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Wellesley College
- Campus Housing

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Wellesley College - Campus Housing - College ProwlerCollege Prowler3.85

Campus Housing

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

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Quick Stats

On-Campus Housing Available? Yes
Campus Housing Capacity 2,232
Average Housing Costs $6,234
Undergrads Living On Campus 98%
Number of Dormitories 16
Best Dorms
  • Severance
  • Stone-Davis
  • Tower Court
Worst Dorms
  • Dower
  • Munger
  • The New Dorms (Bates, Freeman, McAfee)

Student Author OverviewWhat's This?

Housing at Wellesley really is a matter of taste—the dorms all have different personalities, and just as many students would prefer a dank room in Munger over a lake view in Stone-Davis, and vice versa. Unfortunately, there are a limited number of suites, mostly because, in general, Wellesley was designed to promote studiousness, not sociability. Some students also chafe at the strict supervision of residential staff. Every once in a while, New Dormers (and it says something about Wellesley that the “New” dorms were built in the '60s) attempt to rejuvenate East Side Pride (the New Dorms are on the east side of campus), but the truth is that many students count themselves blessed to escape McAfee perdition after their first year. Tower is Wellesley’s showpiece, with the beautiful Tower Great Hall and some fantastic rooms replete with wooden floors and window seats.

First-year students have no choice where they live, but after that, it’s largely up to personal preference and luck in the housing lottery. But, even if you strike out, you can try for a room swap. A lake view lifts the spirits, as does being in a social dorm where people are likely to prop open their doors from time to time. If you’re going to be sticking to an early-to-bed, early-to-rise schedule after your first year, consider one of the more studious dorms. If you’re looking for a more relaxed attitude—as in, no one knocking on your door to say you’re playing your music too loud—consider Lake House. Overall, while Wellesley has beautiful, diverse housing, independent living is largely out, as is the more social setup that suites would provide.

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Wellesley Student ReviewsWhat's This?

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Campus Housing at Wellesley College

skittlesXDrainbw

'14

Economics

4.6
A

Campus Housing

Whether you like your dorm or not is really based on personal preference (and your major).

Jan 15, 2012

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Campus Housing at Wellesley College

caylaaa32

'15

Pre-Medicine Studies

4.6
A

Builds a Community

I love housing at Wellesley! My favorite thing about housing is that in all but one dorm, freshmen through seniors live side by side. It's a great community builder and gives you a lot of resources that you wouldn't get if you only loved with freshmen. Another great aspect is that everyone lives on campus all 4 years, so a big sense of community is created.

Dec 28, 2011

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Campus Housing at Wellesley College

tokyoennachan

'15

Mathematics & Statistics

3.8
B+

Really Depends

The new residence halls have very big rooms but are far from the campus center, the gym, and the academic quad. The older residence halls have very small rooms are closer to everything. All grades are mixed in all of the halls. There is a lottery system to choose dorm rooms every year.

Dec 21, 2011

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Page 1 of 9

Student Survey Poll ResultsWhat's This?

Rate campus housing on the following subjects

Facts

Room Types
  • 2- to 4-person suites with single bedrooms and shared bathroom
  • Doubles
  • Quads
  • Singles
  • Triples
Bed Types
  • Bunkable beds
  • Lofts
  • Twin extra-long
What You Get
  • Bed
  • Bookcase
  • Closet or wardrobe
  • Desk and chair
  • Dresser
  • Ethernet access
  • Free campus and local phone calls
  • Lamp
  • Local telephone service
  • Window coverings
Also Available
  • Small-scale, special-interest housing is available by application to everyone except first-years. These include: French House, located slightly off campus, which is French-language housing; Cervantes House, near the Tower complex, is Spanish-language; and Feminist Co-op, on the east side of campus, is a feminist vegetarian cooperative. Certain dorms also have language corridors for those who wish to speak Russian, German, Chinese, or Japanese.
  • There are also on-campus housing options for Davis Scholars in houses and dorms on the east side of campus.
  • There are several apartments located in dorms, offering kitchens, living rooms, and more independent living. Orchard Apartments in Dower and Hemlock Apartments in McAfee tend to go to upperclasswomen.

Cleaning Service

Public spaces are cleaned daily by staff.

Did You Know?

Only dorms’ TV rooms—of which there are only a few per buidling—get cable (and reception is difficult to get in many places), which can be both good and bad. It’s fun to make friends over popcorn and a favorite show, but there can be showdowns over who’s watching what.

When Mona Lisa Smile was shot on campus, the scene in which Katherine Watson (Julia Roberts) is defending herself to the Board of Trustees was shot in the living room of Claflin Hall; other scenes from the movie were shot in Tower Great Hall.

Feel the burn—all dorms in Wellesley were purposely built on hills in the 1870s to keep young ladies fit.

