facility with special programming and faculty advisors who live in the residence hall.
Students living in East Wheelock attend educational events and performances at the Hopkins Center alongside their faculty advisors.
Freshmen housing will not be structurally different from previous years, and no construction projects are currently being planned for new freshman residence halls, though residential operations director Woody Eckels said in an email.
