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Washington & Jefferson College
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Washington & Jefferson College - Campus Housing - College ProwlerCollege Prowler3.08

Campus Housing

B-
Where does this grade come from?View all Campus Housing rankingsReview this school to add your opinion

Comparable Schools' Campus Housing Grades:

Quick Stats

On-Campus Housing Available? Yes
Campus Housing Capacity 1,437
Average Housing Costs $5,520
Freshmen Required to Live on Campus? Yes
Undergrads Living On Campus 82%
Number of Dormitories 12
Best Dorms
  • Bica-Ross Hall
  • The Greek houses on Chestnut Street
  • New Residence Hall 1
Worst Dorms
  • Mellon Hall
  • Upperclass Hall

Student Author OverviewWhat's This?

For many students, housing is what makes or breaks their enjoyment of W&J. For freshmen, it all boils down to luck, and even moreso for freshman guys. The two undisputed worst places to live are both reserved for freshman guys, though it can be hard to tell if the poor quality is because of hard-partying residents or just due to the buildings’ ages. Upperclass and Mellon were both completed in 1949, and it shows. All freshman guys have a roughly 50 percent chance of living there. The women fare much better their first year, though that typically doesn’t stop the complaints. The buildings do improve as you advance through the years, and competition can be fierce among sophomores and juniors jockeying to land a suite in Bica-Ross or New Res. The Greeks are treated the best, receiving their own buildings with no RAs or CAs. The houses in the Row are nigh indestructible, and a good number of the campus’s hardest partiers take full advantage of that fact. In the end, no matter how much you can find to complain about or praise, the buildings themselves are nowhere near as important as the people you live with. Even the most detestable of dorms can foster fond memories, or at least blurred pieces of them, so long as you make the most of where you are. After all, you’ll most likely be moving somewhere new every year, so even if you feel like you’ve been shafted, you won’t have to bear it for too long.

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Washington & Jefferson Student ReviewsWhat's This?

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Campus Housing at Washington & Jefferson College

WJStudentt

'12

Chemistry

0.0
F

Unhelpful Residence Life

Residence life tries to appear that they are helpful but the director makes students jump through hoops to solve any problems. Taking a poll on campus about residence life helpfulness for roommate problems, cleaning issues, RA problems would result in a very poor grade for them. The process to sign up for housing is tedious, and hope that you never have a disagreement with your roommate, suitemate, or someone living near you because it will be a very long process to get anything done. It took MONTHS for a male living in my hall to be moved his freshmen year, regardless of how much his rooming situation was affecting his grades, he ended up transferring schools because of the lack of help from Residence Life. There is no option to live off campus either, so if you are not in a 15 mile radius at school, get prepared to deal with what they give you.

Dec 13, 2011

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Campus Housing at Washington & Jefferson College

miomio

'14

Accounting

3.8
B+

Dorms Are Okay

Overall Dorms at W&J are not bad. I think the cleaning staff in the freshman dorms did a better job cleaning.

Nov 14, 2011

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Campus Housing at Washington & Jefferson College

Presidents123

'14

Pre-Medicine Studies

3.8
B+

Upperclassmen Dorms

Freshman dorms are not very great. I do not see why we pay all that money to live in such a small room. However, as a junior and senior, one can live in the newly renovated dorms. They are very nice, with a bathroom, living room, and 4 bedrooms.

Oct 16, 2011

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Page 1 of 7

Student Survey Poll ResultsWhat's This?

Rate campus housing on the following subjects

Facts

Room Types
  • Doubles
  • In rare events, some students get either a double or triple room as a single
  • Singles
  • Triples
Bed Types
  • Bunkable beds
  • Lofts
  • Twin extra-long
What You Get
  • Armoire (if you're in the Row)
  • Bed
  • Cable TV
  • Desk and chair
  • Dresser
  • Ethernet access
  • Local telephone service
Also Available
  • All residence halls are smoke-free.
  • One of the buildings in the Row is offered as a "Pet House" in which students may live with their pets. A nominal fee for extra cleaning is included, but the idea has been enthusiastically embraced by the students. Year to year, other buildings in the Row may be reserved for other themes, depending on the support and interest of students.

Available for Rent

Window air-conditioning unit (unless you're in Bica-Ross, New Residence Hall 1, the Triplex, and the Greek houses on Chestnut Street, which have air-conditioning). These are only granted if you can argue having a reason for one, like allergies.

Cleaning Service

Maintenance will periodically clean common areas and bathrooms. They are scheduled to clean at least once a week, but don’t always count on it.

Did You Know?


“President’s Row” is the new name given to what used to be called the Quads, and the Residence Center before that. The series of 10 buildings served as fraternity and sorority houses from their construction in 1968 until 2005. The only remaining Greek organization as of 2007 is the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity, located at the very southern end next to Wheeling Street.