Almost all upperclasswomen live in singles if they desire, though occasional housing crunches put juniors with bad lottery numbers in doubles for a semester.

Men attending Wellesley are cross-registered students who actually attend other schools (such as MIT or Brandeis), so these students usually do not live on campus. Instead, they tend to be commuters. However, every so often, a stray dude finds his way into the campus and makes his home in one of the dormitories. But don’t get too excited—campus housing does not have a specific dorm in which they house Wellseley guys; a male student is randomly assigned a room, so girls looking for coed housing at Wellesley will just have to get lucky. Also, this occurance is highly uncommon.

DormitoriesWhat's This?

Bates Hall
Floors: 5
Bathrooms: Shared by floor
Residents: Freshmen, upperclassmen
Room Types: Singles, doubles
Special Features: Kitchen and living room on each floor, laundry. On East Side of campus

Beebe Hall
Floors: 5
Bathrooms: Shared by floor
Residents: Freshmen, upperclassmen
Room Types: Singles, doubles
Special Features: Kitchen and living room on each floor, laundry. Part of Hazard Quad/Quint

Cazenove Hall
Floors: 5
Bathrooms: Shared by floor
Residents: Freshmen, upperclassmen
Room Types: Singles, doubles, triples
Special Features: Kitchen and living room on each floor, laundry. On East Side of campus

Claflin Hall
Floors: 6
Bathrooms: Shared by floor
Residents: Freshmen, upperclassmen
Room Types: Singles, doubles, triples, quads, small suites, 5-person suites
Special Features: Kitchen and living room on each floor, laundry, pool table. On East Side of campus

Davis Hall
Floors: 5
Bathrooms: Shared by floor
Residents: Freshmen, upperclassmen
Room Types: Singles, doubles, triples
Special Features: Shared with Stone Hall, pool table, small exercise room, kitchen and living room on each floor, laundry. On East Side of campus

Dower Hall (including Orchard Apartments)
Floors: 2
Bathrooms: Shared by floor
Residents: Freshmen, upperclassmen
Room Types: Singles, doubles, triples, Orchard Apartments
Special Features: Laundry. On East Side of campus

Freeman Hall
Floors: 5
Bathrooms: Shared by floor
Residents: Freshmen, upperclassmen
Room Types: Singles, doubles
Special Features: Kitchen and living room on each floor, laundry. On East Side of campus

Lake House
Floors: 3
Bathrooms: Shared by floor
Residents: Upperclassmen
Room Types: Singles, doubles
Special Features: Independent, co-op style living with no RAs, kitchen and living room on each floor, laundry. Located in Tower Complex

McAfee Hall (including Hemlock Apartments)
Floors: 5
Bathrooms: Shared by floor
Residents: Freshmen, upperclassmen
Room Types: Singles, doubles, 2-person suites, Hemlock Apartments
Special Features: Kitchen and living room on each floor, laundry. On East Side of campus

Munger Hall
Floors: 4
Bathrooms: Shared by floor
Residents: Freshmen, upperclassmen
Room Types: Singles, doubles
Special Features: Kitchen and living room on each floor, laundry. Part of Hazard Quad/Quint

Pomeroy Hall
Floors: 5
Bathrooms: Shared by floor
Residents: Freshmen, upperclassmen
Room Types: Singles, doubles, triples
Special Features: Kitchen and living room on each floor, laundry. Part of Hazard Quad/Quint

Severance Hall
Floors: 4
Bathrooms: Shared by floor
Residents: Freshmen, upperclassmen
Room Types: Singles, doubles, triples, small suites
Special Features: Kitchen and living room on each floor, laundry. Located in Tower Complex

Shafer Hall
Floors: 5
Bathrooms: Shared by floor
Residents: Freshmen, upperclassmen
Room Types: Singles, doubles
Special Features: Traditionally the gay pride dorm, though by no means solely homosexual (think L, B, T and a lot of F), kitchen and living room on each floor, laundry. Part of Hazard Quad/Quint

Stone Hall
Floors: 5
Bathrooms: Shared by floor
Residents: Freshmen, upperclassmen
Room Types: Singles, doubles, triples
Special Features: Shared with Davis Hall, pool table, small exercise room, kitchen and living room on each floor, laundry. On East Side of campus

Tower Court East
Floors: 6
Bathrooms: Shared by floor
Residents: Freshmen, upperclassmen
Room Types: Singles, doubles, triples, quads, small suites
Special Features: Kitchen and living room on each floor, laundry. Located in Tower Complex

Tower Court West
Floors: 6
Bathrooms: Shared by floor
Residents: Freshmen, upperclassmen
Room Types: Singles, doubles, triples, quads, small suites
Special Features: Kitchen and living room on each floor, laundry, elevator. Located in Tower Complex

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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 Wellesley

Name: Jean Kim

Hometown: Chicago, IL

Major: English

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