Rollins College
Reviews

Depends on Where You Live

The first year dorms range from living at a hotel (Ward and Rex Beach) to staying at a motel (McKean). Yet, I've been told from visiting students from other colleges that even McKean is gorgeous. As a first year you will not be allowed to pick your dorm, but upperclassmen have a much better range of options. Holt is mostly singles, Elizabeth is a traditional dorm, and Sutton is apartment-style living. The dorms are quite clean and while the showers have low pressure to save water, the hot water never runs out.

Parking Is Ridiculous

If you park on campus, you will get a ticket or a boot from campus security. If you park on the nearby streets, you will get a ticket from the town of WInter Park. The garage is a pain.

Fairly Strict Campus

Rollins is a very small school so there's no room for on campus partying. Yes you can drink quietly in your room with a friend, but if there are more than 5 people in a room, campus security will probably catch you. It really depends on which officer you get whether or not you'll get into trouble.

Diverse for a Small Private School

Although the majority of the student that attend Rollins are white, there are a good number of international students. I have friends from all over the world and it is nice to have different opinions in the classroom.

Conveniently Located Housing but High Cost of Living

Rollins has a neighborhood that is located almost on campus called College Quarter. This neighborhood is made up of single story 2-3 bedroom houses that were built in the 70's. Many of the houses look like they are about to fall apart but the rent is astronomical. A 2 bedroom 2 bath house within walking distance from campus that is around 1,000 square feet usually has a rent price tag of $1,900 per month. This price decreases the farther from campus you get but since parking is hard to find, many student prefer to walk to class. Although it is pricey, College Quarter is the mainstay for off campus parties since it is so conveniently located. College Quarter is not the only option though, there are several apartment complexes near campus.

Convenient but Expensive

Living on campus is a requirement for Freshman and Sophomores. Freshman have to live in either Rex Beach, Ward, or McKean. Mckean is more fun but Ward is much nicer. Sophomores can either live in greek housing, Sutton Apartments, or Elizabeth. Greek housing is the best option because many of the houses have singles and have been newly renovated. Sutton is a renovated retirement home but still has heat lamps in the bathrooms. In Sutton four people live to an apartment (two doubles) and are equipped with two bathrooms, a living room, a porch, a kitchen, and an eating area. Elizabeth is an older building and is a randomly assorted group of people. All on campus housing is very expensive and every student must be on a meal plan. It is very hard to get permission to live off campus Sophomore year and almost impossible to get off the meal plan.

Mostly Safe but There Is a Bad Part of Town

Winter Park is a beautiful, wealthy town located 15 minutes from downtown Orlando. Central Winter Park is very safe but there is an adjoining area, a couple of blocks wide, that is a dangerous part of the town. Once you cross over the train tracks you are treading in unsafe territory. Because of this unsafe part of town, located closely to campus, there are a few instances of bikes being stolen or houses being broken into. Although these instances are rare, it is essential to be aware when living off campus.

Printing Is a Pain!

The computers in the labs are good but when you want to print something, it can be a nightmare! The printers run out of paper all the time and there are paper jams constantly. Also, Rollins has a limit on the number of pages you can print per semester. So if you have to write a lot of long papers, you will end up buying more pages. My advice is to buy your own printer.

Good Food but Limited Selection

The dining at Rollins is nice but it gets old pretty fast. There are only six options for dining and three of the options are cafes that have snacks, sandwiches, and drinks. The main cafeteria has vegetarian, carving, sushi, sandwich, salad, soup, pizza, and pasta stations. Downstairs in the campus center there is a small grocery store, called the C-Store, where you can find frozen foods, drinks, snacks, and sandwiches. Right across from the grocery store there is a late night grill that serves burgers, chicken fingers, and quesadillas. Out of all the options, the C-Store is the best. Although the food options are limited, there are great restaurants and take out places close by. I have been on the meal plan for three semesters and I eat out about a third of the time.