The houses in the Row were all built as bomb shelters during the Cold War, and an old atomic bomb shelter sign can still be seen on the outside wall of a few of the buildings.

The Row is home to the new theme houses, like the Outdoor House (ironic though it may be), and the Pet House, where residents can bring their pets to live with them.

Upperclass Hall is inhabited almost solely by freshmen. The only non-freshman are the RAs, yet the name still sticks.

W&J has incoming freshmen complete a survey form as part of the roommate assignment procedure. Questions range from sleeping and study habits to smoking preference to questions asking freshmen how organized they think they are. While the process isn’t perfect, it does help prevent most major lifestyle clashes that could arise.

The College offers honor’s housing to upperclass students with exceptional GPAs, putting them up in some of the old Victorian homes behind the Olin Fine Arts Center.

DormitoriesWhat's This?

Alexander Hall
Floors: 3
Number of Occupants: 120
Bathrooms: Shared by suite
Coed: Yes
Residents: Upperclassmen
Room Types: Doubles arranged in two-room suites
Special Features: Shared kitchen on the ground floor, one large social room on the ground floor with pool table and television, two study rooms per floor

Beau Hall
Floors: 3
Number of Occupants: 132
Bathrooms: Shared by suite
Coed: No, women only
Residents: Freshmen and upperclassmen
Room Types: Doubles arranged in three-room suites, apartment on the ground floor for the Community Advisor (CA)
Special Features: Shared kitchen on the ground floor, one large social room on the ground floor with pool table and television, laundry facilities

Bica-Ross Hall
Floors: 3
Number of Occupants: 118
Bathrooms: Shared by suite
Coed: Yes
Residents: Upperclassmen
Room Types: Four singles in a suite
Special Features: Community kitchen, laundry facilities, meeting rooms on the ground floor

Greek Houses on Chestnut Street
Floors: 3 per house
Number of Occupants: About 26 per house
Bathrooms: One per hallway
Coed: Yes
Residents: Upperclassmen
Room Types: Singles, doubles, and a president’s suite on the ground floor.
Special Features: Shared kitchen on the ground floor, chapter rooms, common spaces on each floor

Marshall Hall
Floors: 3
Number of Occupants: 128
Bathrooms: Shared by suite
Coed: Yes
Residents: Freshmen and upperclassmen
Room Types: Doubles arranged in two-room suites
Special Features: Shared kitchen on the ground floor, one large social room on the ground floor with pool table and television, two study rooms per floor

Mellon Hall
Floors: 3
Number of Occupants: 76
Bathrooms: Shared by floor
Coed: No, men only
Residents: Freshmen
Room Types: Singles, doubles
Special Features: Large common lounge on ground floor with study tables, television, and foosball table

New Residence Hall (aka New Res, or New Hall 1)
Floors: 3
Number of Occupants: 108
Bathrooms: Shared by suite
Coed: Yes
Residents: Upperclassmen
Room Types: Two singles and double in a suite
Special Features: Community kitchen, laundry facilities, meeting rooms on the ground floor

North Hall
Floors: 3
Number of Occupants: 26
Bathrooms: Private
Coed: No, men only
Residents: Freshmen
Room Types: Apartment-style suites with kitchens and private bathrooms
Special Features: Communal lounge with a television, pool table, air hockey table, and microwave. Free laundry services.

President’s Row
Floors: 3
Number of Occupants: 360
Bathrooms: Shared by hall
Coed: Yes
Residents: Upperclassmen
Room Types: Doubles, triples
Special Features: Two large common rooms on the ground floor (one for recreation, one for studying), laundry facilities. Special community-living options include the Pet House and the Quiet House.

Upperclass Hall
Floors: 3
Number of Occupants: 86
Bathrooms: Shared by floor
Coed: No, men only
Residents: Freshmen
Room Types: Singles, doubles
Special Features: Large common lounge on ground floor with study tables, television, Ping-Pong table, pool table, and microwave

Wade House
Floors: 3
Number of Occupants: 24
Bathrooms: Shared by floor
Coed: No, women only
Residents: Upperclassmen
Room Types: Doubles, triples
Special Features: Wade House is a renovated Victorian mansion that features multiple common rooms and kitchen facilities

Whitworth House
Floors: 3
Number of Occupants: 25
Bathrooms: Shared by floor
Coed: No, women only
Residents: Upperclassmen
Room Types: Apartments
Special Features: Each apartment is equipped with a full kitchen, bathroom, and living room.

Most Recent Student Author

College Prowler guides are in the hands of students throughout the entire process. Because you can't make student-written guides without the students, we have students at each campus who write, edit, and survey their peers for every guide that we publish. Thanks to our most recent student author at W&J

Name: Dylan Jesse

Major: English/Philosophy

see all student author bios >

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