Babson Survival Guide Part 6: Freshman Dorm Rooms
Almost as feared as dining hall offerings, freshman residence halls are notoriously bad at colleges across the country. Babson is no different.
As a freshman, you will probably be put into one of the all-freshman dorms, which are Forest, Publishers, and Park Manor North. You could also be put into Park Manor South or Park Manor Central, which have a little nicer living conditions.
Let's take a look at each in more detail...
Forest Hall
Forest is the ubiquitous freshman dorm. It's right by the college entrance, the main dining hall, and Public Safety. But it's kind of far from everything else. Forest is generally pretty crappy, but it is big, so you will probably be with a lot of your friends.
Forest offers a lounge on the first floor.
Park Manor North
"North" makes up one side of Babson's "quad," which is a pretty nice place to be. The rooms were renovated a few years ago, and it's a decent place, but not that great. However, it's good for a freshman dorm. Most rooms are doubles, with quads on the ends of the top floor of the building. Overall the building is on the small side.
North is also designated as the "substance free" or "healthy living" dorm. While it seems like a good idea to put all the quiet, healthy kids together, it doesn't always work out that way. Babson's computer system usually screws up and fills North with kids who don't want to be there. Or kids fill out housing forms with their parents present, forcing them to lie and say "oh, of course I want to live somewhere without loud noise and alcohol."
Unfortunately, North doesn't have a lounge. The only common area is a barren room in the basement.
Publishers Hall
Publishers is a small building that looks almost like a barn, and it's right beside the road. It's pretty crappy as well.
Park Manor South and central
This is probably the ideal place to live, as these are upperclass dorms. Now that Babson is admitting more freshmen, they are getting moved into these buildings while the seniors are moving into the new "Map Hill" dorm.
The nice doubles and triples offer good size rooms and semi-private bathrooms.
If you apply for half-price housing, you might be put in the Park Manor South basement. Not necessarily a bad place, but you only have a small window which is usually covered by shrubs and trees.
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Related Articles:
The Complete Housing Guide for Babson Students