Over Priced but Nice

The off campus housing surrounding Rollins College is too over priced in comparison to living on campus as well as the areas that are being offered. Although some places offered are very nice and updated for their price.

Small School

Being a small college, the parking situation is tiny, limited, and troubling at times - generally during throughout the day. Campus security does keep constant lookout for those without a pass.

Pleasant

It's Florida, so the weather is pretty warm all year round. Florida never hits zero degrees, and rarely goes to 30 or below. You should always carry an umbrella in your bag and a pair of sunglasses. Rain can happen at any time really even if you can't see a cloud in the sky. You'll also want to have sunscreen if you plan on staying out in the sun a lot.

Atmosphere

Students who enjoy clubbing will find plenty of establishments available. Rollins also provides many events and activities on campus for everyone. There is a Farmer's Market within walking distance every week and the food is delicious. Rollins doesn't have the strongest school spirit, especially towards its sports teams, but the teams do very well. For those who enjoy shopping there is a nice strip mall within easy walking distance, and the school provides free rides once a week to one further away that has a movie theater. Rollins is very close to Disney and occasionally offers discount tickets to students.

Scholarship Review

My parents and I do make sure to stay on top of my financial aid, but overall, it's been a smooth and easy process and Rollins has made it much easier for me to attend college since we do not have that much money.

Drug Safety Review

Rollins does do a good job warning us about the dangers of drugs and their academic and legal policies towards drug use, and I don't often see anyone at parties out right doing drugs, whereas a lot more people openly drink who aren't 21 or are doing so in a dry dorm. I do, however, hear a lot about people dealing and doing drugs, particularly pot and cocaine. Also, I knew of a guy who was busted for drug dealing right before he was supposed to graduate, and Rollins let him graduate anyway.

Drinking

Underage drinking is strictly monitored on campus.

No Diversity

Rollins is primarily an upper-class white community.

Food Off Campus

Park Avenue, the main street just off campus, has many nice affordable restaurants and there's a good selection and variety of different foods.

Campo

I never feel unsafe when i'm on the Rollins campus. Since it is relatively small if there was ever a need for campus security they are always in the vicinity.

Parking Sucks

It's really hard to get a premo parking spot at Rollins, the parking lots that they have on campus usually fill up really quickly and the parking garage is down Park Avenue (about a 5 minute walk to campus). So if you live off campus and you're trying to decide how to get to class its better to walk.

If the Night Life Is for You....

Orlando is only a 10 minute cab ride away and considering you're probably going to be splitting the tab with 5 or 6 people its not a bad deal. Rollins students are really good about hosting parties at different venues downtown however it'll cost you. The cab ride there might be fine but then its another $10 dollars to get into the party (sometimes thats even the case for 21+ too). Usually Rollins students go downtown Thursdays and Saturdays (for Rollins events) but usually places downtown are 21+ other nights of the week.

Wednesdays belong to a little place called Drakes in Winter Park (walking distance from the college) and only costs about $5 dollars to get in. Nothing can top O'Boys wednesday nights from years past but Drakes' comes close.

Any other night (and day) of the week you can find a house party held by one of the many students who live on Holt Avenue.

Night Life

Rollins has great night life if you like to go out and club. There is normally a big club party that most of the student population attends. One night out is roughly 20 dollars between Cabs/Cover/Drinks etc. It's harder to find alternative options if you are under 21.

Off Campus Dining

There is so much delicious food around campus, anything from thai food to a burger. You can always get breakfast/lunch/dinner. It would be AMAZING if we got student discounts at more places or if our R-Cards worked at places like Pita Pit and Jimmy Johns.

Computers in the Library

There always seems to be issues with the computers. Bringing a personal laptop to the library is the only way to be sure you will be able to have computer access. The tech department is good, but often not available.

Social Lives

Campus Security has become so strict that nobody can party on campus anymore, making everybody go off campus and this often causes unsafe driving